Since getting back into bowling in Dec. 2013 I've been bowling pretty much non-stop.  Went straight from fall/winter league into summer league then back into this most recent fall/winter league, which finished up last night and I've never had the problem I encountered last night.  Got to the bowling alley, got my balls out of the bag and it was like someone had switched balls on me.  My thumb wouldn't hardly fit in either ball.  My spare ball was okay, but I sure didn't want to bowl all night with it!!  Tried "working" the thumb hole with a paper towel as suggested by another bowler and it maybe helped a little, but basically I had to keep powder on my thumb all night but it never did feel right and continued to stick.  Actually managed to have a pretty decent night (219, 209, 212) but at the same time it was aggravating to think that I might've had an even better night if the ball hadn't been sticking. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one this has ever happened to, but like I said, it's the first time it's ever happened to me.  So what's the best remedy/cure when at the last minute you realize your ball doesn't fit???     

Thanks!!

I just had thumb slugs put in 2 of my ball last night...much better for me, gonna swap them all out now.

That's what's kinda strange/interesting.  All my balls have thumb slugs except my spare ball and it was the only one that fit.... 

And yes, opening the thumbhole slightly larger and using tape as needed is a solution, but what if that's not an option at the time???

There is no option, if you want to bowl.
A general rule of thumb is that the thumb hole MUST be big enough to fit your thumb when it is at it largest. When it's smaller, you adjust the thumb hole with tape.

Your thumb and other extremities are usually their largest in the morning, in hot and/or humid weather, when you've eaten a lot of salty food, and when you have had one or more beers. Also, if you bowl for 15 - 30 minutes (or more) and then stop for 15 or more minutes, the friction of having bowled will often cause your thumb to swell up after you've stopped for a while, like when your lanes break down and you have to move to a new pair.

Quote from: abcarr on May 08, 2015, 09:27:02 AM

That's what's kinda strange/interesting.  All my balls have thumb slugs except my spare ball and it was the only one that fit.... 

And yes, opening the thumbhole slightly larger and using tape as needed is a solution, but what if that's not an option at the time???

There is no option, if you want to bowl.
A general rule of thumb is that the thumb hole MUST be big enough to fit your thumb when it is at it largest. When it's smaller, you adjust the thumb hole with tape.

Your thumb and other extremities are usually their largest in the morning, in hot and/or humid weather, when you've eaten a lot of salty food, and when you have had one or more beers. Also, if you bowl for 15 - 30 minutes (or more) and then stop for 15 or more minutes, the friction of having bowled will often cause your thumb to swell up after you've stopped for a while, like when your lanes break down and you have to move to a new pair.

Okay, that's kinda what I thought.  It just seems odd that in a year and a half of bowling and all types of weather extremes (and in the St. Louis area it's a standing joke that if you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes and it'll change) I've never had this problem.  Was also trying to think of what I might have eaten to cause this. 

As for Pocket Smashers reply, I hadn't thought of Chapstick. 

I guess I'll plan a trip to the bowling alley for open play when I know the pro shop is open then have my thumb holes checked (and drilled out a little) after I've bowled a few games. 

Thanks!!

So what's the best remedy/cure when at the last minute you realize your ball doesn't fit???     

Emergency options:

1- Powder (Easy slide, Talc, etc.)

2- Chapstick

3- Rub thumb with a piece of soapstone.

4- Take a thin handkerchief or similar piece of cloth and place it over your thumb. Then shove your covered thumb into your thumb hole and leave there for as long as you can. Then take out when ready to bowl, This compress's the thumb and it will be temporarily smaller.

5- Raise you hand up for as long as you can, it will let the fluids drain out of your hand.

6- Get a cup of ice and place your thumb in it (remember to dry it off before bowling).

I would use chapstick as THE last resort.  I can imagine it would be difficult to get it all out of the thumb hole.

I have heard of people wrapping their thumb with a dollar bill and putting that in the hole for a while.  Thumb will shrink to a size smaller than the thumb hole (because of the wrap).  Aloarjr810 stated as much above.  His ideas are what I have heard of and used.

Why do you have to wait for a pro shop to open your thumbholes?  Any properly equipped ball bag should have bowlers tape, vinyl tape, and sand paper in it.  Take some fine grit paper, place in hole, put finger on paper, and move paper in hole.  All a pro shop will do is mount his paper on a drill motor and make a couple of passes to open the hole.  Do it right and you should only have to remove or replace one tape strip to make it fit.  I am lucky that unless it is extremely hot and sticky out, my thumb doesn't grow much. 
Take ownership of the fit of your thumbholes and do it yourself.

I carry a pre drilled thumb insert in my pocket that is 2/3 sizes too small for my thumb and keep jamming my thumb into it between shots. Sometimes I need to put powder in the inset to get in in(occasionally in high humidity) Same principle as wrapping it in a handkerchief.
Also you could look into trying thumb socks.

I used to do that when ever I had thumb sticking problems. For what ever reason, the past year I didn't have as many thumb sticking problems and ever since going to the Joe Slowinski ADT grip, my thumb sticking problems have been ZERO. Haven't stuck a single time .... yet.