What do y'all like for short oil patterns

[C J]

Realized tonight that I'm in a "sport shot like league" in that they change oil patterns every 4 weeks.. I was just told Monday night was the "competitive league" didnt know the shot changes. Just when I got my game back after a 6 week layoff before league to fix my average they change the shot :mad: ... Anyways tonight we were on a 38ft shot tonight, many whom said its actually a 36ft shot and even the owner who is on my team said he is pretty sure its a 36ft shot. Either way it hooked quite a bit and my Code Red I think is just gonna be too much on the backend for this pattern. The players that seemed to do pretty well were players throwing a smoother ball that they could play up the right side with or balls that weren't turning left when they hit the friction. Next week I plan on taking my Tyrant back up to box surface and trying it out but I was just curious what you guys prefer for shorter shots.

I shot crappy but others shot much more crappy than me lol. That moment when you realize you really are not good at bowling because you can score on a house shot :( I am now going to do my best to forget about average and focus on getting better since I will be on much tougher patterns... But good news is our next pattern is supposed to be much easier, its called the 40ft "Over There"... The description says no matter for lefty or righty, just throw it "over there"

[mc_runner]

Kind of depends if it's a flatter shot or not. If it's flat, I'd play a less aggressive smooth ball down and in. If it's dry outside too, I'd be playing inside to stay in the oil with a symmetric solid to tame out the backend. It depends on your shot, but on a short pattern a pearl can tend to jump off the breakpoint quite a bit. It sounds like your read on the pattern is pretty close and should hopefully be good for next week.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

Shorter patterns your typically want something that is going to roll earlier to blend out the pattern. It's common for people to think they need balls to go long but that usually will just make it harder as the ball will become jumpy. For shorter patterns I like to try keeping my lines in from of me and staying away from throwing away from the pocket. If the heads have decent oil then a urethane Ball is good on shorter patterns.

[1VegasBowler]

On short patterns, I like to use my Vintage Danger Zone, Radical Cyclops and my original BTU.

The BTU I can play late and straight because it's drilled for length and very slow response.

The VDZ and Cyclops is where I have to play deep early on, usually around 20 to 10.

[chip82901]

Personally, on short patterns, I opt to go with surface. Usually, somewhere between 2000-4000 grit, sanded. Pearl or polished equipment tends to get jumpy off the end of the pattern. Last year we had a tournament with 2 separate patterns, 46ft, and 36ft. I actually used the Phaze II on both, but I moved way inside and never got a ball outside of 12 on the short. Ball would burn up some energy, but still have enough to carry

[ChuckR]

It is nice you had the manager in the league. It was also interesting and common that they THINK the pattern is ?. Finding out what the pattern is and/or the oil used is often VERY VERY difficult. I bowl at 2 different lanes in Vegas and getting that information has been impossible. I start with a Tyrant and drop down to a 4000 grit Melee Hook. If even more dry I use an UpRoar.

[1VegasBowler]

It is nice you had the manager in the league. It was also interesting and common that they THINK the pattern is ?. Finding out what the pattern is and/or the oil used is often VERY VERY difficult. I bowl at 2 different lanes in Vegas and getting that information has been impossible. I start with a Tyrant and drop down to a 4000 grit Melee Hook. If even more dry I use an UpRoar.

I bowl at Texas Station and their pattern is 42ft.

Make sure you ask a mechanic how long the pattern is. They are the ones that have that info.

[C J]

Many of the people there have just bowled on the pattern before and knew it felt different. I talked to the PSO today who normally maintains the lanes even though being the PSO is his job and he said the shot last night was not what it was supposed to be. He said the guys that oiled the lanes did not strip them beforehand.

Wanted to pull my Tyrant out last night but with it sitting at 500 grit I figured it would be hitting like a pancake going through that much dry on the backend. Gonna take it back to 2000 and see how it does. My PSO is also doing a reset on his arsenal and I'm thinking about getting his Pitch Blue he never uses to try for $50. He is gonna move the fingers for me for free and if I hate it I'm only down $50.

[chip82901]

Many of the people there have just bowled on the pattern before and knew it felt different. I talked to the PSO today who normally maintains the lanes even though being the PSO is his job and he said the shot last night was not what it was supposed to be. He said the guys that oiled the lanes did not strip them beforehand.

Wanted to pull my Tyrant out last night but with it sitting at 500 grit I figured it would be hitting like a pancake going through that much dry on the backend. Gonna take it back to 2000 and see how it does. My PSO is also doing a reset on his arsenal and I'm thinking about getting his Pitch Blue he never uses to try for $50. He is gonna move the fingers for me for free and if I hate it I'm only down $50.

Be careful with the Pitch Blue. Mine only comes out when things are absolutely fried and nothing else seems to work. I honestly wish I would have went with a pitch black instead to get it to read a tad earlier

[C J]

Be careful with the Pitch Blue. Mine only comes out when things are absolutely fried and nothing else seems to work. I honestly wish I would have went with a pitch black instead to get it to read a tad earlier

Yeah, I was hoping it would read early enough since it’s a shorter pattern but I was wondering the same thing, don’t know if it’s gonna be strong enough to use on fresh.