Drilling without a thumb hole
Question:	Hi Bob, I used to bowl with my thumb until I pulled a tendon in my hand. I have bowled 2x300 games 3x289 games and plenty of 700series. In my home town of Ottawa Canada, and in the last 35yrs I was the first bowler to shoot 2 perfect games and I also shot a 289 7 days later on the exact same pair as my first 300. Over the past 10+ years I've been bowling no-thumb. I must admit over the years I've also shot some pretty good scores. Plenty of 280+ games and finally on Nov 22-2010 I shot my first no-thumb 300 game!!!. I have not yet bowled an official 800 series (I did in open play vs juniors, at 9pm after a men's league, we were 10 bowlers on the pair and I shot 280-300-279=859 leaving only a solid 9pin and an 8pin for a total of 31 strikes in a row, It was an amazing evening, after striking the last 10 of the first game, a junior asked me what was my longest streak and it was officially 16 with a 300 in the middle. So he asked me if I thought that I could beat that, so I said let's find out. So from that moment on after every strike the entire pair would yell 11 ... 12 ... 13 well we made it to 31!!! So I guess this tells me that even though I did not do it official, in my mind I believe that I can and that I have shot an 800) Actually if that would have been official it was the Canadian Record. Anyhow back to my question. I've been bowling with a 15lbs Brunswick Speed Zone (I know that ball must be close to 17yrs old). I do feel that I sometimes get an over under reaction, in our house shot they tend to keep outside 10 really dry, so whenever I swing to there I leave 3-6-10 and sometimes worst. I've been trying to move inside but my Zone tends to leave 10pins if I go to deep. I do have a middle shot but it's not always there. Sometimes I'm able to back my feet up 5-6" and kick out the 10pin. But I do find that having just 1 real strike ball is hurting my game, I'm limited to what I can do. By the way I shoot my spares with a 12lbs Plastic Lazer, it's awesome, nice and straight. Currently my Speed Zone was drilled with all three holes, since I used to be able to shot with my thumb in the ball. Now I shot no thumb (I also make sure that I cover the thumb hole with my palm). My Proshop operator says that I should drill the ball with only 2 finger holes. That my bridge now becomes my span. Now I used to work in a Proshop and have some knowledge of ball drilling. But this is where I get lost. What kind of ball reaction can I expect from just 2 finger holes? How can we drill the ball from my PAP with just 2 finger holes. By the way I measured my PAP and it's 5.50" to the right and 1.25" down. My first track actually roles slightly over the left finger hole. I'm a little nervous of spending $250+ on a ball without really knowing what to expect. I thought of just drilling with my regular span and shooting the ball no-thumb. I guess I would have a problem with that if I had to punch a weight hole, since my thumb hole and weight would count as 2 weight holes. Sorry for the long email, as you can see this has been really bothering me for the past month and I really don't know where to go. Every time I try and go deep with my Zone, like I mentioned already I keep having problems kicking out the 10pin .... or not having enough finish ... any thoughts or advise would be greatly appreciated ... Thanks Stephane Corriveau Regards,
Answer:	FYI, You are allowed any amount of gripping holes but only one weight hole. So Drilling a thumb hole even if you don't use it counts as a gripping hole not a weight hole. Now it would have to be in a place where it would be a thumb hole. You could not put iut on the other side od the ball. But it is allowed. I use 4 holes in mine the thumb the two regular fingers and the pinkie. Sometimes i don't use the pinkie but it is still a gripping hole so I also have a weight hole in many of my bowling balls. This totals five holes but it is legal by USBC rule. So if you still drill the thumb hole you may still put in a weight hole. Nice bowling and good luck. If you used all five fingers you could by rule have five gripping holes and a weight hole for a total of 6. But they have to be in the configuation of gripping holes. BOB