Grab And Fire Your Bowling Ball

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 1/19/2015; Updated: 7/6/2022

If you are a bowler who drops the ball behind the foul line and if you do not have a good deal of hand strength, then you may be one who would benefit if you grab and fire your bowling ball.

Bowlers have been taught for years to not squeeze their bowling balls but rather use a light gripping pressure in the fingers and thumb holes.

If your pro shop professional fits your hand properly and drills your bowling ball with for a snug grip, you do not have to squeeze the ball while swinging and making your delivery.

That works with 90% of bowlers. If you have good gripping strength, then you do not need to squeeze your bowling ball to get the ball over the foul line consistently and to keep up good ball speed.

If, however, you are one of those bowlers who has little hand strength and your release technique promotes dropping the ball on the approach floor before your ball clears the foul line and lands on the lane surface, then you are likely going to benefit from squeezing the ball and making an aggressive swing and an accelerated follow through motion.

In doing so, you will propel the ball over the foul line and gain consistent ball speed and skid distance control, both of which will give you greater impact with the pins.

It pays to work with an experienced instructor who can help you determine just how much gripping pressure your hand should apply to the gripping holes in your bowling ball.

With some experimentation under the guidance of a coach, you can improve your technique and pinpoint exactly how much you should squeeze your bowling ball.

You must also pinpoint precisely when to release the ball so it clears the foul line and lands onto the lane surface.

There are many senior bowlers or slight framed, physical weak individuals who simply do not have the raw hand strength to get sufficient ball and swing speeds to deliver the ball properly.

You would not be alone if you are one of these players. It will surprise you how many bowlers have a weak grip and drop the ball and are unaware they are doing so.

The remedy is to grip your ball with plenty of gripping pressure as to almost feel as though you are squeezing the ball nearly as hard as possible.



Next, make your backswing as swift as you can and then accelerate your forward swing to delay letting the ball go until your hand reaches the toe of your sliding bowling shoe.

This easy technique can help you gain more speed and avoid dropping the ball and stifling effective ball skid, even though your relative strength is less than most bowlers.

Since most one thing is a relative comparison to another thing, the “squeezing effect” on the bowling ball throughout your swing cycle and delivery motion can be improved if you lack the necessary gripping power at the present time.

If you know you are losing the battle and are dropping your ball too soon onto the approach floor, then grab and fire your bowling ball. It can be fun and effective to attack the pins and gain a consistent ball reaction at the same time.