More Background, Long-Term Thumb Issue

Question
Hi Warren,

This is just more background on my thumbhole issue.  I putting this in because there can be many reasons why I do not get effective roll.  First and foremost I try not to knuckle and I think I do not.

About ten years ago a driller set me up with a reverse pitch.  That got me clearing the thumbhole BUT I often would find the ball falling out on my downswing about when the ball just reached the hips.  

Then I was advised by a fairly well known bowling coach that reverse drilling was too much in use and advised a forward pitch.

So I did that.  Now I am not the greatest with using tape.  I would put tape in, take it out with some success.  I found after a while that I ran the thumbhole fairly loose in order to get the thumb to clear.  And then the dropping-of-the-ball on the downswing became prevalent again.

So I resorted to one of the special tape inserts advertised on the web. You put it in the ball and I think it is suppose to accommodate the swelling/shrinking of the thumb.  It has a rough, somewhat cushiony fabric back.  I attached it properly, along the nail side of the thumbhole.

Initially, I found that I would HANG up often.  Talking with the inventor, he thought I was lofting the ball and he was right.  I have been studying what the proper release at the ankle is.  I was lifting up at around the sliding ankle which is wrong.  Instead now I keep the ball low through the sliding-ankle zone and do not lift at all.  Now there is now hanging up,

Answer
Bill,
Your switch of the thumb pitch is a good idea. My concern is you've maybe gone too far in the opposite direction. (My forward is the same as yours but I also have away pitch in the fingers and shorter spans.) Scaling back the change a little at a time should get you closer to comfortable. You may end up where you are now but the huge change takes time to get comfortable with and there is a lot of muscle memory to unlearn/re-learn in the process.

The need for a looser thumb hole sounds like the thumb angle is causing too much drag and you're hanging up. You maybe dumping out of the ball, to get it off your hand and losing the lift and rotation you desire. When a ball fits properly, you should experience much less swelling and shrinking. Sounds like you are using Thumbillows?

Let me know how the experimenting goes. Thanks for the questions. Good luck.