Put your gloves on and get ready to roll: not all bowling gloves are made alike, so it's a process of trial and error to find one that's right for you - Lane Logic

Kim Adler

WHEN YOU BOWL COMPETItively, there's always another challenge lurking around the corner. And sometimes the challenges aren't only on the lanes.

Take gloves. Buying a bowling ball can be confusing enough, but there is also a large group of gloves to choose from, and each glove has its advantages and disadvantages--and that's if you even need one!

There's no one better than me to tell you about the various bowling gloves available. I've used more than 10 different bowling gloves in my career. Some of these designs are still available, while others have come and gone or morphed into another design with a new name.

Here's an outline of the uses of some of the gloves on the market, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each based on what I have experienced personally and seen on the PWBA tour and from students of mine.

DO I NEED A GLOVE?

Deciding whether you even need a glove is the first question to address. When I speak of a "glove," I mean a wrist device that has a support value higher than a piece of leather or material wrapped around your hand and wrist (and even those have value, but they do not offer much physical support to the wrist).

I have seen some bowlers use "non-gloves" like the Ebonite React/R, Ebonite Mag-Force flexible wrist support, or a batting or golfing glove as a physical key to mentally discipline themselves to keep their hand in a certain position during the swing and release. Batting gloves offer some extra gripping ability--but no metal support--for the wrist. In fact, some batting gloves are little more than sweatband material.

If you're using a glove and feel it adds to your game, it does, because you believe it helps. I would never take something with that kind of value away. If your wrist is strong enough to manipulate with this material, then so be it!

A "glove," in my eyes, contains metal either for the back of the wrist/hand or both the front and back of the wrist. You will find a glove useful if you:

* Have had a wrist/hand injury in the past and now experience weakness as you bowl.

* Are more flexible than the average person, so your wrist has a wider range of motion than it should for the proper release.

* Are trying to learn what it feels like to keep your wrist straighter without having to wear a glove all the time.

* Have a small wrist and aren't strong enough to hold the weight of the ball you're carrying in your swing.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Be careful about giving gloves to children. I have seen many very young children either wearing a parent's gloves or their own when they bowl. If small, underdeveloped muscles learn to rely on a glove, it can impede strength development down the line. Consider the child's age and strength level before deciding to get him or her a glove.

Adults do not have developing muscles but will apply many of the same guidelines regarding the use of gloves. If you can learn to duplicate shots off your hand without a glove, you may not need one.

Gloves can also magnify a problem in your grip, so a proper fit is paramount. Some gloves can do some harm if your grip allows your thumb to clear very early in the release.

This very circumstance happened to me in the late '80s and early '90s. I wore what was called the "Perfect Wrist" or PW, which gave me great roll on the ball and was innovative for its time because of its ability to clear the thumb quickly. Then I began to carry the weight of the ball too long on my fingers, which inflamed my wrist and hand with a severe case of tendonitis. I eventually changed thumb pitches and made do until the tendonitis cleared and healed.

BEGINNER GLOVES

I separate the available gloves into three groups: beginner, mid-range, and advanced.

Beginner gloves are straightforward and simple in design. There are no moving parts, simply a piece of metal in the front and back (or just the back) that offers some support. These usually are the least expensive gloves, ranging in price from $10 to $25.

The Wristmaster, Robby's Plus, and Robby's CoolMax Plus are classified in this group. I usually find that bowlers like to take out the piece of metal on the palm because it raises the ball too high up off the palm. Whatever grip you incorporate, you must have some feeling in the palm of your hand! Beginner gloves are short in nature, which means the fingers are free to flex back during the release.

POSITIVES: Beginner gloves are inexpensive and give you a taste of firming the wrist as an advanced glove does with a relatively small investment.

NEGATIVES: The metal is usually not very strong, so it is easy to bend and can weaken over time--defeating the purpose of wearing a glove! I see big, strong guys just "blowing through" these types of gloves with ease. I also see people remove the metal in back, leaving only leather or leather-like material. Again, this defeats the purpose of wearing the accessory!

MID-RANGE GLOVES

These gloves include two styles: regular length and a length that covers the fingers to at least the first joint. This group is still fairly simple in design: There are few, if any, moving parts to the gloves. Examples of mid-range gloves include the Master Power Paw, Mongoose Products, the Ebonite Force, Ebonite Z-Lock2 2-3-4, Robby's Gladiators, and Cobra Products' Scorpion.

The metal used in these gloves is of a higher, thicker gauge, so it is made to last. Professional bowlers who use these products bowl a lot of games and can make it through one or two seasons with this type of glove (that's 500 games or more).

The longer mid-range models stop the fingers from flexing at the point of release, or just before release. Envision a reverse-angle close-up view of a bowling ball in the hand of a bowler at release and split the ball in half at its equator. To learn to roll the ball and incorporate various releases (more or less turn with the fingers), the fingers must be below the equator line at the earliest point in the release. This allows for the room needed to both lift and turn the ball.

When the wrist is straight, the fingers are naturally under this equator line. The more the wrist is cupped, the farther under the equator line the fingers can sit. The direction the fingers travel relates to the revolutions and turn (rotation) you impart upon the ball. If your wrist breaks or your fingers flex--or both--your fingers can end up above this equator line. Longer gloves stop both of these occurrences automatically.

POSITIVES: Mid-range gloves are built to last but still employ a simple design that allows for no decision-making. There's no physical effort needed to keep the fingers firm through release.

NEGATIVES: They're more expensive, and can lock your hand or wrist into only one position.

ADVANCED GLOVES

These are made up of both shorter and longer, finger-covering models. The advanced category also includes a few more exotic gloves that put pressure onto the index finger for more ball rotation at release. As stated earlier, keeping the fingers more under the "equator" of the ball is the objective here.

I have spent most of my own bowling time the past 15 years within this category, using Robby Revs and Revs 2, Moro Design's Pro Release (both long and short versions), Cobra Products' Eagle Version 3 (both long and short versions), the Storm Strong Arm, and, currently, the Robby Revs adjustable long version.

Basically, advanced gloves all have built-to-last metal support and are adjustable in the amount of cup you can preset your hand to. Some of these also will adjust laterally in the finger area for more or less possible rotation.

I have noticed, though, that I've needed to replace every advanced glove I've owned after about a season because of my use of the cupping mechanism ... I just wear it down! The pressure placed on the glove to keep your hand steady through the swing can wear on the gloves over time. It is a slow process, and may be unnoticeable. If you use one of these gloves, test drive a new one after a season and make sure it cups up the same as your old one. The Pro Release was successful in becoming one of the first to offer cupping adjustments.

Each advanced glove style sets the ball up differently in your hand. The weight of the ball through the swing is located in a slightly different place with each, so it's best if you can test a model out for a few shots before making a purchase.

I have seen improper rotation (topping the ball) injuries due to hyper-extension--let's face it, fingers are not made to hold this position. But I have also seen people immediately add needed rotation or axis tilt into their roll by wearing an advanced glove. Cobra Products' Cobra 3 and regular Cobra, Robby Revs 3, Ebonite Z-Lock 1, and the Storm Strong Ann 2 are indexfinger models.

Advanced gloves range in price from $35 to $70, and sometimes more. The versions that hold the index finger in an extended position can be good and bad.

I only wish that most of the gloves in this category could take some of the comfort from the mid-range group; most of the advanced gloves here do not have the same cushion.

I also wear a regular batting glove under my current glove (with the fingers and thumb cut off) to both cushion my hand and keep the forearm pad from slipping onto the base of the palm. The batting glove also works as a liner to absorb perspiration. I weigh the advantages to the disadvantages--and in my case, I make sacrifices in comfort to increase performance.

ADVANTAGES: Advanced gloves offer varied hand and wrist positions and durability. Often broken parts can be replaced individually under warranty.

DISADVANTAGES: They are expensive. Sometimes you need to try out a few versions to find a glove that feels both comfortable and sets the ball in a position to give you the release and roll both you and your coach think you need.

It is also very easy to get into a habit of using the "mega-cup" positions more often than needed. If you need a glove for support because your wrist is too weak, then getting in the habit of increasing pressure on this area by cupping the glove is not a great idea. Often, when cupping the glove in the maximum position, I unlock the wrist to allow for movement and a "mini-stretch" between shots--keeping the tendons tight for an extended period of time can lead to injury.

My personal experience with every glove that I have used is just that, my own personal experience. How the ball sits within the palm of the hand or how the ball is released with a particular glove may be different for you. That's why I refrain from saying there is a "best" glove, just like I refrain from naming my "favorite" ball.

A glove, like my bowling balls, is only my favorite at the moment if it is working for me the way I want it to. The best thing for you to do is to try some different gloves in practice and see which feels best. Happy practicing.

Kim Adler is a top PWBA bowler, with 15 career titles and 21 perfect games. To ask her a question, visit her Web site, www.KimAdler.com.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Century Publishing
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