Hi Bob,
Both parts of my name are significant! ;-)
I use a Howard low D which has huge holes so there's no way I could play it without using piping hold. This means that if I used 'normal' first 3 fingers each hand I'd be trying to cover the 3rd holes with just the tip of my 3rd finger, but if I use pinkies then they hit the holes on the 2nd pad.
Maybe my hands are just a weird shape!