Rhino's Take - Ball Fitting
Hello everyone and welcome to the first edition of Rhino’s Take. In this blog over the next year, I will comment on all of the new Storm and Roto Grip ball releases, as well as give you an insight on what is going on out on the PBA Tour as I go from stop to stop.
In this addition however, I want to start by saying how grateful and proud I am to be a Buddies Pro Shop staff member. 2 ½ years ago, I met Chris Forry at the Ace Mitchell Turning Stone Trade Show, and I had no idea how much it would change my life. The following is not only the story on how I met Chris, but a background on how I injured my wrist, and how everyone can prevent ever having to go through those types of problems.
As many of you may feel or have felt, throughout my life as a bowler, I thought pain, blisters, etc was just part of the game. When I was young, we didn’t really know as much nor did we have the technology to drill like we do today. I remember piling the new skin on and gritting my teeth as my competitiveness and will to win overcame the pain. When I got to college, I heard I was a squeezer, my span was super stretched and other things, but to me, it was all I ever knew. It was then I had the opportunity to work with Gerry Kesler. At the time, he worked for Jayhawk Bowling Supply and he helped me completely redo my fit. Finally, the days of pain and squeezing were over or so I thought.
Did you know that not only as you grow but even as you grow older your body and your flexibility changes? Well, apparently I lived under a shell for quite a long time because I had no idea. When I met Chris Forry at Turning Stone, I had slowly developed wrist pain which made it incredibly difficult to work my way through a tournament at the highest level. He had talked to me about coming to visit him in Fairfield, CT, but me being stubborn in my ways and scared of change as I had still been bowling very well put it off.
Six months later, it was late in the 2011-12 PBA Tour Season. I was coming off of a 3rd Place finish in Columbus, OH and headed to the tournament that everyone wants more than anything; the US Open. With 8 games to go, I found myself closer than I had ever been to making the TV Finals. I was in 5th place, 1 spot off of the show and only 86 pins back. As I talked about earlier though, my wrist was not holding up well. I thought, well let’s take some pain killers and suck it up. After all, this is the tournament I have always cherished and wanted more than anything. Long story short, I made a tremendous run, but there was no stopping Pete Weber. He had that aura (as I call it) going that night and would go on to climb the ladder to win. Of course to just miss this show was heartbreaking, but even worse, I had never been in so much pain in my life. Being in New Jersey, I decided I really needed to stop putting things off and head up to see Chris.
The following day, when I got to Buddies Pro Shop, I made one thing clear: do whatever you think, but I’m not throwing a bowling ball. There was only one problem, you can’t get refit and not throw a ball! After checking my fit and making some changes, he handed me a ball and it was like putting my hand into a glove. Unbelievable!
Long story short, I learned that a valuable lesson I had neglected forever; your body changes when you get older! My flexibility since my college years had changed dramatically and my span was yet again very stretched. From that time forward I have worked with Chris, and the ball has never felt better in my hand. In many ways Chris has been a miracle worker for me. Sadly though the damage had been done and the long vigorous week of the 2012 World Series of Bowling had finished off what was left of the strength of my tendon that ended up torn.
So what is the moral to this long drawn out story? Well, there are a couple of things. One, if your hand tears, or you feel pain in your wrist or hand, don’t think it is normal! Don’t be afraid to go to your pro shop operator and discuss it! Please don’t be stubborn like me! Secondly, if you are a youth player, make sure you check your fit every 6 months. Believe it or not, your hand can change a lot in that short of time. If you are an adult player, get it checked every couple of years even if you are bowling well. It is extremely important to keep up on these things, especially if you are going to be bowling a lot of games. I share these things with you in the hope that no one ever has to go through the pain let alone the surgery that I have endured.
Recent Posts
-
Day 4/5 at the US Open
February 3, 2023 -Friday was the first day of match play and it was moving day at the US Open and I …Feb 10th 2023 -
Day 3 at the US OPEN
February 2, 2023 - Today, we bowled the 3rd day of qualifying on a 39ft flat pattern. Going into tod …Feb 5th 2023 -
Day 2 of the US OPEN
February 1, 2023 - Day 2 at the US Open was a completely different game plan than day 1. On the 4 …Feb 5th 2023