Tucking the pinky of your bowling hand to the first knuckle can cause the ball to hook a little more. When you first try this, it might feel as if you’re going to drop the ball. Keep after it. You’ll learn to do it and find that it gives you an alternative ball reaction. You might want to wear an adhesive bandage across that knuckle for a while as a callous might develop. Keep in mind this is an adjustment. If your ball is hooking too much or too soon, untuck! You also might want to untuck it on your spare shots.

One caution here about tucking the pinky. With some people, tucking the pinky can put strain on the ring finger. If you try this and notice your ring finger beginning to hurt, either have your pro shop professional shorten the ring finger span very slightly (for instance, by 16ths until the pain stops) or stop tucking. The added hook potential is not worth an injury.

Always pick up your ball from the ball return with both hands. Picking up your ball using your grip holes fatigues the hand unnecessarily and can cause excessive swelling.

If it’s not your towel, don’t touch it. No telling what’s on it that could get on your hand

The difficult skills needed for bowling must be acquired through learning and continued practice over a long period of time. The mechanics of the sport are complex and diverse. Dedicated players will find they peak after several years and often find they are still improving after their “prime” athletic years. That’s why bowling is truly a lifetime sport.

Solid 8 pins, ringing 10 pins, and swishing 7-10’s are just as much a part of the game as Brooklyn strikes, messenger pins or rolling the bucket for a strike. Don’t get crazy over it! Over the long haul the player who makes the best shots will win. It’s just that the ‘long haul’ is not always a league night…

Always be ready to bowl when it is your turn. If you’re not, it disturbs the rhythm and pacing of the game for everyone including those leagues which follow you. It is usually true that the longer in between shots, the more inconsistent you become. A good rule to follow is that when the pins are ready, so are you!

Hold your position at the line until the ball leaves the pin deck. This does not mean that you should look like the Statue of Liberty but that all of your body is still after you have delivered the ball EXCEPT your bowling arm. It is swinging back and forth and will eventually stop without your help. Several good things happen when you do this:

You don’t miss any of your great shots because you get to stay at the foul line and watch them.
It builds the discipline of keeping your balance at the line and thus helping you make your shots repeatable.
If you’re falling off your shots, you won’t be completing them to the best of your ability because you get too concerned about not falling down and therefore cut your shot off short. Balance at the line is critical to a well-executed and consistent delivery.
Pins tend to fall more when they feel your icy stare.

You will often find a new strike line throwing your 2 pin or your 3 pin shot. Don’t ignore your ball reaction in this part of the lane. It could be a real strike mine!

It is more important that you practice frequently than that you practice for long periods of time. Thirty minutes a day will get you closer to your long-term goals faster than 2½ hours on Sunday. Take breaks while you practice, at least a minute every ten. Get a drink or sit down and plan your next few minutes. Just step away and get a different perspective.

Practice tasks in segments. Mindless, undirected practice is unproductive. Never keep score in practice. If you’re keeping score, winning matters. If winning matters, you’re not practicing. Have specific goals you want to accomplish in your practice sessions. Five minutes on the feel of a good push off, five minutes on follow through and you don’t think about your push off in the follow through time slot. Your foundation must be built on the bricks of individual components – strong and linked together with repetition and muscle memory. We don’t want a foundation built on sand that will crumble under the slightest pressure.

Throwing a ball that is too light for you is just as hurtful to your game as throwing a ball that is too heavy. A ball which is too light will allow you to do things you shouldn’t. A ball which is too heavy will prevent you from doing things you should. I don’t think that ‘10% of your body weight’ thing is valid. I believe that ball weight is determined by athleticism. If I have a 150 lb person who is 5 feet tall and a 150 lb person who is 6 feet tall, I have two very different individuals when it comes to athleticism and strength. 10% might work for one but not the other and no, they don’t make 18 lb balls! For kids, some believe that the majority of the population can bowl their age – a seven-pound ball if they are seven years old or an 11-pound ball if they’re 11 years old. Remember there will always be the exception…