Adapting to changing lane conditions

[moleman]

Hello, I am a relative newbie to bowling, (Third Year), and I am having a bit of trouble reading the lanes. Certainly to be expected, but I need someone to explain several things. Last night during shadow bowling I quickly got a grasp on the conditions and locked in on my board and position. I was bowling against a field of right handed bowlers with one exception. The first game went perfect and I was hitting flush pocket with incredible results. My ball was coming back with little oil on it at that point. Towards the end of the game my ball was edging further high but I was still getting high flush with good results. Then came game two. My ball was now hitting straight through the nose to Brooklyn and was returning with more oil on it. I adjusted my feet right two boards and got the same result. I adjusted my sight over further left several boards, same results. By the time I was in game three I was throwing it way out further on the left but nothing was working. My ball needed wiping like mad every return. I finally returned my foot position further left against convention, eased up on my swing a bit, slowed down and moved my target further to the right, quite shallow. I was able to eke out a paltry 165 but at least it was working slightly better. What I need to know is what was going on with the oil? Were the righties pushing it left into my track or further down past the hook section? How was I to compensate? Ending up sighting further inward to the right and moving my feet position further left is so counter to what you are taught. Thanks

[Grouperdawg]

Second year bowling so take it for what it's worth. A typical house pattern is laid down with more oil in the middle than the outside. You really can play two types of shots, one in the inside that doesn't break much bc of the oil and one outside that hooks more. My guess is as it dried out you started hooking more in the dry and started hitting high. You moved back towards the middle and got back in the oil. The balls may have pushed some oil to the middle too.

I assume you are a lefty, have you ever shot at a ten pin from 30 or 25 board and watched your ball not hook at all if u start too much in the middle? But if you move left and start it towards the gutter it rips a cross and hits the ten? Kinda the same thing.

[Grouperdawg]

I just re read your post, it sounds like you moved left in the last game so I'm lost

[bowl1820]

Rob will have a better thought on this.

I'm assuming your a lefty.

To me when the ball started coming in high flush that was the warning signal.

Your line was starting to break down and you needed to start to move. I would have moved in some and brought the ball in closer to the headpin so it stayed in the oil a little longer.

Moving in was okay, but by throwing the ball out farther left. You were just getting it into the dry even earlier so that would make it hook just that much earlier/harder.

Being there was only 2 of you on the left. When you moved back left, eased up on your swing, slowed down and moved your target further to the right.

You found some oil and were most likely also projecting the ball farther down the lane better.

[RobLV1]

It seems like the thing that threw you off was the amount of oil on your ball. The amount of oil on your ball doesn't tell you anything because you don't know where on the lane from which it comes. Let me give you an example. I bowl in an evening league where the center puts down a 25' head run of oil before league and doesn't touch the rest of the league. I often hear bowlers talking about how oily the lanes are based on the oil on their bowling balls. The problem is, of course, that the oil is coming from the first 25', and the rest of the lane is bone dry. Something else to consider is this, which doesn't affect the left side as much, but here goes: if one bowler is playing the second arrow and throwing the ball out to 8 board at 45', and another bowler is playing the third arrow and throwing the ball out to 8 board at 45', and yet another bowler is playing the fourth arrow and throwing the ball out to 8 board at 45', what part of the lane is drying up? I'll give you a hint: it's not at the arrows... it's the area down the lane where everyone is playing.

The biggest single thing that you can do to effectively adjust to changing lane conditions is to learn to watch the ball as it exits the pin deck. For you as a lefty, this means that the ball should be exiting the pin deck right between the eight pin and the nine pin. If you start to see it exiting more toward the eight pin, then this means that you need to move right to find more oil to help to retain the energy in the ball. If you start to see it exiting more toward the nine pin, then this means that the ball is still hooking as it enters the pins which means that you either need to change to an earlier rolling ball, or slow down slightly on your ball speed to get the ball to hook a little sooner.

Please note that on a typical house shot which starts out being dry on the outside and oily in the middle, there is never any reason to more more to the outside, because the oil is already gone.

[moleman]

This is all making far more sense now. It will take me some time to get used to moving my line back in towards the oil as well as moving my feet that much. The ball coming back with more oil is what threw me off. You are right...the end results trump whats on my ball.
It seems like the thing that threw you off was the amount of oil on your ball. The amount of oil on your ball doesn't tell you anything because you don't know where on the lane from which it comes. Let me give you an example. I bowl in an evening league where the center puts down a 25' head run of oil before league and doesn't touch the rest of the league. I often hear bowlers talking about how oily the lanes are based on the oil on their bowling balls. The problem is, of course, that the oil is coming from the first 25', and the rest of the lane is bone dry. Something else to consider is this, which doesn't affect the left side as much, but here goes: if one bowler is playing the second arrow and throwing the ball out to 8 board at 45', and another bowler is playing the third arrow and throwing the ball out to 8 board at 45', and yet another bowler is playing the fourth arrow and throwing the ball out to 8 board at 45', what part of the lane is drying up? I'll give you a hint: it's not at the arrows... it's the area down the lane where everyone is playing.

The biggest single thing that you can do to effectively adjust to changing lane conditions is to learn to watch the ball as it exits the pin deck. For you as a lefty, this means that the ball should be exiting the pin deck right between the eight pin and the nine pin. If you start to see it exiting more toward the eight pin, then this means that you need to move right to find more oil to help to retain the energy in the ball. If you start to see it exiting more toward the nine pin, then this means that the ball is still hooking as it enters the pins which means that you either need to change to an earlier rolling ball, or slow down slightly on your ball speed to get the ball to hook a little sooner.

Please note that on a typical house shot which starts out being dry on the outside and oily in the middle, there is never any reason to more more to the outside, because the oil is already gone.

[moleman]

Yeah, from Rob and your explanation I can see I was fighting myself. Moving my feet right was fine but shooting further out was the mistake. I can now see that. More oil coming back fooled me. It probably confuses a lot of beginners. Us newbies have a fear of even the word oil. I should have shot an inside line staying in the oil not gone further out into the proverbial dessert. I will have to start watching where I exit the pin deck. Being a newbie you get all kinds of on the spot help, just not necessarily the right help. Thanks for the correct help.
Rob will have a better thought on this.

I'm assuming your a lefty.

To me when the ball started coming in high flush that was the warning signal.

Your line was starting to break down and you needed to start to move. I would have moved in some and brought the ball in closer to the headpin so it stayed in the oil a little longer.

Moving in was okay, but by throwing the ball out farther left. You were just getting it into the dry even earlier so that would make it hook just that much earlier/harder.

Being there was only 2 of you on the left. When you moved back left, eased up on your swing, slowed down and moved your target further to the right.

You found some oil and were most likely also projecting the ball farther down the lane better.

[RobLV1]

Well put! One of the hardest things to understand is that in modern bowling, oil is your friend. Back in the days before reactive resin bowlin balls, it was the bowler's release that made the ball hook, and too much oil impeded the ball's ability to hook. Today, modern balls hook all by themselves, and oil is what retains the energy in the ball to knock down the most pins. When there is not enough oil on the line you are playing, the ball loses energy and hits the pins like a toasted marshmallow.