The Importance of Proper Fit

Intended Audience: Everyone who owns their own equipment

Inspiration

Most of the bowlers I meet own their own equipment. More than 90% of that equipment doesn't fit the bowler who owns it. Sometimes, that's the fault of the pro shop, but much more often, it is the fault of the bowler. Either the bowler just doesn't know any better or the bowler doesn't seem the importance of a proper fit. Bowlers will tell me "it fits just fine" while they pick at a thumb blister or complain about wrist pain.

In the past, I was just like these other bowlers. My bowling hand thumb is permanently disfigured from poorly fit balls. I have permanent nerve damage at the base of my thumb. I've bowled with wrist pain and joint pain. I've literally bled on the lanes. All caused by an improperly fitted bowling ball. All completely unnecessary.

With the correct knowledge, overcoming these problems was simple: get equipment that fits and use it properly. I've done it, and now bowl pain free with no physical discomfort. If I can do it, anyone can do it if they just see the benefits.

Are there people who don't see the benefits? Yes. You might be asking yourself at this point "who would want to bowl in pain?" or "who would want to do permanent damage to their body for bowling?". Many bowlers may not want to, but they do. Apparently, the fear of changing something in their bowling game that would temporarily lower their average a few pins is scarier than the fear of a torn thumb or nerve damage. It doesn't make sense, but we're not always the most rational of creatures.

As an aside, using a house ball is not an option for the serious bowler. House balls might get close, but they'll never fit correctly.


The Domino Effect

Aside from the potential of physical harm, an poorly fitting bowling ball will actually have a negative effect on a bowlers score. Sometimes it is a small effect, sometimes a big effect. The scale is not directly relational, meaning if your equipment is only slightly off, the decrease in score will be slight. It doesn't always work that way.

The physical act of bowling can be seen as a step-by-step (literally!) process. In simple terms, the bowler stands on the approach, starts the ball in motion, moves towards the pins, releases the ball, and hopefully follows through. The bowler typically puts her/his hand in the bowling ball before this all starts, so think of it almost as a pre-step.

Problems in the physical act of bowling create a sort of chain-reaction that create other problems further along. For example, if the bowler starts the ball in motion too quickly, the bowler must compensate somewhere along the way to try to return the rest of the delivery back to "normal". This rarely happens because something has changed. Something is different. It causes everything that happens in that delivery after that to be different. Remember, bowlers put the hand in the ball first. A problem here creates problems the rest of the way.

Unlike a timing problem or pushaway problem which generally only wreak havoc on a single shot and can be corrected so there is no long-term problems, an improperly fitted bowling ball can have consequences far beyond a single delivery. It can cause permanent changes in a bowler's mechanics over a long period of time that may not be able to fixed even after the equipment is fixed.

Think about this for a minute: what if you were only allowed to bowl with a 50-pound ball with every fingerhole two inches across? Would your delivery style change? Of course it would! You'd probably need to use both hands. If you did that for a year and then switched back to more normal equipment, would your game with the normal equipment be as sharp? No, because your delivery, timing, release, and swing would be practiced differently for a year. This is an extreme example, but even small problems with the fit of your equipment will cause a change in a bowler's delivery.

The most common problem I see is a thumb hole that is too large. This causes the bowler to bend the thumb and squeeze with the thumb to keep the ball from falling off the hand during the swing. If the thumb pressure is not released at the exact same time on every shot, it introduces an inconsistency in the relase of the ball. Inconsistency in release will lead to inconsistency in scoring.

If the thumb hole is too large and the ball is too heavy, it often leads to not only bending the thumb, but bending the elbow. I see this mostly in children that have been rushed into equipment that is too heavy for them. Over time, the bent elbow becomes part of their "norma" mechanics and they become adult bowlers that bowl with a bent elbow. A bent elbow leads to inconsistency because the elbow must be bent to the same degree/angle the same way ever time. It is much easier to be consistently keep the arm straight. (Very few people have the natural talent of Earl Anthony)

If pain is introduced into the equation, changes happen rapidly. Our bodies have built-in mechanisms that cause us to avoid pain. While most bowlers can tell when they have a death grip on a bowling ball, subconscious changes in mechanics due to pain avoidance may not be detected at all.

Practice makes permanent. Even when doing something improperly, if we do it often enough, the improper starts to feel "normal". Afterwards, even if the next bowling ball fits properly, the bad habits are ingrained, and better mechanics feel "wrong".


The Pro Shop Role

The fitting and drilling of a bowling ball should be done by a qualified professional. For most people, this means a bowling pro shop. This is not an area to cut corners on cost. Most pro shop technicians know what they are doing. If they say a bowler's thumb hole is too large, you can bet it is. If the technican says the span is too short, it probably is.

Evaluating a pro shop is a topic for another day, but it should at least be said here that a good pro shop technician will take the time to properly measure your finger sizes, your span, pitches, and help decide the correct weight. The process should not be glossed over, it should be a series of measurements, with questions and answers in both directions. After the ball is drilled, the technician should further fine-tune the ball to fit the bowler and have the bowler throw the ball after each change, either across the shop floor or on the lanes. A good pro shop technician is only happy when the bowler is happy.

The importance of a pro shop can not be stressed enough. There are way too many Internet resources out there that suggest one-size-fits-all techniques that are simply wrong because everyone's fingers, hands, wrists, arms, and body are different. Every bowler's equipment will be drilled and fit differently.


The Bowler's Role

Bowlers should be involved with the fitting process, taking the time to ask questions of the pro shop technician, inform the pro shop technician of any physical injuries or limitations, and discussing any changes in delivery/mechanics.

It is also up to the bowler to have equipment checked at least once per year. As we grow older, our bodies change. As we gain or lose weight, our bodies change. Any body change can result in a change the fit of bowling equipment. What fits today will probably not fit in a couple of years. If equipment is never re-checked, it will soon not fit properly.

Bowlers that use soft rubber grips should have these checked more often. Over time, these grips condense, harden, and shrink.

Most importantly, it is up to the bowler to use the equipment properly. One of the biggest misconceptions and common problems is that if a bowler has a blister on the thumb than the thumb hole must be too small. Usually, it is because the thumb hole is too big and the bowler is bending the thumb or "knuckling" the thumb to keep it from flying off. Remember that 90% statistic claimed at the beginning of this article. I'd stake that number just on thumb holes that are too big. Once the thumb hole is the correct size, the bowler must learn to relax the thumb and let gravity pull the ball off the hand at the bottom of the swing. Otherwise, the thumb hole will feel "tight" and it is off to the shop to make the thumb hole too big again.


Conclusion

Having bowling eqiupment that doesn't fit properly can cause both physical as well as performance problems. A good pro shop will ensure the equipment fits properly and the bowler must ensure that the equipment continues to fit properly. Equipment that fits increases scores and decreases the likelihood of injuries caused by bowling.

Bowl well!


Related Materials

Here are some related articles or excerpts on bowling ball fit:

http://www.jayhawkbowling.com/Pro_s_Corner/Fitting_Tips/fitting.html
Article with illustrations on problems caused by improper fit.

http://members.tripod.com/Tips_4_Tenpin/equipment/Ball_Drilling_Tape/ball_fitting.htm
Article has a couple of good points to make on proper fit.