Are your league's lane conditions too easy?

[v33dubfox]

Hi!

I am posting this message after an hard weekend in a tournament. This weekend was one of the biggest tournament in Quebec province, with 72 teams of 4 players from all around the province, some from Ontario, some from New York and some from New Brunswick. I had a really hard time reading the lanes because the oil pattern is different from the usual house shot in leagues. We were 5 teams from the same house and none of them went in final round (18 teams in final round). Everyone scored around 20-30 pins below his average. Personnally, I have a 207 average, playing 6 games per week. I scored around 175 average during the weekend. So, my question is, is the oil pattern of the tournament too hard, or is the house shot too easy?

Thanks for your opinion!

[RobLV1]

House shots are designed to keep bowlers coming back. How do they do that? Let them score so high that they think they're good, regardless of their true ability. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you realize that a high league average on a house shot doesn't make you a top level bowler. It makes you a top level house bowler, and there's a huge difference.

[Wigman]

Tournament patterns have very little "mistake" areas, whereas most Typical House patterns have a big "mistake" area where it recovers into a Brooklyn or a Fishing Strike.

Tournaments aren't supposed to be easy, it forces you to read, make adjustments on where you set and approach and deliver. You have to have a different mindset from what you have in league bowling. That was my mistake goin' into my first tournament (it had a very short pattern, my ball would start hooking somewhere past 35 feet) had to shell out some cash to be able to a 2nd squad that made the cut.

Also tournament bowling also means a lot of bowlers eating up the lanes, which forces constant adjustments, it can play hell on your mental game.

Whenever i go to a tournament, during warm up, i throw a couple or so errant shots to find where it'll hook, i watch my opponents on where they bowl, how they deliver it, take those in account of my necessary adjustments. Also i rid myself of any emotion, find my zen, visualize what happens 2 frames ahead, bowl with confidence and find a mark/area to "eye-f***" so you'll know your ball will be rolling thru said area.

Back to the original question. Do I think my house patterns are easy? Hard to say because my house changes the volume every 3 weeks or so, sometimes every week to throw us off. Its harder when im bowling on a pattern where the ball is traveling down the midlane, 1 board from the gutter, but I like the challenge.

[Aslan]

Don't know. Only bowled in one tournament and I think it was oiled THS.

I DO think my house is easier than other houses though. Currently they have wood lanes and you have a lot of guys in the low 200s throwing speed dominant with very weak equipment. Then when we sweep in Vegas, they all throw a hissy fit because suddenly these 207 average bowlers can't break 180. I remember turing in my score for the 2nd game (for sidepot) and it was an embarrasing 135. But then I saw the score of our house pro shop guy who I took lessons from and his score that game was a 134.

I also bowled in a short league at a different house last fall and my average was 30 pins lower. Why? Well, on wood lanes, with my old style...I had a miss area to the left of 2 boards...about the same as synthetics. BUT....to the right....I had a miss area of about 6 boards (versus 2 on synthetics).

I do think conditions are easier than they used to be. Statistics regarding scoring and 300 games are fairly clear on that. And virtually everyone that I talked to that went and bowled on sport patterns (like the USBC white pattern) have sid it's a humbling experience. But I also think it's a house familiarity thing. How many people bowl tournaments? 5% of bowlers? How many bowl at multiple houses? 10%? So not only are most bowlers afraid of tougher conditions but most bowlers are like that groundhog; poking their head out, seeing their shadow, and retreating back in. Just bowling at a different center scares them.

[noeymc]

some house shots can be tough ive seen a house shot take 10-15 pins off peoples avg on another note to easy

[ALazySavage]

This can vary based on a multitude of factors; Lane Surface, Oil Pattern used, Mechanic, who you are bowling with, etc., but typically I would say that the house shot it too easy. Other than the pattern itself, the familiarity with the house shot you bowl on versus the unknown of the tournament pattern is likely the biggest factor. With most THS (typical house shot) it is pretty safe to say that when you need to adjust you move left (for a right hander) and possibly move you target as well; with some tournament patterns the adjustments may be different - moving right to avoid the line that was just burned out or to get around potential carry down (something we really don't see that much anymore).

This different gets accelerated when you have a higher average and can take one frame since you become more dependent on carry. When you say you are dropping 20-30 pins think of it like this... in a typical day at league you may have a stretch of X X 9/ X = 69 + X while at the tournament you may go X 8/ 9/ X = 59 + X; the single lost strike which we could attribute to not making the proper adjustment because of not being familiar with the shot or simply the shot is harder costs you 10 pins. This doesn't assume that you potentially throw a split because of a shot jumping or skidding and leaving a 2-8-10; X 9/ 72 X = 46 + X....Assuming you bowl regularly after that point in the game, the single split that is likely caused by a late or poor adjustment is your 23 pins lost for the game.

[circlecity]

I will say they are too easy when I'm averaging 250.

[vdubtx]

some house shots can be tough ive seen a house shot take 10-15 pins off peoples avg on another note to easy

Yup. For me it is the lighter conditions that are my struggles. On Tuesday nights in house that is lighter volume, I average 220. Thursday night where there is more volume, I average 231. For many bowlers the opposite happens between these 2 houses.

[Aslan]

Yup. For me it is the lighter conditions that are my struggles. On Tuesday nights in house that is lighter volume, I average 220. Thursday night where there is more volume, I average 231. For many bowlers the opposite happens between these 2 houses.

It's all what you're used to and the equipment you have. There's always this one guy *%&*ing up a storm about how he wants to light the wood lanes on fire because he can't keep his ball right of the headpin. So while many of the bowlers that are speed dominant with weaker equipment can't bowl more than a 175 when we sweep in Vegas...this guy won like $450 because suddenly he was in a house where his slower speed, stronger equipment combination worked.

Thats what really motivated me to change my game. I want to be good on synthetics when they arrive this summer...and I want to do well in Vegas or at other tourneys. And chucking it 15ft at 21mph isn't going to get me there. Not with the equipment I have and my rev rate.

[tccstudent]

Yup. For me it is the lighter conditions that are my struggles. On Tuesday nights in house that is lighter volume, I average 220. Thursday night where there is more volume, I average 231. For many bowlers the opposite happens between these 2 houses.

I is it that Parick Henry said to the British during the Revolutionary Bowling Wars "Give Me Oil or Give Me Death"