Graaille

As practice progresses, you'll notice that as you get looser your ball speed increases and your wrist movement is more pronounced. At the end of practice, you should have a pretty clear idea of where you want to start.

When you begin actual competition, though, you may start to notice subtle changes in the lanes. Being aware of these changes can put you one step ahead of the other bowlers.

First and foremost, if you're bowling the first squad of the day, you'll notice within a few minutes that--within as few as a half-dozen shots--the oil will begin to carry down the lane past where the machine stopped applying it. Little streaks will be created on the back end that can prevent your ball from hooking where you expect it to.

On the right side, carrydown will usually occur within the first three games. It will level off for a while, and then the front part of the lane will actually begin to dry up as the balls carry the oil away. Most right-handed bowlers, therefore, will have to play deeper and deeper as the day progresses.

For lefthanders, carrydown starts to occur during the first game. However, because there are comparatively few lefthanders, oil will continue to be carried down all day long. There usually aren't enough lefties in a given tournament to create the dry areas the righthanders see. Occasionally, if there are enough lefthanders, they can break the lane down in a similar way to the right-hand side. Conversely, if there are fewer than usual righthanders, then carrydown will continue for a longer time than usual.

Bowlers who are aware of this pattern and react the quickest when it begins to happen will usually play the best that day. However, much like in a PBA tournament, the bowler who bowls the best for the week will lead the event--but unfortunately, the leader sometimes isn't the best bowler when it comes to the stepladder finals. At that point, everybody starts over again, and depending on where you enter the stepladder, you've got to read your lanes all over again. It's as if you've got to win two tournaments: the competition to reach the finals, and then the finals themselves.

In a PBA event, you've got to be a long-distance runner during qualifying and a sprinter in the stepladder finals. Each of these strategies requires different tactics.