The Importance Of Bowlers Tape In Your Bowling Ball

Are You Overlooking The Importance Of Tape In Your Bowling Ball?

By BowlersMart IQ Metro Detroit Head Instructor – Mike Calhoun

Today we are going to talk about one of the most overlooked assets in bowling accessories, bowlers tape. Basically the tape has some major benefits on a good fit for the day. Now, this day and age there are numerous manufactures that make different textures, width, and colors. The most used characteristic of tape is to reshape your gripping hole to properly fit your hand to ensure your release stays consistent and repeatable. Your hand is always going through minor changes, swelling, shrinking and if you work with your hands for a living these effects will be more drastic on your daily fit.

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Adding Bowlers Tape To The Thumb Hole

Remember that anytime you add tape to the front edge of your thumb or the pads of your fingers you will increase and change your span. The layering of bowler’s tape can be a great tool if installed properly. For instance, layering is stacking a tape piece just under the top of the previously installed tape and you do so until your fit is desired. Also, another layering tactic is left to right depending on your desired feel, meaning you can layer a piece to the left of an installed piece or to the right, to snug that gripping hole up. Tape can also give you the desired feel or purpose to give you confidence when you have to change hand positions or releases, altering tape can help you perfect each release with confidence and ease of repeat. For instance what I do is, if I want to go more up the back of the ball I will use tape in a position to help me get that feel to execute that release, the same goes for trying to get around the ball.

Installing Bowlers Tape Properly

This is a method I use that helps me perfect my fit for optimal comfort. Since I am right-handed I will put the first piece on the pad of my thumb. So the tape will not go on the front of the thumb but rather just to the right of the front of the hole. If you imagined a 360 degrees circle as the thumbhole, the tape would go around the 45-degree mark. That will be the insertion point for the 1st piece. I will use the LAYERING system from that point on. Now for the backside of my thumb, I will draw an imaginary line from the tape I have installed in the front and start directly across and insert the piece. This ensures that my thumbhole fits comfortably front to back and is comfortable to my liking. This again is my way and to just give you a reference on how to, you will have to trial and error yourself yo give you that desire fit you seek.

What Is The Difference Between Black & White Bowling Tape

White tape is textured so you can use it to grip the ball better. Being textured white tape is most commonly used int he front of the thumbhole. Black bowlers tape is smooth and mostly used to take up space and installed in the back of the thumbhole.

BOWL GREAT-MIKE CALHOUN