Wrist Braces, Supports, and Apparatuses

One of the questions frequently asked of me is, "would you recommend that I get a wrist support, brace, or apparatus to help my bowling? They see someone bowling good with one and it sparks their interest. While I always advocate that a person should think "outside the box" and do what they feel is best for their personal game, here's something I learned that you should keep in mind.

In the '70's, I was watching a PBA Tour telecast and one of the left-handed finalists was wearing a "Don Carter Bowling Glove" on his right hand. (I won't go into details of how the glove was supposed to help a bowler because it doesn't matter for the point of my story.) What does matter is that when he was asked why he wasn't using it on his left hand, the answer was, "because I get paid by my sponsor for showing it on television."

I thought about his remarks, did some research into the purpose of the glove, found that it wasn't helping my style of bowling, and immediately stopped using mine. I have never used any kind of apparatus on my hand since - except for brief periods when I was coming back from injuries and others where I experimented with them.

With today's conditions and equipment, the freer your wrist can be, the better adjustments you are able to make. If you're strong enough and injury-free, it is better that you bowl without any wrist restrictions.

If you are injured, believe you need one, and/or want to try one for a while, keep in mind the following points::

1) Some have known to hurt (or break) people's wrists;
2) The majority of them will change the "feel" of your grip;
3) If you start using the aid before you've drilled your ball, have the ball driller measure you with the device on;
4) If your ball is already drilled, go back and re-measure your grip and drilling.
5) Some of them will be extremely restrictive because that is their purpose.
6) If you are using an adjustable-type brace, each of the variable positions may have an adverse affect on the original balance and purpose for which you had the ball drilled.

If at all possible, keep the brace, support, or apparatus for training purposes only and, even at that, for short periods until you get the "feel" of the wrist position. In other words, to be used during your practice sessions.

A Hui Hou! (See You Again!)