Quick Tip: When to Replace Tape and Finger Inserts
Erik VermilyeaDescription
When a golfer hits the ball just right off the club and it goes a great distance, it’s known as hitting the sweet spot of the club. Bowling’s sweet spot is when the ball comes off the hand just right at the point of release. When you get this feeling, you’re pretty confident you’re getting a strike, and usually you do. Repeatability is what we are all looking to do and when the ball feels good in your hand, that’s one big step towards achieving it.
In this Quick Tip, Coach Erik Vermilyea with Track Bowling expresses the importance of replacing bowling ball finger inserts and thumb tape to help you get there. If you’ve ever heard that bowling ball finger inserts do not wear out, it’s simply not true. Coach Vermilyea breaks down a simple rule of thumb in regards to when you need to replace them.
Six months or 60 games is a simple way to schedule replacement of your bowling ball finger inserts. If you are a bowler who does not bowl 60 games in six months, replace them once a year to get the best performance out of your bowling ball.
Thumb tape replacement should adhere to the same rule as bowling ball finger inserts, but if you like the way fresh tape feels on your hand, change it out before you bowl. We all know someone, or you may be that someone, who never changes out tape in the thumbhole. Tape, like bowling ball finger inserts, wears out and need replacing.
For more information on the subject, check out this video to learn how to change tape and discover how it affects your grip pressure.
If you want to use interchangeable bowling ball thumb inserts, our coaches will arm you with the information you need to make the most informed decision. In addition, National Bowling Academy offers a number of bowling equipment and free videos that will keep you in-the-know in today’s modern game. Become a premium member to gain access to our complete library of instructions, only found here at the National Bowling Academy.
Hey there, welcome to the National Bowling Academy. I'm Erik Vermilyea, and today's quick tip, I wanna talk to you about when to replace tape and your finger inserts. Now, contrary to popular belief, these things do wear out. You can't just put them in your ball once and forget about 'em. General rule of thumb on the finger inserts, about every six months or every 60 games, they are going to wear out. Thumb tape can be a little faster than that. You know, there's a lot of dirt, lot of oil on the lanes, dirt and oil on your hands, it is going to wear the tape down, make it dirty and make it slick. And the finger inserts, it's gonna be the same thing, plus, these are rubber composite material. They are going to break down. They are going to wear out over time. So kind of as a general rule of thumb, every six months, every 60 games, take a look, see if they look any different than when they first bought 'em. If they do feel, free to pop in your local pro shop, have them check 'em out, maybe even replace them for you. At the very least once a year, take yourself into the pro shop, have the tape, have the finger inserts checked out, have it replaced if need be, make sure everything's in top working condition, so you can maximize your scores. knock down as many pins as possible, and have more fun.
<strong> Early this past spring I could not fit my bowling fingers into the insert holes. I never had that issue before. I went up one size on each insert to rectify the problem. Now, in the summer I am finding that the inserts are not snug so I am wrapping thumb tape on my fingers to get a snugger fit. Is it unusual for the fingers to change size through the year as does a thumb? I had not replace the finger inserts often. On the old inserts that I could not fit into, is it possible that the inserts had expanded due to humidty or some change in their softness?