Anyone bowling in a sport bowling league? Or have ever bowled in a sport league?
I prefer the challenge of the sport shot or any type of "modified" shot. I have bowled in a tournament bowling club that traveled around the state and bowled on many different conditions. I have also bowled in two sport shot leagues over the past few years and am currently bowling in a traveling scratch league between three houses. The one thing that bowlers will notice right off is that there is more oil volume put on the lanes and in flatter patterns for sport shot leagues.
In the higher scoring "House Shot," there is very little oil on the outside parts of the lanes while the inside parts of the lanes will have a higher volume. This allows a bowler to miss the target by up to 10 boards and the ball can still recover to the pocket. Typical ratios of inside (2nd arrow to 2nd arrow) to outside (2nd arrow to the gutter on both sides) can be as high as 10:, 15:, or 20:1. The house shot is also shorter in length in that the house may lay oil down for only 30 to 35 feet also allowing the ball to hook more. These two situations have a higher scoring potential.
In the Sport Shots, it is mandated that the ratio of inside-to-outside be 2:1, 2.5:1, or 3:1 and oil down the lane to 39, 40, 41, or more feet. If you miss outside, the ball has less chance to recover to the pocket, if you miss inside, the ball will "take off." The premium is on accuracy because you will not likely bowl on as much oil as you are normally used to. (Even after 4 games, oil is seen heavily on your ball surface; and, you are constantly having to wipe your ball off as well as getting oil on your hands. At the end of the night, you can still feel the oil on the palms of your hands.)
The USBC equivalent average chart for sport shot league to regular league is that if you average 180 in a sport shot, your equivalent regular league average is 196.
During the first season, several bowlers quit in disgust because they averaged 220 in their bowling center, but only averaged 160 in the sport shot. Those of us who stuck it out learned a lot. For me, it was like bowling back in the old days when they laid oil on the wooden lanes from the foul line to the back of the pit.
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