Bowling is so fascinating. So many nuances and variations. Physics in play.

I joined a Jr league when I was 13 and started like everyone else, with a house ball around 11 lbs. My league had the sweetest elderly coach named Tony. He was like 85 when I started and he spent much of his free time there. He's the one that taught me the traditional thumb in method as that's what he used his whole life. I upgraded my gear, came in multiple days per week for practice after school, and got really good at it. By the time I was 17, I maintained a 200+ average consistently and have never strayed from the traditional thumb in method. 👍🏼

I was a hand shaker for years and it worked pretty well. My game plateaued so I took lessons with a coach. He made some drastic changes in my steps, positioning, angle, how i aimed and posture. It took some time, but the result was we found a much more natural feeling, free swinging, under the ball release style, something that had eluded me for years. Made a huge difference in both confidence, consistency and overall performance. Can't recommend finding a good coach enough.

Simple, and informative enough to not confuse. Thumbs up.

I started with the suitcase method and did that most of my bowling time. I only got better when I didn't have my dad breathing down my neck. Then, I also got better by watching you and Brad and Kyle's channel. Helped me get under the ball more and learn to go slower. Brought my average from like a 110 or so to a 150 to 160

Finally..I've been waiting for this video with simple & detail explaination..I'm having hard time to learn how to hook..Thanks bro..

The suitcase method has worked for me, and has been the foot note for creating more axis rotation in my experience

Thank you Darren! I shopped at midnight today to get in on your deal! Thanks!

Darren, I have a few buddies I've gotten into bowling in the last couple years. This is a great breakdown for them as I've been doing 1 step drills with them to try and get them more comfortable. They are still working with the suitcase, but think this video can breakdown what I'm saying about staying behind the ball. Thanks for the great content as always.

I guess you could say that I started with the suitcase method, I got low revs (less than 150) and i wanted more power. I started looking more into it and learned that most pros have a cup in their elbow in their downswing. This helps you get more under the ball and thus more revs. After around a year and a half or so of practicing this (I went bowling 2x a week), I finally got it down and can shoot 200s very consistently. I now have 400+ rev rate and I throw the ball 17-18mph. I'm also very skinny, so you don't have to be super strong to be able to bowl 1-handed well. It just takes A LOT of practice. I am 16 yo and I started bowling when I was 13.

I would argue that the suitcase release will work pretty well on shorter, dryer patterns, which you find in leagues. Oh and wooden lanes. But when you start doing comps, where you have longer patterns and need bigger back ends you need more revs. A suitcase release will easily get you to 180 average though.

love the content!!!

Very awesome video I am learning to get behind the ball more for sure. I was always taught like turning a door knob hahaha. I need to learn how to always adjust my hand speed

I know I’m late to seeing this video but I’ve just been spoke to about this and been told this is my next step to upping my game (mainly when pushing out I break my wrist) very useful and insightful video, thanks for the help and tips

Such a helpful video

So glad I started with the traditional thumb in route, I screwed up my wrist for the first month doing it but now that I’ve got it down it just feels and looks so smooth

This helped me SO much recently. Ive been bowling for 20 years and have been throwing too fast and not letting my ball react. Taking the time to practise being UNDER the ball and creating that rotation slowly. I cant wait to see my game improve

My boyfriend’s dad (he and my boyfriend taught me how to bowl) does the suitcase method and it hasn’t really worked for me consistently but the last method surprisingly has worked amazingly

Man thank you brother this just brought me back in the gear of bowling fr

Thx Mr.Darren Tang. No one can tell me how to curve the ball ever, but you are the only one who told me how to curve the ball nice and easy.

Handshake (suitcase) method never really worked for me the two finger method has been best for me.

Watching this made me realize just how good of a coach I had in high school. Taught us all the suitcase method year 1, and we progressed to the thumb-in method in the years following. 3 years brought my average from ~110 to ~190

You make it look to easy man. So smooth!

please talk about axel tilt in the rev and hooking the ball it would be much appreciated

I started hooking with the one-hand no thumb method. I am now a two-hander and have plenty of axis rotation. Need to work on my speed control now.

4:16 I use a Brunswick Twist!!! mine is unique because it’s already in a spin before it hits the lane. I also throw it a little downwards oppose to it being forward. I let my fingers and my other hand to spin it.

It's like you saw me in league last week and knew I needed this video lol

thank you darren

Thank you Darren tang so much for helping me doing that

It just happens to also be the only online bowling masterclass

Starting a course in your position was a genius idea.

At 5:45 is the best i ever seen Darren release a bowling ball

When I started bowling people always said to do the suitcase method and it feels like it's so self sabotaging if you want to get into any kind of skillful play like I wanted to. There's times I've gotten those nasty perfect releases with the wrist lock and all but I started a lot later in my life so yay muscle memory and all that mental elasticity and whatnot.

ITs a Good day when he posts he made me go to league THX

Great video Darren

I don’t know, but the best strike you threw was with the handshake position,!🤙😀

Only been bowling consistently for about a month now and bowled my first 210 using the 2 handed method

Ive spent over a decade of my life trying to perfect the 4th way. Its by far the best and most satisfying way to throw a breaking ball once you can get some serious power behind it.

Trying my damndest to graduate from the handshake method. Good on you to say the 1H free swing is the hardest to master. Hate when other house hacks say “jUsT go Up thE bACk of IT”. I would if I could. I didn’t choose the suitcase, the suitcase chose me. 😂

I’m a suit case release person even after 1 year of bowling, and to be honest I am happy where I am Even though I am limited on rev rate I still have two releases and two speeds to tweak, so that’s 4 things I can do with one ball

Yes sirrr new video firewe

I do a mix of both the free swing and the handshake

Great Video

Great video

Love bowling with no thumb it's easier for me and the hand shake method works too with it, I use a 15 pound bowling ball The DV8 glam I love it

Something to note on method 4 is to make sure you hand comes behind the ball and not around the side of it. A lot of people struggle with that

I strive for your release my guy…..smooth lol

I have a rev matt. Any tips for drills on getting thumb out first?

Great video. Well demonstrated. A+

so i started off with the suitcase method and slowly started learning to put more lift into/ get behind it more thanks to my dad and i went from a avg of 150 160 to an 190 i just need to get more spares and place my ball better and i feel i can start averaging 200

I just started throwing a suitcase method. I was originally a bowler where when I was throwing, my hand was going over the ball as in palm down instead of handshake, I got over that, and I started the suitcase method and almost instantly starting throwing well into the 200's. Heck, in a span of 4 games, 3 of them were over 200 and the lowly was a 144 (game was full of nasty splits 4 or 5 tbe) Almost the entire league noticed my change

Thanks for the tips, im a 5 pin bowler but im going 10 pin bowling tomorrow and i absolutely suck at it

are you gripping the ball all the way through or is it just relaxed the whole time? for 3 fingers

A good method for conventional 1 hand when I started bowling is cheating a bit by not putting your thumb all the way in. This simulates a no thumb style and creates more revs/hook. Then as you get more comfortable you place your thumb further in.

He recommended two handed! I just went to two handed this year, should have done it years ago!

Speed has always been my problem 😅 always forgetting to slow down😂

Two questions... With two handed, do you orient the ball the same way everytime you hold it? If not, doesn't that affect the "layout" of the ball/ it being pin up or pin down and all the measurements..? And what the difference between methods 1 and 4? Handshake and free swinging look very similar and i now don't know which I'm doing! Lol

Is it a good method to start with practicing with method 2 and slowly converting to method 4? Because that is what I am practicing to do right now.

Looking back at some old video of some of my league games, I guess I was doing the suitcase method, sorta. I only used my fingertips, didn't have a real high backswing and spun the ball as I released it. Always went straight down the lane and would hook at the last second. It worked well enough to get me a few 300s. Balls were just a blue Rhino and a red Hammer.

Let’s go another video

I'm a one hand-no thumb bowler, cool to see someone mention it!

That shit actually work bro thanks man

The first one is what I did all my life and it worked great. No need to crank the ball over

“It’s all about curving the piss out of the ball” couldn’t agree more😂

It's the main difference between thumb in 1 and 3 that 3 has the hand under it more where 1 starts more up and to the side?

I had an average of 185 prior to using spin, I was happy with that!

Darren, you and "Schanen Cannon" should do the Packy 50 Strike Challenge.

For method 2, I consciously maintain pressure on my fore-arm. This prevents a too early release. Then push through the arm, not the hand. Works for me.

I actually have a lot of fun occasionally throwing straight, especially in "friendly" games

I started really getting my hand under it when I started engaging my elbow right when my slide foot hits the lane. I was really inconsistent ‘catching’ it at the bottom until I recently figured it out. Not saying figuring this out is the only eureka moment for me converting to the yo yo method, it’s more like layered skills learned over a very long and frustrating road to mediocrity. It takes practice, no shortcutting it. Like Darren said, might as well start two handed, hooking it will be the least of your problems, you more have to focus on getting it up the lane without it picking the 7 off of the rack, but that is a good problem to have lol

Recently was able to master the traditional pro method with thumb in. Working the inside of the ball.

Darren I use the two fingers! I average 215 I would love to come to get lessons from you heck even just bowl with you.

5:15 I love it when there's fingers in the end.

How do you get the thumb come out of the ball when your hand is underneath the ball?

Darrens a cool guy, I’d love to be coached by him, seems very easy to learn from

Just curious what weight balls do you us?

So, I started competing in an amateur bowling competition with 4 friends out of the blue because it seemed like a fun thing to do last august. I am 42 years old and have bowled like 20 times on all kinds of occasions in my entire life prior to joining this competition. Since the first match I have been using house balls and my average over 5 matches went from 122 to 126. I throw straight ahead, no hooking or anything fancy. Now after playing those matches I'm convinced I'll never score higher than that bowling the way I do and I am looking for ways to improve my game by mastering hooking with those house balls. Mind you: I'm a bit stubborn and refuse to get my own ball before maximizing my game with de default materials at hand at the bowling center. I practiced a few times at getting those spares which got me to a few 170-180 games already. So that should hopefully get my scores up some in the next competition match. Yesterday I practiced with getting the ball to rotate but it just wouldn't hook and despite a nice left rotation the ball just continued in a straight line. I have been wondering why it wouldn't hook but this video is full of tips to go forward from. Starting with maybe throwing a little less hard, haha. Thanks for putting these useful videos up!

I can get actually pretty decent hook and sometimes pretty angular with suitcase method. Ideally have been working towards thumb in more hook but having trouble moving left and finding a safe speed to keep it on the lane and not sure where to aim

I learned how to curve the ball just from going casually a few times with family and friends. I just use the house balls as I'm not a pro bowler or have my own ball and I put all 3 fingers in the ball and mine spin a heap. My highest score is also around 240 (can't remember exactly, but its not that good) but its just more fun to bowl like this then to bowl straight I reckon.

Currently 1 hand no thumb bowler.. any tips on how to convert to 2 handed no thumb? Every time I've tried, it just feels so unnatural and I end up tripping over myself

I feel like my wrist is too weak to do this. I can’t cup my wrist and ball…thoughts

I currently use a hammer diesel for the past 5 years, looking to upgrade what ball should i be looking to get next any recommendations?

I use the 2 finger, no thumb method. I'm not the greatest and i bet my stance etc might be a bit bad but its what I'm practicing and what I'm getting much better with. when i started earlier this year i could barely reach 110 pins, now I've recently hit a PB of 171.

I was a suitcase method player averaging 150 with a Norm Duke style rolling straight down the lane with a small hook into the 1-2 pocket (lefty). Didn’t bowl for decades and decided to get back into bowling. Did the same thing but had an issue with my thumb near the palm. A small ball-like thing started forming and it was painful. Bowler’s thumb maybe? The pain would only go away if I completely stopped using my thumb for bowling and took around 6 months for the ball-like swelling to go away. Anyways, this forced me to go two finger style ala Daugherty method. Took a year to get good at it, experimenting with different approaches, footwork, and speeds, but now I’m averaging around 200. I find it easier to control than using two handed method.

Thanks Darren, I throw one handed no thumb. My problem is too much curve. Not sure how to get my ball speed up as it’s currently 13.5ish and goes Brooklyn a lot. I use a 13lb ball since I have some tendinitis in my shoulder from an injury years back.

Do u have a video of finding the right ball/weight ??? And figuring a good thumb size for yourself

I’ve modeled my release after the Chris Barnes release I just struggle with getting lower to the ground so I’m often lofting unintentionally.

ive been bowling for about 2 years now using the "daugherty" method. I had so many people tell me to either add a hand or put in the thumb, i never listened im now getting to the point where im shooting clean games almost everytime i bowl and im now the highest average in my league holding the high game and series. ANYWAY, what im saying is if YOU like the way you bowl and how it feels, dont change anything from what anyone else says, you have to figure it out on your own and you will find the best possible way to do that thing you are trying to do. Keep bowling brothas

Any tips for keeping hand straight behind the ball as a 2 handed on my backswing. For some reason my hand cocks sideways towards my body causing me to come around the ball a little more than I would like and lose consistency on sport patterns.

If your ball isnt hooking just try to get it down quicker. Instead of pushing it downlane more first. Idk how to explain this but it helped me alot

for method 4; i always get my thumb stuck and kinda difficult to release, which results in the ball flying off and slamming the board. Any tips?

When in highschool I learned the handshake method. But my coach called it the doornob. Act like your opening a doornob. I never really knew their was other methods. I knew about 2 hands but I didn’t know one hand had other methods.

I’ve always wondered this

I like your cut g 👏🏻

Worth noting for anyone getting into leagues: USBC rules were updated in 2020 to state that all holes in your ball must be used on every delivery. So if you're gonna throw with 2 fingers your ball must be drilled for that with no thumb hole and have a + marked where the center of palm is. This rule change was basically to eliminate balance holes.

Man I wish I had access to this when I started bowling as a kid in the 90s. I struggled to get traditional thumb-in methods (#1 or #4) work when I was around 7-8 then I somehow discovered not using my thumb made it really easy to add hook and also really exploded the pins. Was the only kid in my after school league with a hook for quite some time using method #2 and when people would notice I wasn’t using my thumb they were pretty astounded. My dad tried telling me it wasn’t an acceptable way to throw but I learned some pros actually didn’t use their thumb which was awesome and validating - they of course became some of my favorites to watch. Never tried method #3 but it makes sense - thankfully I was a big kid so using method #2 wasn’t hard for me, but occasionally I would mess up a throw because the ball would slip a little on my hand during the approach and/or backswing. I also struggled to knock down 10 pins because I was so used to throwing with that big hook it was hard to throw the same way without naturally adding hook and my thumb-in straight shot wasn’t very accurate. Almost never missed a 7 pin though as I just threw my strike ball with a little less power.

Turning a door knob

If you have never picked up one this is how you do it . Put your thumb in the single hole and if it is tight get one that you can put your thumb in and if you turn your thumb it should glide on the wall. Put your two middle fingers over the other holes with your thumb in the knuckles of your fingers should cover the holes simply put your fingers in. Start with a lighter ball and work up to a heavier one.

Just purchased a pyramid fortress and bowl with method 4. That ball is a menace.

I’m trying so hard to stay with the one hand method, I’ve found myself struggling with the release. Just really inconsistent.