Quick question. About 4 or 5 months back, I switched from reverse pitch in the thumb to forward pitch (now at +3/16 after trying up to as much as +5/16; reverse pitch before was -3/16). I did that because despite a fairly long time bowling, I still had a tendency to drop the ball a bit early.
After making the change, the release seems to have improved: less muscling, etc. And I can't complain too much because soon after the change I got my first 300 in practice, and then last month my first 300 in league (though luck certainly was a factor in both of those). Average is up I guess around 10 pins to 205 or so.
However, in the past few weeks, I've started to feel tremendous pressure on my thumbnail. Clearly, that part of the thumb is taking on more of the weight of a 16 pound ball, or so I would figure. I've tried with and without various wrist guards, and without a guard tends to feel a bit better, though not great.
Other relevant facts: span was not changed (somewhat relaxed), nor were left/right pitch; oval angle was changed from 35 degrees to 20 degrees, which eliminated rubbing on right side of thumb. Oh yes, right-handed bowler.
So, any thoughts besides the obvious, which would appear to be moving back to a reverse pitch? One of my pro-shop guys figures it's because my thumb is not completely exiting before I start to lift up on the ball, causing my thumb nail to take most of the weight just prior to release. However, he also says it may not be necessary to change pitch, with the winter weather possibly affecting thumb size and, therefore, the release. Besides that, keep in mind that the pressure seems more extreme when using a guard, when of course a guard helps produce an earlier thumb exit.
So, is this a drilling issue? Just a temporary weather issue? Something funky with the release? Would appreciate any thoughts.
Merry Christmas!
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Wildcard
"An unpredictable or unforeseeable factor"
(American Heritage Dictionary)
In reference to my scoring
