How to Get Thumb Out of Bowling Ball Faster?

One of my biggest fear when I first started bowling was not being able to take my thumb out of the thumb hole on time. Did it happen to you when you first started bowling? Many of us faced it or still are facing this problem. What’s the solution to that? There are a few reasons why bowlers can’t get their thumbs out on time. I will mention them all here. So if you’re interested to know how to get your thumb out of a bowling ball faster, stay tuned!

Effective ways to Get Thumb Out of Bowling Ball

Every time I get a bowler student who is trying to learn to exit their thumb out of the ball neatly, I start to worry. That’s because it is one of the hardest things to teach. The sport of bowling is so much about visualizing and predicting things even before it happens. To make your thumb exit cleanly, you have to keep it in the hole long enough to produce a high rev rate. Gaining a decent rev rate is all about how fast your thumb comes out compared to your fingers and the quickness at the bottom of your swing. 

The most essential component of being a good bowler is having consistency. As a one-handed bowler, you need to have a standard grip with your bowling fingers and thumb and make the thumb exit neatly and quickly. Doesn’t matter if your wrist position is cupped, straight, or broken, the thumb needs to get out of the thumb hole in relevance to your feet sliding.

The creation of the extra spin is all about how fast your thumb gets out of the ball compared to your fingers. This means your bowling fingers need to stay in the drilled holes longer than your thumb does. When you get all of the fingers at the same time, you will see how the ball barely spins as it rolls down the lane. As a result, you will have less ball speed followed by low energy.

Remember your thumb gets out of the drilled hole first and then your middle and ring fingers. The pressure coming from your fingers will give the bowling ball a push and by exiting the thumb on time, you enable the ball to roll high at a high rev rate and speed.

So is there any other factor that contributes to a successful thumb exit during ball release? Yes, the way your wrist hinges at the exact moment your hand lets go of the ball affects the length of the skid. So make your choice on your wrist position, and release your ball quickly and as smoothly as possible. Try to maintain the same distance of loft over the lane’s foul line every time.

The key to accomplishing this task is to make sure you apply the same amount of gripping pressure with your fingers and thumb onto your ball every time you deliver it. Most bowlers like to use a bit more pressure with their fingers than they do with their thumbs. You can practice that repeatedly to achieve consistency. Doing that will make your hand let go of the ball as close to the exact time on each shot. The beneficial factors of doing that are you will have the best control over your ball’s skid and its overall reaction.

Another trick I like to follow to deliver the ball neatly is to key the thumb exit near the top of your backswing. When you are doing this, let the forces of gravity do their work and make the ball drop into the downswing with an “almost equal” degree of forward thrust every time. The advantage of this technique is that you are likely to force your ball release infrequently, so, you will have more control over your ball speed. One thing you can never forget is that all of these efforts in this sport are about getting the perfect ball reaction, and to get the thumb out on time swiftly is the best way to fulfill that goal.

Is there any way to make the thumb exit faster when the thumb hole is big?

Here’s what you can do to make the thumb release faster. To do that, you have to bend the knuckle of your thumb a little on the inside of the hole. This is gonna impair a clean and fast thumb exit. When a bowler needs to do this, it’s usually because the drilled hole is too big for their thumbs. As a result, they tend to squeeze the bowling ball and use the bent thumb knuckle to prohibit the ball from slipping off. Thankfully, if you have a well-fitted thumb hole, you don’t have to use this method. Honestly, it can be really painful for some bowlers. 

Remember to repeat the shot in a similar fashion. Once you learn to do it repeatedly, your axis rotation and tilt will be very close on all the shots. This method is the best way to get skilled in bowling as you learn to be consistent with your ball-throwing style and ball reaction.

Conclusion

Are you failing to get the thumb out of the hole faster? Trust me, all you need are practice and patience. Instead of throwing the ball again and again, break it down and only practice the ball release part. You can do it at home with an old bowling ball, over your couch, or from one hand to another. Trust the process and gradually enhance your skill. For now, I wish you nothing but good luck. See you later, my fellow bowlers!