2 handed bowling

[Sandy]

I bowl with a storm fight, reactive ball. I bowl what I call what i have as a lazy hook, very little turn. Today on a fun bowling day I tried 2 handed bowling. The rotation i put on the ball was amazing and so was the hook at the pins. Now the problem is I have slowed my bowling down so much it often hooks before It gets to the pins. Should I just keep up with the one handed bowling, ( which has become very inaccurate of late),or should I try to increase the speed of my 2 handed bowling. Such a dillema.

[JasonNJ]

I bowl with a storm fight, reactive ball. I bowl what I call what i have as a lazy hook, very little turn. Today on a fun bowling day I tried 2 handed bowling. The rotation i put on the ball was amazing and so was the hook at the pins. Now the problem is I have slowed my bowling down so much it often hooks before It gets to the pins. Should I just keep up with the one handed bowling, ( which has become very inaccurate of late),or should I try to increase the speed of my 2 handed bowling. Such a dillema.

This really comes down to what you want to do and more importantly how you are physically. If you have no physical issues then it's just you having to put in the work to convert to 2 handed style. But then you could also put in that work in becoming a better one handed bowler too. So like I said at the beginning it's really about what you want to do. Just keep in mind, bowling 2 handed is no magic bullet, you still need to work on accuracy, form, timing and speed. Also if you did switch, it wouldn't hurt to find a coach who could coach you on that style so you do it properly.

[J Anderson]

It's hard to say what you should do without seeing you bowl. For what it's worth, here is my take on two-handed vs one handed:
Pro Two hands: better release, possibly less stress on wrist, more revs, more hook.
Con Two hands: physically more strenuous, needn for more foot speed.
Pro one hand: more coaching available, many of the older coaches want nothing to do with two-handers and even those who are not biased against it have limited knowledge of how to coach it.
Less overall stress on the body.
Con one-hand: more release issues, more dependant on ball fit. Generally speaking fewer revs and less power.

I have heard that many of the older pros (over 40) and some coaches have said that if they were able to start over they would start over using the two-handed approach.

As for you personally, I second Jason's recommendation to find an open minded coach who is willing to observe you trying both methods, make a recommendation, and work with you on whichever style you wind up choosing.

[C J]

If you stick with 2 handed bowling I would say you may wanna try to increase speed just a touch.. I learned to throw a hook ball with 2 fingers (thumbless) but have never bowled in a league like that other than for spares. For me, I have much more control with my thumb in the ball because without it I put so many revs on the ball and the ball backends so hard that its tough to control the high end reactive balls. Granted any spares to the right of the 3 pin I still go at thumbless with a 12lb house ball. They are plastic and the covers are soaked in oil so I don't have to worry about the ball hooking much at all. I have always thought about getting a spare ball but I do pretty well this way, probably because during my 12 year layoff when I did bowl I used a house ball thumbless so I got practice picking up spares with it.

At either rate, I think you will have a advantage over one handed bowlers with lower rev rates especially on fresh. Your ball should have more movement on fresh oil, but I would only go this route if you practiced a few more times and feel more comfortable doing it. Then work on form and consistency.... I say this because the other night me and my buddy went bowling and he used my bowling ball and to start off until I found my line and moved right I had trouble getting the ball to come back on fresh.. He was throwing the ball with 2 fingers (thumbless) and getting it out wider than me and it was coming back easy and smashing the pocket. He opened up with a 4 bagger.... Granted after the right side started to break down I feel like the ball was burning up for him because it was not finishing and I was now having no problem getting the ball back and getting strong hits.

This is all "assuming" that you are bowling thumbless but supporting the ball with your off hand on the backswing (IE 2 handed bowling).. Pete Weber once said, with the new bowling ball technology. 2 handed bowlers take bombs and turn them into atomic bombs.... If you switch to 2 handed bowling, people are going to hate on you probably even me BUT you will have an advantage over them.

[fordman1]

Or they might change the shot and laugh when you can't hit the head pin or make a spare. Dry them up, dry them up, dry them up.

[C J]

Or they might change the shot and laugh when you can't hit the head pin or make a spare. Dry them up, dry them up, dry them up.

That is when expanding your arsenal comes into play and you go to a weaker ball... Like I said, I learned to throw a hook ball thumbless. I was pre-bowling a long time ago on burned lanes (open bowling conditions) and with my thumb in the ball I couldn't keep it on the lane. I literally bowled a 56 the first game because I was too young to know I needed to switch to my weaker reactive ball... So after that game, I was so frustrated I would try any. So I grabbed a 12lb house ball off the rack and went thumbless with it.... 7 bagger off the rip with it.

I believe consistency is better and you are a "real" bowler if you use your thumb (one hand).. But I believe with enough practice and the right arsenal, 2 handed or thumbless bowlers can be deadly... People can joke on them all they want, but its true.

[Aslan]

Depends on Sandy's age and prior injury history.

[chip82901]

Or they might change the shot and laugh when you can't hit the head pin or make a spare. Dry them up, dry them up, dry them up.

Being a 2-hander myself, dry em up all you want. I actually prefer short and low volumes. I don't have an insane rev rate (between 380 and 410). I don't throw terribly strong equipment, as you can see what's in my current arsenal below. I have no problems finding the pocket usually, and I'm deadly accurate with spares. 2-handers CAN make adjustments if you've been doing it your whole life like I have. It's no different than bowling with 1 hand in making adjustments honestly. Not ALL of us are 600 rev rate beast like Belmo. I actually know 1-handers that bowl in my house that have a higher rev rate than I do, and struggle more at taking hand out of the ball for spares than i do. I have the ability to change my axis rotation just like anyone, but it takes practice to get comfortable doing so.

Now, as for Sandy, your best bet would be, do what feels comfortable and natural. Don't force something. Look into some coaching and develop your release. You don't need a high rev rate and ball speed to strike. While yes, you do get some better pin action that way, I've seen some 14mph 200 rev guys absolutely dominate before, because they have developed their game and arsenal to become successful. Keep practicing, you'll only get better

[Eddy]

I knew a thumbless bowler back in the late 80's, a Jamaican guy cool as hell. He was a serious bowler and kicked butt back then. Could string a lot of strikes. But he did have some problems with spares. Probably because he wasn't a pro. But it was rare back then to see that. And, I knew another guy that was a right hander that bowled as a left hander, and reversed hooked it. You would think he would suck. Nope, He averaged over 200. He hit the pocket very consistently.

You know why I like bowling? Because there's more than one way to knock down the pins. The way I see it, is just do what works for you. I see too many people trying to emulate high-rev bowlers without learning how to bowl straight. I mean a straight ball. If you can't bowl straight, then you're gonna struggle.

Too many young people think hook = score

Throwing a straight ball is a lost art

[RobLV1]

I'm one of those coaches who would not hesitate to start out as a two-hander if I had it to do over again at a young age. Pete Weber recently said the same to me during an interview. As for throwing it straight being a "lost art," it was lost for a reason!