How to Hook

One of the questions we get most often is how do you hook a bowling ball? If you're a beginner interested in taking your game to the next level, learning to hook your ball could be what you've been looking for. Here's how.

First, you need to be sure you have the right equipment. After all, if you're working with a ball that can't catch any of the lane's friction, you can't create a hook. It doesn't matter what you do. To hook your ball, you'll need to be working with a ball made either of reactive resin or a particle or epoxy ball. These are the only balls that will work on any lane that's not absolutely dry. The good news is that these are relatively inexpensive and easy to find.

Don't be tempted to use the house ball at your bowling lanes. These polyester balls don't have much hook, if they have any. They're good for spares, as they travel effectively in a straight line, and many serious bowlers keep one polyester ball for spares and one resin ball for strikes. After all, house balls rarely fit the hands well, which can have a big effect on your bowling performance.

Make sure that any ball you choose has been drilled properly. You'll have to talk to an expert at your local pro shop, since drilling for the ball is an extremely personal thing. You have to adjust it for the conditions in which you're bowling and the limitations of your own body. Your ball must be fitted to your hand. The good news is that if you're buying a ball, the seller should do all this fitting along with the drilling.

Be sure you're using a proper grip, holding the ball with the middle and ring fingers of the hand your write with. The thumb should be all the way into the hole, and the fingers should be in either to the first or second knuckle, depending on whether you prefer a conventional or fingertip grip. Most professionals choose a fingertip grip, as it provides a greater number of revolutions and allows you to get your fingers out of the ball quickly and easily.

Once you know you have a good ball and a good grip, it's time to visualize the line you'll be taking across the lane. This will vary significantly depending on the lanes you bowl on. However, in most cases the majority of the oil is on the outside of the lane. This leaves you between eight and ten boards of fairly dry lane to use. These can be helpful, but they can also be a problem, depending on how much oil there is and how your ball reacts to the lane conditions.

A four step approach is recommended, though you can really use as few or many as you want. There are many different styles of approach available, but keep it basic at first. Time your release carefully - as you start dropping the ball out of the backswing, make sure you keep your palm directly underneath the ball.

As the ball comes closer to your ankle, rotate it so that it your hand is on the side and slightly under the ball when you release. Follow through as though you're going to shake hands with the pins. Once you're comfortable with your release, you can start looking at the performance of the hook to see what you need to change.