Bowling Ball Axis Precession Video

A bowler imparts more than just speed onto a bowling ball: by releasing with the fingers to the side of the ball revolutions are created and, as the ball reaches the back-end of the lane, this rotational energy changes from side to forward roll - the ball hooks into the pins at an angle.

This video clip will take a few minutes to load: when it does you'll see a Storm "soccer" ball drilled with a "patch" on the bowlers positive axis point (PAP). The ball will go the whole way down the lane revolving around this single axis. Compare this clip to the track-flare video which shows the ball migrating through three different axis' of rotation or look inside and see the weight-block as the ball hooks. There are links to other video clips at the bottom of this page.

What to look for...

1. If you're not familiar with the concept of a bowlers axis, think of a car wheel: the tire (the only part that touches the road) revolves around an axis. The outside of the tire rotates very fast while the axis, in the middle of the tire (ball), looks like it doesn't move.
2. This ball will rotate around the same axis all the way down the lane, one end of the axis being marked by the black "patch" which remains steady as the ball rolls around it.
3. Just after release the axis (marked by the black patch) is parallel to the direction of the ball, this is only possible because the ball is sliding on oil.
4. When the ball reaches the back-end of the lane, where there is no oil, friction takes over and the side-rotation causes the ball to change direction - to hook.
5. Finally, as the ball reaches the pins it is in a forward roll - the finger tips still rotate around the axis but the axis has turned ("precessed") and is now at 90-degrees to the direction of the ball. The ball has now "hooked-out", although it has not yet lost all of it's roll.

If you need help seeing the video or want more information see my Bowling Video FAQ/Tips page which includes information on how to save these clips to your own PC.

Thanks to Ryan Press for making this clip possible.

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