Bill Hall Tri-Grip

This forum is for topics related to pro shop operation and bowling center maintenance.
Usual topics include: shop gear, fitting, drilling and lane maintenance.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
dougb
Member
Member
Posts: 52
Joined: January 24th, 2012, 5:32 am
Positive Axis Point: 4 3/8 away and 1/16 up
Speed: 12
Heavy Oil Ball: Roto Grip SD-73
Medium Oil Ball: Brunswick Massive Damage
Light Oil Ball: Faball Norm Duke Hammer
Preferred Company: Brunswick
Location: Oakland, CA

Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by dougb »

I received a question about this fit from a user here so I thought I'd post this feedback on Bill's new system that I put up on another site. I should qualify that unlike most of the people here I am no expert on anything related to bowling and don't know my precise stats (rotation, tilt, revs) outside of my PAP and my style (lower revs/speed stroker). So here it is for what it's worth!

I'm about a month into trying Bill Hall's new Tri-Grip fitting system and I can say decisively this is the best thing I've done for my game in a long time.

I've been bowling for about 5-6 years now. I was originally fitted by a decent pro shop and later switched to a new shop who didn't check my fit but did switch me to what he said was a Collier Grip, which I really liked. I had periodic release issues with my ball hanging up on my thumb some times and going over the top. He looked at the calluses on my thumb and changed my thumb pitch, which worked well. But occasionally my thumb still hung up and my shot was killed.

I switched to another shop and was completely refitted using the Wikifit system, including the Morich fitting tubes. My span was shortened and my pitches changed and I saw an immediate 15-pin bump in my game. I had never noticed the shoulder pain I had or how much I was muscling the ball. But still I felt like my thumb wasn't always getting a clean release.

Finally, about a month or two later Bill Hall came to that shop and he laid out a Brunswick Ringer for me using the measurements from the WikiFit. At first I had a hard time completely relaxing my hand, wrist, and arm, because this ball literally fit like a glove. All of my release issues were gone as the ball came cleanly off my thumb at the bottom of the swing, shot after shot. I am an up-the-back-of-the-ball bowler with a lot of forward roll and Bill increased my axis rotation, effortlessly giving me angles to the pocket I had to force before.

If there was any doubt in my mind about paying the money to switch over my other equipment, I went to the lanes last week for practice and threw 11 in a row, and this after countless 4, 5, and 6-baggers with this ball. It was unlimited bowling so I didn't enter my name, hence I have no idea what sort of scores I was posting. Sorry to FIGJAM here, it's only to say this average bowler is really liking this fit.

Here's a pic of the ball. I don't think you can really see anything except the finger inserts are tilted toward my CLT and the ring finger appears dropped. I offer up a pic of my Aura by comparison, which used the WikiFit system. Bill didn't share what he was doing with me, but he didn't look at my hand at all -- he just went off my measurements. And he didn't use a ProSect when he laid it out, only a little ruler and a grease pencil. He said he spent a few years studying kinesiology and other fitting systems when he developed this.

I highly recommend anyone having release issues to track down one of the shops on this list and try it out: http://billhallbowling.com/index.php?id ... roller=cms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
ballspoint
Member
Member
Posts: 300
Joined: August 3rd, 2011, 4:44 am
Speed: 20 mph off the hand
Rev Rate: 250
Axis Tilt: 11
Axis Rotation: 70

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by ballspoint »

dougb, i have problems getting my thumb right, hanging on, dragging...how is your thumb feeling now? do you still need adjusting with tape, or is this new drilling make it feel right? is the span longer, are the advertised pressure points there?
R/H, 20 mph off hand. 250 Revs.
11* Tilt. 70* Rotation. 5 5/8 x 1"up
User avatar
dougb
Member
Member
Posts: 52
Joined: January 24th, 2012, 5:32 am
Positive Axis Point: 4 3/8 away and 1/16 up
Speed: 12
Heavy Oil Ball: Roto Grip SD-73
Medium Oil Ball: Brunswick Massive Damage
Light Oil Ball: Faball Norm Duke Hammer
Preferred Company: Brunswick
Location: Oakland, CA

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by dougb »

ballspoint wrote:dougb, i have problems getting my thumb right, hanging on, dragging...how is your thumb feeling now? do you still need adjusting with tape, or is this new drilling make it feel right? is the span longer, are the advertised pressure points there?
My thumb feels great. I still need some white tape, depending on the size of my thumb that day -- and I don't expect any grip could change that. But I don't need any thumb tape/HADA patches on top of my thumb anymore to aid in a smooth exit from the hole.
ballspoint
Member
Member
Posts: 300
Joined: August 3rd, 2011, 4:44 am
Speed: 20 mph off the hand
Rev Rate: 250
Axis Tilt: 11
Axis Rotation: 70

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by ballspoint »

dougb wrote: My thumb feels great. I still need some white tape, depending on the size of my thumb that day -- and I don't expect any grip could change that. But I don't need any thumb tape/HADA patches on top of my thumb anymore to aid in a smooth exit from the hole.
so how major where the changes to your grip to make it so make better/relaxed?
the pic supplied shows your ring finger at quite a different direction away from your thumb.
sorry for all the questions, just interested how it changed for you, and is it worthwhile for me. cheers.
R/H, 20 mph off hand. 250 Revs.
11* Tilt. 70* Rotation. 5 5/8 x 1"up
User avatar
dougb
Member
Member
Posts: 52
Joined: January 24th, 2012, 5:32 am
Positive Axis Point: 4 3/8 away and 1/16 up
Speed: 12
Heavy Oil Ball: Roto Grip SD-73
Medium Oil Ball: Brunswick Massive Damage
Light Oil Ball: Faball Norm Duke Hammer
Preferred Company: Brunswick
Location: Oakland, CA

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by dougb »

ballspoint wrote: so how major where the changes to your grip to make it so make better/relaxed?
the pic supplied shows your ring finger at quite a different direction away from your thumb.
sorry for all the questions, just interested how it changed for you, and is it worthwhile for me. cheers.
I don't think my span changed. According to my driller, what changed was how he layed out the fingers and thumb. I wish I could provide more details. I can only say that everyone out here who tried it pretty much immediately converted their arsenals. It is that good.
User avatar
odddood
Member
Member
Posts: 179
Joined: February 10th, 2010, 6:42 am
THS Average: 200
Positive Axis Point: 4 1/2 and 0
Speed: 16 mph
Rev Rate: 300
Axis Tilt: 20
Axis Rotation: 45
Heavy Oil Ball: Vivid /Rex
Medium Oil Ball: Yeti
Light Oil Ball: IQ Tour
Preferred Company: Radical / Motive / Storm
Location: So Cal
Contact:

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by odddood »

ballspoint wrote: so how major where the changes to your grip to make it so make better/relaxed?
the pic supplied shows your ring finger at quite a different direction away from your thumb.
sorry for all the questions, just interested how it changed for you, and is it worthwhile for me. cheers.

Span stay the same Thumb and Finger pitch changes. If you do not have an issue you do not need this :) It does make the ball lighter
agrobmei
Member
Member
Posts: 6
Joined: July 19th, 2010, 7:57 pm
Preferred Company: 900 global

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by agrobmei »

It looks a lot like a CLT layout to me.

I wonder how you would drill that if finger inserts were not being used? I would guess that oval fingers would be out of the question?

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index. ... CTIONS.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
J_w73
Member
Member
Posts: 915
Joined: January 19th, 2010, 12:53 am
THS Average: 210
Positive Axis Point: 4 3/4" over 1/4" up
Speed: 17 mph
Axis Tilt: 17
Axis Rotation: 45+
Heavy Oil Ball: Idol, Show-off
Medium Oil Ball: Venom Shock, Rhodman,
Light Oil Ball: Phobia, White Hot Badger
Location: Northern California

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by J_w73 »

I had a ball punched up with the Bill Hall tri-grip method. Measuring the ball after it was drilled I found that the lateral finger pitches ended up being about 3/16 left of what was spec'd on my drill sheet. When I measure the pitches on my CLT they almost match what was on my spec sheet. I also learned that the standard oval degree is 60 deg if your thumb is spec'd at 45 deg with the mo rich fitting technique. Spans on the drill and on the spec sheet did not change. The thumb pitch looked like it went from a spec of 1/2 rt, 7/16 reverse to 5/8 right, and 3/8 reverse. It almost looks like the thumb pitches were drilled on a line from the thumb through the middle finger. When I measure there I seem to get the 1/2 right and 7/16 reverse. The driller did align the inserts along my CLT. The feel of the ball is alright and came off my hand pretty well with minimal bevel. I've been through so many grips though that it just feels like one of the many grips I have tried. Nothing too special. I don't know if I am a fan of the lateral finger pitches as I get pretty far inside on the ball and this seems to put a lot of stress on the right sided of my fingers and nails. Primarily my middle finger. I can't give much info on the roll or reaction because I had a spare ball punched up. So that is my synopsis of what I found. If anyone can make anything out of it please send your input. If you have any more questions for me, let me know.
Right Handed, 16-17 mph off hand (14 -15 mph on Qubica reading) ,350 rpm,PAP 4 3/4 x 1/4 up, 17 deg axis tilt, varied rotational axis deg.. usually 45+
Book Average 210+
Crazy299
Member
Member
Posts: 1
Joined: August 10th, 2013, 12:46 am
Preferred Company: storm

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by Crazy299 »

Hi everyone, this is my first time on this chat site. I am a hobbyist with all the drilling equipment at home. I always try to get a better, I am left handed and have turtle speed (12.8) with too much revs. Last year I decided to try and bowl the entire year with reactive resin balls. My average dropped 15 pins. I am determined to stick with reactive balls. I looked at the Tri-grip ball and I have also looked at the CLT grip, thanks to bowl@big-d.net for the fitting instructions. I plugged a few balls and threw them yesterday. It was amazing! I have been longing for a comfortable fit for ages. The CLT grip looks like the Tri-grip, I can't say for sure. But the fit is amazing. I normally use 1/8R on my middle finger and 7/16L on my ring finger. I tried 5/16R and 5/16L respectively on the finger holes without any issues, I also went 1/4 reverse on both fingers. The ball releases smoothly off my hand and the roll has changed significantly for the better. My thumb is 1/2 reverse, zero side, with the double bevel on it. I entered this information because of people like Mo Pinel and all the others who give out valuable information for free. I love the MOtion hole on my bowling balls, thanks MO.
learnmore
Pro Shop
Pro Shop
Posts: 139
Joined: March 10th, 2011, 11:33 pm

Re: Bill Hall Tri-Grip

Post by learnmore »

i drill oval fingers for myself using the bill hall tri-grip, it can be done
Post Reply