Tuesday, March 16, 2010

An Argument Against Two-Handed Bowling

"As far the game today having 'fair standard conditions', like the dodo bowlers of the early 1900's could do with dodo balls, so can two-handed bowlers with the modern ball. And that contradicts the founding fathers decision that "all bowling balls must be evenly balanced." A component to the game they felt was necessary in order to have "fair standard conditions.""
--Ted Thompson, bowlingdigital.com

Ever since I saw Osku Palermaa showcase his two-handed or, as he calls it, "twin grip" style in the televised finals of the U.S. Open, I've been enthralled by it. When Jason Belmonte came along and won a national title with it, I became convinced that it was the proverbially "greatest thing since sliced bread."

However, not everyone shares my view of this technique. Some insist that it's a form of cheating. I've never understood why they think this, other than the fact that some people reflexively believe that anything that departs significantly from the mainstream modus operandi of a sport and appears to confer a significant advantage over conventional technique to boot can't be fair or right.

For instance, when Dick Fosbury started high-jumping backwards and even won an Olympic gold medal using this revolutionary technique, he and his style had their share of detractors. Yet, the "Fosbury Flop" is now the norm in high-jumping, just as two-handed bowling may be in the future if observations reveal that it's not too damaging to the body over the medium to long term.

Nevertheless, bowlingdigital columnist Ted Thompson has posted an article that at least presents some kind of rational argument against the unfairness of the twin-grip style. In his ungrammatically titled Are today's two handed bowler yesterday's dodo bowler? Thompson argues that, like the so-called "dodo" balls that were ingeniously used to advantageous effect by some in the early 1900's until the ABC outlawed them in sanctioned competition in order to standardize the game and make it fairer, the ability of a two-handed bowler to use balls drilled without thumbholes and throw them either right side up or upside down to circumvent ABC limitations regarding side weights and various tournaments' rules limiting the number of balls that can be used in competition, gives him or her an unfair advantage over bowlers who put their thumb in the ball.

I suppose this is an argument worth considering. However, if we accept it, then we'd also have to prohibit even one-handed thumbless bowling or palming, and I don't see that happening. Furthermore, one way to at least partially defeat the argument would be to require even thumbless bowlers to have thumbholes drilled into their balls. They would still be able to effectively turn one ball into two by throwing it with the thumbole above or below the fingers, as I have done to good effect at times when palming my ball, but I personally think this should be allowed. And even this could be prohibited by the governing body of a particular tournament, especially by one that limits the number of balls a participant can use during competition.

So, I really don't think Thompson's argument is very compelling. What do you think, not only about Thompson's argument, but about whether two-handed bowling should be allowed?


32 comments:

  1. I am with you. I don't have a problem with it at all. I can see good reason to prohibit the use of certain kinds of bowling balls if they make the game too easy, but you should be able to deliver your ball any way you want. You still have to send it 60 feet to a target about an inch wide. I don't see how using two hands would necessarily give you an unfair advantage in doing that, especially if everybody had the opportunity to do so. It kind of reminds me of the ban of the slam dunk in the NCAA in 1967, which really wasn't about the dunk shot at all.

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  2. I think it's fair, if they think two handed bowling is easy, then why don't they do it

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  3. Two-handed bowling should be illegal. It allows an unfair advantage by creating more revolutions than possible with a one-handed delivery. If you don't think extra revolutions are an advantage, you don't understand bowling.
    No-thumb and palm deliveries should be illegal too. By flipping the ball over you can violate static weight rules. Every ball should be required to have a thumb hole and if you don't use it, it should be declared an illegal delivery and you get zero.

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    1. I myself am a too handed bowler and find that anybody who cant use there knowledge to improve on old traditions has no out of the box skills. Try and bowl 2 hands, you will most likely fail. When people can do something there afraid of it. Dont knock someone for having more skill

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    2. That's an incredibly dumb argument. Yes, you can create a lot more revolutions with 2 hands, so what.

      It's also a lot tougher to throw the ball accurately with 2 hands.

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    3. To all the teeny bopper/age of entitlement generation - there are 3 HOLES in a ball for a reason. Try doing it the right way. So tired of this generation just changing whatever it is that they can't do right and insisting something isn't fair when they are lacking in an area. It's disgusting!

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    4. thankyou.......2 handed bowling is for 1st graders not adults who can pick up a ball with one hand...

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  4. From what I understand, Robert Smith used to generate more revolutions than Belmo or Osku, and he did it with his thumb and one hand. Youngster EJ Tackett has also been officially clocked at over 600 RPMs at the ITRC, and he too thumbs it with one hand. And even if using two hands makes it easier to generate revs, I've seen many people with two handed deliveries struggle to control those revs. Hence, I know of only two players who have excelled on the national tour or in any kind of elite competition using two-hands. Brian Valenta uses two hands (with his thumb in the ball) and has his moments but hasn't won a national title. So, maybe I don't understand bowling, but I don't see how using two hands confers an unfair advantage or why it should be banned. Nor have I seen one-handed thumbless bowlers dominate any kind of elite-level competition, so I don't see why they should be banned either.

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  5. Two handed delivery should be banned from all sanctioned bowling events and if I were a member of the usbc governing body I would have already suggested we ban it. Bowling should be a game about accuracy and precision it should not be based off how many revs you can get on your ball, you are not a better bowler then someone else because you throw 8 million revs. Ive seen bellmonte completely miss the pocket and still strike just because he revs the living crap out of his ball throwing 2 handed. That is bullcrap he should never have been allowed to bowl in pba tournaments like that. I will be very pissed off if I have to switch to a kiddy throw like this just too stay competitive with other bowlers. If you can't strike with one hand you are not a real bowler end of story.

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    1. alright. I'm a 2 handed bowler I use my thumb and avg 217 at 16 yrs old bowling on team USA next year. don't bitch about "revs" lmao you try bowling 2 handed and being consistent, I agree with the bowling ball comment but 2 handed bowling shouldn't be illegal. if anything more revolutions= oil break down faster and the lanes get thougher to adjust to. and by the way, your points are very very inaccurate and ignorant. have a good day lmao

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    2. I disagree with both of you. The sport has changed a lot throughout the years, and also has seen a decline in interest. I don't care if you roll the ball with your damn feet. As long as people are coming back to the sport, who gives a shit how they deliver their shot. Personally, I have yet to see a two handed bowler dominate the leagues I bowl in. Yeah they might shoot a high game every now and then, but never consistent. I also bowl tournaments, and again, never consistent two hand bowlers out their. Yeah Belmo has won a lot, but so have other pro's. It's a trend right now, and eventually will either go away, or become the standard in the future. If that's what it takes to bring the sport of bowling back, then so be it.

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    3. Rolling the ball with one hand involves an ACTUAL armswing, something that can take years and thousands of games to perfect and hold up under pressure. Heaving a ball with 2 hands requires no particular acquired skill other than thorough knowledge of one's equipment. NOT LIKE ONE IS GOING TO CHANGE HAND POSITIONS TO VARY MANY INFLUENCING FACTORS ON THE BALLS' REACTION, also acquired through lots of practice, experience and acquired knowledge. Rolling a ball with 2 hands is how a six year old child bowls when not strong enough to roll the ball with one hand. I had this discussion with Bald Bobby Butternuts in 2017 in Las Vegas at his Ebonite booth. He asked me how I could say such a thing. I told him that bowling with one hand required skill and much dedicated practice as with Earl Anthony, David Ozio, Dick Weber, for example,although there was PBA one bowler, Jimmy Keeth, who was able to generate the most rev's ever as his thumb was double jointed and so the ball rested on his forearm as he shoveled the ball (thumb still in the ball). As far as Belmonte is concerned, I find his analysis on the TV shows to be spot on, he does not favor the more well known bowlers like Nelson Burton did (until Bob Benoit changed his mind). As a PBA Member from '81 to '94 I was able to compete with many great bowlers, but I also bowled scores in SE PA greater Philly & Allentown areas where we had several of the best bowlers on the planet, most notably Eddie Ressler, Jr. I had a 300 in Quakertown 1/11/82 for the first one in that place since 1958 and the league secretary, Abe Gerhart, placed the pins in boxes and no one used lanes 15 & !6 for 2 days until the Allentown District BA was able to check them. Amazing when I later found out that the lanes were never stripped and I was able to roll 21 in a row with a 10 pin that moved off spot costing me 29 in a row. Eighteen days later on 1/29/82 30 miles away at the Rose Bowl in Allentown I was able to roll another 300, extremely rare to have 2 in less than 3 weeks at that time. This, of course, was after I had rolled 300-257-247 honor match in West Chester PA at Plaza Lanes where my second bowler, Joe Nagy, Sr. had 760 & Bill Gonder Jr had a 798 for games of 825-699-750 for 2274 WITH Yellow Dots. The 825 first game & 2274 series were #1 in all of ABC sanctioned competitionfor the 80-81 Season. One guy at my home house in Pottstown said the lanes were walled & I laughed, pointing out that my opponent had 496, Joe's had 567 & Bill's had 634 (the 4th highest score in a 3 man scratch league with 66 bowlers). So "walled" that we beat them by over 500 pins for 3 bowlers each for 3 games. Joe Nagy is the only bowler I know who rolled a 300 game in the 40's,50's,60's (incl. the PA State Tourney), 70's,80's & had a 299 in 1990 before he retired). Joe passed in 2014 at the age of 96 but he always inspired me to practice dozens (60-80 in addition to league 4 to 5 nights a week before the PBA) of games a week to work on my ARMSWING, footwork and my overall technique. There was a bowler Syracuse in the 90's, first name was Eddie (not sure of his last name) who bowled all sorts of 300 games with the now defunct Lane # 1 ballls as posted on that manufacturer's website. Two handed bowling in competition is an abomination, period, just as bowling in some places (Dallas, TX for one) now where they have the pins on a string (never will try that, tyvm). Best thing about bowling is that I met my late wife at Thruway Lanes in Cheektowga summer PBA Tour Stop in '87, married her in '88 & lost her to ovarian cancer in '94. Patty was Tommy Baker's coach in Juniors in the 60's at the old Roc Mar in Buffalo. If anyone ever told her heaving a ball with two hands was "bowling", she most likely would have said' You must be smoking something really good since your sense of real bowling vacuums royally."

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  6. Andy, I couldn't disagree more with you and am glad you're not a member of the USBC governing body. If being two-handed and generating tons of revs were all it took to dominate PBA tournaments, why aren't Osku Palermaa, Brian Valenta, Kyle Troup, and all the other prodigiously revving two-handers in the PBA right up there with Belmo? Jeff Richgels and many other extremely knowledgeable bowlers have publicly stated that Belmo is one of the best bowlers they've ever seen and not just because he uses two hands and generates a lot of revs.

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  7. I just started bowling competitively about five months ago, I am 17 years old and I bowl two-handed. I do put quite a few revolutions on the ball, but I am in a league with a friend who bowls one handed and puts way more revs than I do on the ball. And to be honest the only thing that is two handed is the back swing, my release is actually one-handed. My left hand leaves the ball long before I release it. Also, if you bowl one-handed, you have the option of bowling two-handed, if you want to have an advantage in the game like you say the two-handers do then switch. Try it, you might like it yourself.

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  8. One handed or two handed you still have to hit your mark. Yes more revs is better but you still have to put the ball in the hole....

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  9. Two handed bowling.....what's that? Bowling was always intended to be a one hand sport. The rules should be changed....only one hand on the ball at delivery, using only one arm in the swing.....This must be done now.......

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  10. I see it as unfair advantage just like in golf, they removed the belly putter because it takes skill away from the game. If you want to have separate competitions for two handed bowlers that's fine. On the flip side I think it's fine for regular family bowling this way people stay interested in the sport, but for any regulated bowling (league or tournaments) should be one handed.

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    1. Gene, how does two-handed bowling confer an "unfair advantage" that "takes skill away from the game"? Have you ever tried bowling that way on challenging lane conditions"?

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    2. man some of you dont get it.two handed bowling you can practically miss the pocket and still strike end of subject.yes it should be outlawed period it is CHEATING

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    3. Are you saying you can "practically miss the pocket and still strike" because of the rev rate two-handed deliveries facilitate?

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  11. Whether you are bowling one handed or two handed, the only thing matter is putting the ball in the hole. But as far as i am concerned, bowling was intended to be an one handed sport. But by bowling using both hand, you may learn something new and can improve your bowling performance.

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  12. I am a new two handed bowler. I became a two finger bowler after I shattered my thumb as a teenager 18 years ago. My thumb does not bend back like it should so I have an extremely hard time getting my thumb out of the ball. Being a two finger bowler, I was way too inconsistent. After my first game bowling two handed and rolling a 207 I was sold. I ended up rolling a 522 as I was still figuring it out, but my consistency was vastly improved. Not all of us have the ability to one hand bowl. To be excited with bowling again is beyond words. Finally I feel like I have the ability to get better with my friends and wife

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  13. David, do you find that you're able to generate as much or nearly as much speed bowling two-handed as you could bowling one-handed? That is my primary problem when I bowl two-handed. I've been throwing my strike balls mostly one-handed and two-fingered for years, and I would love to use both hands throughout the approach to give myself more control of the ball throughout the backswing and downswing, but I find that I just can't generate sufficient speed to match the extra revolutions I generate with the two-handed approach. So, I've effected something of a compromise by keeping my other hand on the ball until it enters the backswing instead of removing it immediately after I start my approach. This gives me more control of the ball than I had before with the two-fingered delivery, and allows me to generate more speed than I can with a full two-handed approach. Yet, I still wish I could use the full two-handed approach and generate enough speed to make it work.

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    1. I actually seem to have the opposite effect. I'm able to throw faster with a two handed throw because I'm able to hit my mark easier, which makes up for the extra revs. I had a hard time with speed with a one handed throw because I tended to get sloppy the harder I threw. I was too inconsistent. Today was my second time using my two handed throw, first time in league. I rolled a 527. 192 first game, 152 second (unlucky spare misses) and a 183 third game. I find it much easier to hit my spot and don't seem to pull my head like before.

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    2. @ handed is an unfair advantage! When would you ever see a 16 year old win a major?? It is just like PEDs in baseball. Anything that i snot a playing field is wrong!The extra revs means carry! and carry means more pin count! You dont have to be accurate and you get a bigger margin of error!

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  14. You try bowling two-handed (or one-handed) on a tough PBA shot and then tell us that all you need is revs to beat everybody.

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  15. I have been bowling no thumb for 25 years now and it took awhile to be consistent. I use a normal drilled ball with a thumb hole. I do not flip the ball over with the the thumb hole up above my fingers. I use finger tips inserts. My average is 211. The biggest part of being consistent no matter which style of bowler you are is being able to adjust to the lanes and the shot pattern being used. Using no thumb I can get the ball to move a lot or I can even flatten out my release to pick up spares. So as far more revs goes it isn't as big of a deal as making the right adjustments. Yes more speed means more pin action but doesn't always mean more consistency. Being consistent start with your approach and release of the ball then adjusting to the reaction u get on the lanes. And yes I still do use the thumb once in a great while when I need to but barely ever since I have been able to find a way to adjust my release for what shot is on the lanes.

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  16. In my opinion the only thing I have against it, is it takes far less skill to generate a lot of revs considering I bowl one handed and have about 350 RPMs and two handed I could pick a ball and easily generate 450+ RPMs.

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  17. I don't care whether you bowl two handed or one handed. the name of the game is to knock ten pins down. thats it not how you freaking do it. just because they bowl a different way that gives you purists the magical reason to bully and harrass them? ridiculous. i myself bowl two and its not easy at all. when i first started my ball speed was ridiculously slow at 14 mph. three years later i've finally managed to increase my ballspeed to a reasonable level. if you want to ball two handed go ahead, nobodies stopping, don't listen to the hater saying this "oh two handed bowling isnt the right way to bowl. switch back to one hander you cheating scumbag". seriously i hear this venomous sentence over and over and im sick and tired of it.

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  18. I don't like that 2 handed bowling is dominating, because of the easy way to get carry.

    One thing though, that I would like to see is for scotchbrite to be legal to use between frames. Yes it is an advantage, but as long as everyone can use it, what's wrong with it?

    So there, I find it annoying that you can throw without your thumb fully in the ball, but you can't use scotchbrite. Believe it or not, if those 2 rules were switched, I would still bowl.

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  19. Two handed bowling is for real smart fellas. I mean would you golf one handed? Or would you throw a baseball two handed? Huh? Huh? Well answer that, sucka. I'm waiting....

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  20. I personally don't care if you throw one or two handed or kick the ball down the lane. When it comes to competition between bowlers, one specially gifted group should not have an obvious advantage over another. The Players championship is an obvious example. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes to two handed bowlers. Keep it fair guys. Two handers against two handers please. We must maintain an even playing field or the tail will start wagging the dog.

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