Lesson learned the hard way

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Phonetek
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Lesson learned the hard way

Post by Phonetek »

Last night I went and bowled a few games with my son. I've been out of the game for about 10yrs. When I got home it was like I slammed the car door on my middle and ring fingers. It was painful while bowling in the beginning but went away. A few hours later my knuckles were swollen and even this morning I couldn't hold a coffee cup.
I was concerned with possibly having arthritis since I am 46. I posted on another board about the pain and it was suggested maybe that it was the grip on my ball. I thought it felt pretty good but I did notice I had more loft than was typical. I figured before going to the doctor about arthritis a trip to the PSO would be a good idea.
I brought my ball, told him about my pain and he checked out the ball and measured my fingers. As it turns out the people on the board were correct. It was way off.
My span on my middle finger is off 1/4 inch too close. Ring finger span is 5/16 too far. Both are pitched for lift I can't remember if he said forward or reverse but he said way too much pitch. In addition the finger inserts are completely worn out making them far too big. Originally they were lift inserts but with all the wear you could hardly tell the difference between them and ovals. Thumb hole has perfect fit and pitch. Since it was fitting like that I was having to holding it way too tight and with all the pitch being off like it was it caused me to loft it. Plus the lanes were drenched with oil so I was trying that much harder to make it move.
Keep in mind, this ball is a very early reactive resin ball. Back then they didn't realize things like pitching the fingers and putting lift inserts in weren't needed or proper. I believe it was drilled properly as far as span and fit back then but that was about 18yrs ago when it was done. I don't blame this on my PSO who drilled it originally. I've lost 40lbs since then and put my hands through a lot over 18yrs so I have no doubt my hand changed significantly since then. So my PSO is going to plug, redrill and replace the inserts for $30 and all will be well.
The message I'd like to convey is....if you experience pain in your fingers please have your grip checked. Bowling shouldn't hurt! You don't want to learn it the way I did. I feel a lot better 24 hours later but still pretty sore. To err on the side of caution I'm still gonna go to the doc to check out my hands but I really don't think arthritis is an issue since I normally don't have any pain in my hands. I'm due for a checkup anyway.

BTW, I'd like to add a special shout out and thank you to the guys who steered me in the right direction. I'm sure most if not all are members here on this board too. I'm grateful.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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Over spanning, forward finger linears and too much reverse in the thumb used to be the norm. Modern fitting will have a more relaxed span, reverse linears in the fingers and more forward in the thumb so you do not have to squeeze or grab. Look at your hand, relax it, your fingers and thumb point in the same direction. Two checks you can do:

1. Draw a line at the midpoint between your fingertip knuckle crease and the mid finger knuckle crease on both your middle and ring fingers. Insert the thumb all the way in, do not insert your fingers, instead gently lay them over the holes without stretching. The thumb web should be relaxed, not tightly stretched nor loose wrinkled slack, just relaxed. The lines you drew should coincide with the bottom edge of your inserts. If they don’t get there without having to stretch, the span is too long.

2. If you passed test 1, insert fingers and thumb into the ball, thumb all the way in, fingers all the way in up to your fingertip knuckle creases. Now hang the ball by your side and completely relax your hand, the ball should not fall, it should stay in your hand without having to squeeze and grab, completely relax your hand and make sure your foot is not under the ball in case it drops.

If you pass both tests you can check if the ball releases fine by doing test 2 and when the ball is hanging by your side with your arm and hand relax have someone suddenly cup your wrist, the ball should let go of you.

In the modern game no lifting action is required, you should release on to the lane, the ball should let go of you and not the other way around.

If you ask, people here could suggest a good fitter who is closest to where you are. Driving for a couple of hours for a proper fit is truly worth it. Please report back, hope this helps.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

Post by JohnP »

So my PSO is going to plug, redrill and replace the inserts for $30 and all will be well.
I hope you realize your PSO is giving you a great deal, probably in hopes of doing further business with you. At that price he's not making anything for his time. Reward him with more business. When you have your ball redrilled start slowly, no more than 3 or 4 games at a time, to let your hand adapt. -- JohnP
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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JohnP wrote:
I hope you realize your PSO is giving you a great deal, probably in hopes of doing further business with you. At that price he's not making anything for his time. Reward him with more business. When you have your ball redrilled start slowly, no more than 3 or 4 games at a time, to let your hand adapt. -- JohnP
I figured he was, the guy down the street from me said $58 which I thought was steep for two holes. I called the guy I went to years ago and always used. He gave me that price. I wasn't sure if that was "my price" or what he normally charges to redrill two holes. He's a great guy and always did great work for me, he's over an hour away but obviously worth it. Don't worry, fixing this one ball is only the start. I have one more to fix. Then my son, wife and daughter all want a balls, bags and shoes. They will all need supplies, towels ect. Plus my bag is completely shot, my supplies are old and crappy or gone not even a towel. I would like to start fresh with a new arsenal of 3 balls before fall. So all that said.... I don't think he needs to worry about getting more business from me, it's written in stone.

As far as the ball fit, no worries about me bowling too much too quick. I'm dropping off the ball Saturday and probably picking it up mid week. That will give my hand some time to get back to normal, it's still quite stiff and annoyingly achy. That way when the ball is done I should be pain free again. I'll probably only shoot 1 game with it to check it out and 2-3 games with my son the following weekend. It's gonna be a while before I binge bowl 20 games in a day.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

Post by TomaHawk »

It is kind of difficult to phantom that any pro shop would be that far off.

Just curious, back when, did you only put half your thumb in the ball?
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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TomaHawk wrote:It is kind of difficult to phantom that any pro shop would be that far off.

Just curious, back when, did you only put half your thumb in the ball?

No never half way in, always full thumb. I do tuck my pinky but I've done that for as long as I remember. I'd probably break it off if I tried to straighten it. It was something my instructor did when I learned and I adopted it. He never said to do it but I tried it and liked it. That's never caused me any pain and gave me a few more revs and better accuracy.

As far as the pro shop difference, we are talking about the difference between one that thinks more about repeat business than one who you go to once and never see again. I will never use the local guy for any kind of work. I merely went there because he's 5 minutes from me.
I'll give you one better. My guy who I've been using for years called me back today and proposed a better deal. He asked what the weight was on my ball and I told him 16. He said 16's have gone the way of the dinosaur, most use 15's these days. By design they hit hard as 16 and they are easier on the body and you can get a better rev rate. I was surprised to hear this but I trust him. Members on the other board said exactly the same thing. He said he would still fix my 16 if I wanted to but he would give me a comparable reactive ball to the one I have used 15lbs for the same price as he'd charge to fix my other one. I'd be an idiot to not do this. This is a great PSO hands down. I will use him until he retires or I die whichever comes first. Plus he will have a new customer in my son who I'm sure will own many balls in the future. So this weight changes gives me another option. My wife has a 15lb Original black hammer that she can't throw anymore due to back problems. I can take that and polish it and have a nice spare ball. Unless I sand the heck out of it for a urethane option. This would only be a temporary arsenal until I can afford the one I want but I would be in better shape that I would have been otherwise.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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In today’s oil conditions you can even sand the Black Hammer to 500 grit and use it for short sport and as a spare ball. When shooting spares just flatten your release, break your wrist and roll it at any speed at or above 15 mph on the monitor, it will go straight. It is still a great ball. Good to hear you are getting great customer service, that’s the way it should be, spread the word, the guy deserves more business.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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TonyPR wrote:In today’s oil conditions you can even sand the Black Hammer to 500 grit and use it for short sport and as a spare ball. When shooting spares just flatten your release, break your wrist and roll it at any speed at or above 15 mph on the monitor, it will go straight. It is still a great ball. Good to hear you are getting great customer service, that’s the way it should be, spread the word, the guy deserves more business.
500 grit huh, that's doable. I'm gonna put together a ball spinner really soon. I have a nice 1/3hp variable speed motor just laying in the garage doing nothing. I need a couple things to put it all together. That Hammer sounds like a good first ball to do on it. Then again, might as well play around with my 2 16's I have since they aren't gonna see lanes again so I can really play and experiment. I've always been a big fan of Hammer balls. Albeit they were all Faballs then but I've had the Black, Blue, Red, Blue Pearl, Red Pearl and Nail. All of which I did well with back in the day. The Pearls I had the best luck with. When I consider my new arsenal I will most likely go with Hammer balls, which I'm not quite sure yet. Balls aren't quite as straight forward as they used to be nor as cheap. I need to do my research. Although my PSO will probably tell me which would work for me. He already knows how I throw since I've bowled on leagues and many tournaments with him in the past so he'd know more than I.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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That’s great, having a good honest pro shop operator guide you in your ball purchase decisions is very convenient. Hammer makes great balls, I personally like the Rebel series, they have a solid and a pearl that complement each other very well. Both have been on the market for over a year and should sell cheaper than the newer releases. From there you can grow your arsenal with a stronger ball like the Gauntlet and a smoother lighter oil ball like the Blue Vibe. Those 4 balls and your Black Hammer would make a great tournament arsenal.

When sanding bowling balls make sure you use the proper grit abrasive, when I say 500 I mean 500 abralon or siaair pads. If you use sand paper check for the equivalence, there is a chart in the wiki of this forum. There are also many videos available on the web about how to sand a ball properly. 500 will make it read early and that’s what you want urethane to do. If it’s too much you can always go 500-1000 or 500-2000 or 500-1000-2000 for a lesser aggressive reaction.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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Yeah I'm gonna need his help picking balls. Like I said, they aren't straight forward as they used to be. I'm trying to learn about the core differences and specs of all this new stuff but it's an information overload and I'm overwhelmed. There are a lot of new kids on the block who make balls and or company name changes or taken over by others or gone all together. I know nothing about them. I'm not really in the financial position to do a lot of experimentation. Sticking with a single name brand because that's what I am most familiar with probably isn't the smartest way to put together an effective arsenal. That said, if my PSO thinks I should try a non-Hammer branded ball I'd do it. I know he's not gonna sell me a lemon that's been collecting dust just to get rid of it nor hit me for the most expensive one. That would be futile anyway since he knows I'll buy it online and bring it to him to drill anyway LOL

I did want to ask you Tony getting back to my OP with the pain. What do you think about Bill Hall's Tri-grip method? I remember hearing about it before my hiatus, I just never tried it. I assume it's still done these days. You think something like that would be something to try if my pain issues weren't ONLY from my fit on my current ball? The verdict is still out on that one, still gonna see the doc for official answer. I forgot to ask my PSO about the Tri-grip when I talked to him.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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Don’t know much about the tri grip but Joe Slowinski has a fitting method that is known to reduce pain, it is called ADT (Anatomical Drilling Technique). Joe has studied the anatomy of the hand and developed the technique based on how the hand functions. Do a search on ADT here and you will find various threads on it. That said, the most common causes of the pain you described in the op are too long of a span and/or having to grip the ball tightly. Have you done the span test I described above?
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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TonyPR wrote:Don’t know much about the tri grip but Joe Slowinski has a fitting method that is known to reduce pain, it is called ADT (Anatomical Drilling Technique). Joe has studied the anatomy of the hand and developed the technique based on how the hand functions. Do a search on ADT here and you will find various threads on it. That said, the most common causes of the pain you described in the op are too long of a span and/or having to grip the ball tightly. Have you done the span test I described above?
Actually no I haven't done the span test that you described to let the ball drop. Since I had laminate wood floors throughout my home I won't be doing that LOL However it was determined at the PSO that the fit did require me to have to grip the ball with the death grip which started all this. I was just curious in thinking about the different types of grips I remembered that Tri-grip so I figured I'd inquire.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

Post by JohnP »

It's easy to do a quick span check. Put your thumb in its hole and lay your fingers over their holes, not stretched. A proper fingertip span will place the gripping surface of each finger hole half way between the two finger joints. -- JohnP
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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I figured he was, the guy down the street from me said $58 which I thought was steep for two holes.
I thought you were talking about a complete three-hole plug/redrill. That's still a good price, but he will make a little profit for his time. He's right, the great majority of the better bowlers use 15 lb balls, and he's giving you a great option. The only positive to staying with 16 lbs is that you can get some great deals on close-out sales since there's not as much demand. -- JohnP
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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JohnP wrote:
I thought you were talking about a complete three-hole plug/redrill. That's still a good price, but he will make a little profit for his time. He's right, the great majority of the better bowlers use 15 lb balls, and he's giving you a great option. The only positive to staying with 16 lbs is that you can get some great deals on close-out sales since there's not as much demand. -- JohnP
Nope only the two fingers not the thumb. To also do the thumb just to replace the slug and drill that was somewhere in the $90 range, I think 93 or 95 I can't remember. I was only half listening at that point because I knew he wasn't doing it anyway. Considering my regular guy would do just the two fingers for almost half I'll stick with him. He's always apparently gave me great prices which appear to be well below the norm hence my shock hearing this guys price. Since he's giving me a used 15lb reactive ball for the $30 drilling included minus the inserts and slug it would equal the other guys price if I got 2 used reactive balls for what he quoted to do all 3 holes in my old one. This is a no brainer.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

Post by TomaHawk »

Tri Grip and ADT seemed to be a trend for a moment. I haven't heard of anyone in our area utilizing those drilling techniques in awhile.
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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TomaHawk wrote:Tri Grip and ADT seemed to be a trend for a moment. I haven't heard of anyone in our area utilizing those drilling techniques in awhile.
From what I read the Tri grip is very comfortable, easy on the hand and gives can give you as much as 30% more revs. I don't know enough to even be dangerous about it so I'm gonna throw it at my PSO and see what he recommends. I've never heard of ADT other than the alarm system =)
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Re: Lesson learned the hard way

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UPDATE: So I went to the doc for a checkup and had him look at my hand. They did an x-ray and as it turns out it's not arthritis. What it is, is a detachment of a bone in the middle of my hand on my pinky finger. So it's actually a fracture. Plus there some soft tissue damage to the right of it more toward the center of my hand. I have to go to a specialist for corrective surgery. Who would have thought? On the upside, when this is fixed it will be 100% and will be able to bowl. Funny thing is I have bowled since this post but I packed some tape in the thumb to secure my grip and changed the inserts and it didn't hurt afterward. Odd that I've been walking around bowling and I changed the bearing assembly on our Tahoe the other day loosening bolts that were 170 ft lbs and I didn't even know it. The pain hasn't went away since I bowled before this post but it hasn't been horrible. I seen the x-ray's and you can see it plain as day. Now to be clear this was NOT caused by bowling! The only time my hand got injured was over a year ago when this buffoon where I worked slammed into with the bottom of an extension ladder taking it off a truck. I never went to have it looked at, like any other boo-boo I sucked it up and moved on. Funny how things go isn't it?
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