The Top Five Things You Can Do to Improve in 2018

It’s a new year, and it’s time to take a look at what you can do this year so that you’ll finish 2018 better than you started. Here are my top five suggestions on where to focus your efforts.

Check your fit

From beginners all the way up to high-end bowlers, one of the most overlooked things in the game of bowling is the importance of a proper fit. Even the best pro shop operators will sometimes go too long in between fittings, relying on previous measurements from regular customers. There are several warning signs to look at that might suggest that your grip needs to be adjusted.

Pain

Obviously, if you have pain in your hand when you bowl, it’s a pretty good sign that there is a problem. But did you know that pain in your wrist, elbow, and shoulder can also be linked to an improper fit? While there could be a multitude of reasons for muscle or tendon pain, it makes sense to cross the grip off your list by getting it checked.

Blistering/ripping skin

While some bowlers wear these minor injuries like badges of honor (“I hit it so hard my fingers rip!”), any kind of tearing of the skin is a sign that the fit is not quite right. Excessive grip pressure, or “squeezing,” is most often caused by improper spans or hole sizes. Fingers that rip at the joints point to improper pitches as the most likely cause.

White knuckles

Even in the absence of pain, you can still have signs of a bad fit if the skin on your knuckles is white when the fingers are in the ball. This indicates a span that is too long, or pitches that ...