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Date: 09 Feb 2009 08:20:17
From:
Subject: Screwed by a bad follow-through
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I had a terrible practice session last night, but at least I learned
something that might help me next time around. When it comes to my
weak ball roll, I don't think the type of grip I'm using is the main
culprit after all. I realize now that it's probably my follow-through.
You see, some time back, I was offered the advice "You're not
following through! Your hand should end up behind your ear!"
Unfortunately, I took this a bit too literally and went on to develop
a "starting the lawnmower" follow-through, hitting up on the ball,
lifting with my elbow. Last night, there were two ladies bowling on
the pair next to me, and an old man bowling on my pair, and all of
them were getting a nicer roll than I was despite seeming to expend
much less effort. They were using conventional, like I was, so they
weren't getting a ton of revs, but it was "enough."
As I drove home afterward, my elbow hurting like a sonofabitch, I
thought back to a decent (for me) series I shot in league a couple of
weeks ago, and suddenly it all clicked. On that night, I was focusing
on keeping my hand behind the ball and getting it down the lane with
decent speed. I was NOT thinking about lift or follow-through, so I
wasn't hitting up. If anything, I must have been hitting out toward
the pins. My ball carried pretty well that night and my elbow didn't
hurt the next day!
Looking at it in physical terms, if there's a mass on the end of your
arm and it's accelerating forward in a particular arc, if you yank up
on it and suddenly change the vector of its motion, you are wasting a
lot of its forward momentum and causing a hell of a strain on your
arm, since the weight of the ball is effectively multiplied by its
forward acceleration. In a way, it's like stopping the forward swing
rather than aiding it. That's why my roll would get weaker the harder
I hit up on it. I was perplexed at first, but now it all makes perfect
sense.
So, the next time I bowl, I'll think out instead of up. My elbow will
not bend until after the ball has left my hand. Am I on the right
track, guys?
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Date: 09 Feb 2009 19:36:37
From: Darlene Block
Subject: Re: Screwed by a bad follow-through
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Sounds good to me. It used to be right to hit up on the ball, but not any
more. And a bent arm is begging for pain.
Dar
<electronic_dave@hotmail.com > wrote ...
>I had a terrible practice session last night, but at least I learned
> something that might help me next time around. When it comes to my
> weak ball roll, I don't think the type of grip I'm using is the main
> culprit after all. I realize now that it's probably my follow-through.
>
> You see, some time back, I was offered the advice "You're not
> following through! Your hand should end up behind your ear!"
> Unfortunately, I took this a bit too literally and went on to develop
> a "starting the lawnmower" follow-through, hitting up on the ball,
> lifting with my elbow. Last night, there were two ladies bowling on
> the pair next to me, and an old man bowling on my pair, and all of
> them were getting a nicer roll than I was despite seeming to expend
> much less effort. They were using conventional, like I was, so they
> weren't getting a ton of revs, but it was "enough."
>
> As I drove home afterward, my elbow hurting like a sonofabitch, I
> thought back to a decent (for me) series I shot in league a couple of
> weeks ago, and suddenly it all clicked. On that night, I was focusing
> on keeping my hand behind the ball and getting it down the lane with
> decent speed. I was NOT thinking about lift or follow-through, so I
> wasn't hitting up. If anything, I must have been hitting out toward
> the pins. My ball carried pretty well that night and my elbow didn't
> hurt the next day!
>
> Looking at it in physical terms, if there's a mass on the end of your
> arm and it's accelerating forward in a particular arc, if you yank up
> on it and suddenly change the vector of its motion, you are wasting a
> lot of its forward momentum and causing a hell of a strain on your
> arm, since the weight of the ball is effectively multiplied by its
> forward acceleration. In a way, it's like stopping the forward swing
> rather than aiding it. That's why my roll would get weaker the harder
> I hit up on it. I was perplexed at first, but now it all makes perfect
> sense.
>
> So, the next time I bowl, I'll think out instead of up. My elbow will
> not bend until after the ball has left my hand. Am I on the right
> track, guys?
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Date: 09 Feb 2009 12:46:01
From: Dave Allen
Subject: Re: Screwed by a bad follow-through
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I'm no expert but I was taught that the arm is like a pendulum and they
don't bend n the middle . So probably yes.
electronic_dave@hotmail.com wrote:
> I had a terrible practice session last night, but at least I learned
> something that might help me next time around. When it comes to my
> weak ball roll, I don't think the type of grip I'm using is the main
> culprit after all. I realize now that it's probably my follow-through.
>
> You see, some time back, I was offered the advice "You're not
> following through! Your hand should end up behind your ear!"
> Unfortunately, I took this a bit too literally and went on to develop
> a "starting the lawnmower" follow-through, hitting up on the ball,
> lifting with my elbow. Last night, there were two ladies bowling on
> the pair next to me, and an old man bowling on my pair, and all of
> them were getting a nicer roll than I was despite seeming to expend
> much less effort. They were using conventional, like I was, so they
> weren't getting a ton of revs, but it was "enough."
>
> As I drove home afterward, my elbow hurting like a sonofabitch, I
> thought back to a decent (for me) series I shot in league a couple of
> weeks ago, and suddenly it all clicked. On that night, I was focusing
> on keeping my hand behind the ball and getting it down the lane with
> decent speed. I was NOT thinking about lift or follow-through, so I
> wasn't hitting up. If anything, I must have been hitting out toward
> the pins. My ball carried pretty well that night and my elbow didn't
> hurt the next day!
>
> Looking at it in physical terms, if there's a mass on the end of your
> arm and it's accelerating forward in a particular arc, if you yank up
> on it and suddenly change the vector of its motion, you are wasting a
> lot of its forward momentum and causing a hell of a strain on your
> arm, since the weight of the ball is effectively multiplied by its
> forward acceleration. In a way, it's like stopping the forward swing
> rather than aiding it. That's why my roll would get weaker the harder
> I hit up on it. I was perplexed at first, but now it all makes perfect
> sense.
>
> So, the next time I bowl, I'll think out instead of up. My elbow will
> not bend until after the ball has left my hand. Am I on the right
> track, guys?
>
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