hitting up or "fingering" the ball at release.

In the old days hittig up or lifting up at release point was the norm. But now, many

coaches teach not to do this at release. Rather to let the ball roll off the hand.

But again, there are those who still believe in this method of hitting up.

It's just interesting to know what you guys/gals think.....

To hit up or not to hit up....or do both.....

White line is your arm swing if you don’t create a flat spot at the bottom (the old school following through toward the ceiling). Do it and you'll most likely will be hitting up on the ball.

Black line is creating the flat spot (following through toward the pins), This does not mean to cut your follow-through off abruptly, just don’t jerk up with it as the ball leaves the hand.

A great thread guys a question about the example: "Black line is creating the flat spot" to have this outcome (flat spot) do you then release the ball just a second later???  and in doing this does it make a bowler lean forward to much??

Thanks, JustRico!

I can now understand a little more of what y'all talking bout. But when I try imagine the so call flat spot I can only see the only way is to get lower and throw. Or throwing a yo yo I suppose.

4. Release the ball with my fingers directed no higher than the pins.

What does that mean exactly?
After the release your fingers should not be aimed/pointed in a direction above the tops of the pins?  Or are you saying the hand should not follow through higher than the pin tops?

When I was working with Hall, I concentrated on 4 things. 1. Keep the swing as loose and as gravity-driven as possible 2. Concentrate on getting my bowling hand below knee level at release 3. Keep grip pressure to a minimum 4. Release the ball with my fingers directed no higher than the pins. After many practice sessions, I was able to
"program" my muscle memory so that after a while, it became automatic. Well, not quite, but close. There are still times when I  will occasionally revert to hitting up on the ball, or I will try to add muscle into my swing and the results will show in decreased ball action, flat 10's, etc. Old habits do die hard but the more you practice it, the easier it is to do. The difference is worth the effort.

As a postscript, Hall said that when you deploy a gravity driven swing, the weight of the ball gets transferred to the legs, where most of you power should come from.. For me, it
helped me to get lower without having to really think about it. I never knew I had
muscles in my legs--lol. I had been  using muscles in my upper body to carry and steer the ball instead of letting gravity do most of the work.

Best of luck!!

Great response. I worked with Mike at the USBC Open Championships and he stated how important it was to take the muscle out of the swing, something I struggle with. Is there any advice or thoughts anyone might have as to the best way to practice "taking muscle out of the swing"?

You mentioned it has a lot to do with the legs. I feel as though I use my legs a lot in my game, however, my head has a tendency to jump up through the follow through,  a tell-tell sign that there was muscle involved. Also, my hand tends to rotate a split second too early, another sign of muscle.

I have been working on this for months and my own video analysis does not seem to show any improvement. Thus, any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Hello MTBowler:

For me, the keys for developing a gravity-driven swing rests on the following:

1. The grip
   
It is very difficult to have a free swing unless you feel secure with your grip.
    My thumb pitches and span had to be modified to allow me to swing the
    ball with minimal grip pressure. Too much "squeeze" causes the muscles
    in your bowling arm to tighten, hindering a free flowing swing. Even with
    the proper pitches and span, it is necessary for me to use bowlers tape
    at times to accommodate changes in thumb size. A proper fit is important
    whether your are an old school stroker (like myself) or you are a contemporary
    power player, although it is more important for strokers, who are more on the side
    of the ball and for those who utilize "early turn".  The amount of thumb bevel also plays
    a big role. Too much bevel will cause the ball to fall off the hand too early. The
    amount of bevel, pitches and span will differ from bowler to bowler of course.

2. Stance:

    Developing a free swing starts here for me. I always make sure to place
    the weight of the ball in my opposite hand (left hand) in the stance. I want
    the muscles in my bowling (right arm) to be free of any tension.

3. Pushaway

    On my pushaway step, I "push" the ball outward with my left hand. My bowling
    arm simply goes for the ride. There is no "push" with my bowling arm.

 4. Backswing

    As I begin the ball's descent into the backswing, I concentrate on keeping
    the muscles in my bowling shoulder completely relaxed while maintaining
    minimal grip pressure with the ball. In my opinion, this is the point in the
    approach where it is most easiest to deploy unwanted grip pressure. This
    is another reason why a proper ball fit is important. From this point until
    the point of release, I want to keep my bowling shoulder as relaxed as
    possible.

5. Downswing and Release

   As I begin my slide, I focus on just letting the ball descend up to the release point
   on its own---by gravity. This is critical,  and this is also the point where a lot
   of bowlers will try to "rush" the delivery by using muscle to pull the ball down
   from the top of the backswing. Again, this is important especially for those
   bowlers who "stroke" the ball and who tend to be on the side of the ball.
   Power players usually have a little more leeway and can often get by with
   early (downswing) acceleration but even for them, letting gravity do the work
   is usually the best way to repeat good shots.

6. Release

   Once the ball has descended to the point just before my slide ankle, the thumb
   exits the ball. If you have a proper ball fit and if you do not accelerate the ball
   on the downswing, the thumb will more readily come out of the ball on its own.
   At the point where my thumb exits the ball, I will lightly accelerate the ball with my
   fingers directed towards the breakpoint  My follow through actually ends up being
   higher simply due to the natural momentum created by the gravity-driven
   downswing and the light hand acceleration at release.
 
You also mentioned your head movement and that you prematurely turn the ball.
Without actually seeing you bowl, there can be many reasons for these things to occur. Excessive head movement can be the result of your step gait. Taking too
large of steps can cause excessive head movement. Excessively varying your forward and lateral spine tilts can also be a cause. Too big of a pushaway (or too little) can be another reason for excessive head movement.  Many times it is caused by
the bowler "leading the ball" in a downward motion with their shoulders as
the ball is descending into the backswing (the step following the pushaway step) .
If you use a traditional pushaway as I do, it is imperative that as you begin your
swing, the shoulders should not drop forward as the ball descends towards the floor.
As you proceed past this point, your shoulders will (or should) naturally tilt more.
This is not as critical for those who use a hinge-type of release, who often tilt
forward at this point in order to generate a backswing by actually using some muscle to "pull" the ball up .

As for your early turn, this too can be the result of many things too numerous to mention. It can be caused by rolling the elbow out, trying to "work" the ball in order
to create a desired motion, improper foot-to-swing alignment, bad fit, etc etc.

You are on the right rack in trying to find constructive ways to improve your game.

My suggestion is to try and locate a competent instructor in your area to have look
at your game. Even if you cannot find one in your immediate are and you have to
travel to see one, it can be worth its weight in gold.

My very best wishes to you!

The 4 points Bergman got from Bill Hall are absolutely as good as it gets.