How to Read an Oil Pattern Sheet: Understanding Bowling Lane Oil Patterns

[bowl1820]

Pattern Specialist/Lane Technician John Janawicz describes how to read an oil pattern sheet and how it can impact your game. Oil pattern distance and oil pattern volume are a couple of things that players should be focusing on.

[ChuckR]

This is sort of informative. What is missing is HOW DO I GET an oil pattern sheet. As mentioned in other posts somewhere, the desk doesn't know and the person that may is working on machine maintenance. Even IF you got to talk to them it is only talk and no sheets to do the analysis mentioned in the video.

[Mike White]

This is sort of informative. What is missing is HOW DO I GET an oil pattern sheet. As mentioned in other posts somewhere, the desk doesn't know and the person that may is working on machine maintenance. Even IF you got to talk to them it is only talk and no sheets to do the analysis mentioned in the video.

It's like getting nutrition information from someone working at McDonalds.

It's not part of their job description.

[John Anderson]

It's like getting nutrition information from someone working at McDonalds.

It's not part of their job description.

And now the US government says that calorie counts must be publicly displayed, so let's get those data sheets. I think it comes down to how willing you are to try and make some contacts at your center. If you are friendly and patient and a regular customer, I think most centers will oblige. They certainly should give league bowlers access to the patterns they plan to bowl on. Although, I can't say I've ever asked for a pattern sheet myself so I don't have any first hand knowledge of this.

[Amyers]

This is sort of informative. What is missing is HOW DO I GET an oil pattern sheet. As mentioned in other posts somewhere, the desk doesn't know and the person that may is working on machine maintenance. Even IF you got to talk to them it is only talk and no sheets to do the analysis mentioned in the video.

Ask them what pattern they are putting down if it's one of the common ones you can look it up online without any trouble. If your house is using some homemade thing they may treat it as proprietary and or thier may not even be a sheet or graph. It's different everywhere.

[RobLV1]

This is sort of informative. What is missing is HOW DO I GET an oil pattern sheet. As mentioned in other posts somewhere, the desk doesn't know and the person that may is working on machine maintenance. Even IF you got to talk to them it is only talk and no sheets to do the analysis mentioned in the video.

Chuck, if you are talking about getting a pattern sheet for the centers at which you usually bowl, they don't exist. Pattern sheets are very informative for sport and challenge patterns, but they are not available nor do they do you any good for house shots. In terms of the typical house shot, employees don't know the specifics of the shot that is put down, and they wouldn't be allowed to tell you if they did know it. All you need to know is that the oil is heavier somewhere around the second arrow, and lighter outside of it. You can get a pretty good idea of where the ball is by actually looking over the foul line before you bowl and see where the boards look shinier (more oil) and where they look duller (less oil).

[classygranny]

Well they DO EXIST. Both of the Brunswick houses I bowl in post the oil pattern sheets, at the front desk and at both ends. They also post the sheet for the sports pattern they put out on a few lanes on Sunday morning. I never think to much about the THS unless the lanes are reacting much different than normal and then we look to see if they changed length or quantity as they do when they transition from summer to fall and back to summer.

[bowl1820]

It's not that pattern sheets for a centers typical house shot (THS) don't exist, It's just that the majority of centers don't provide them or make them publicly available.

Like Rob said most of the time rank and file employees don't know the specifics of the shot that is put down, their just button pushers. The ones that would know would be the head mechanic and management.

Management doesn't want to give out the info, because it could cause them trouble. Bowlers comparing things to other houses, complaining more than they do now about the shot, plus for the majority of bowlers, the information would be meaningless etc. etc.

Most of the time you only see them at leagues and tournaments that are using sport and challenge patterns.

Centers like classygranny's that provide the THS information are few and far between.

One thing to note too is even if you have the information, it's just a starting point and it's no guarantee of how your ball will react. The same pattern used in different houses will play differently do to many variables.

[ChuckR]

The consensus seems to be that the video is nice, but for the vast majority of bowlers it is of little use.

[bowl1820]

The consensus seems to be that the video is nice, but for the vast majority of bowlers it is of little use.

The vast majority of bowlers are not concerned about knowing about thing's like lane patterns, ball spec's etc, They bowl on one maybe two different patterns at most and just want a ball that hooks and a easy condition.

Bowler's have to be past a certain point in their game, before they are interested in knowing a lot of this information. Don't ask what that point is, It's just the moment the light comes on and they say "Hey I want to know more!" and that point will be different for everyone.

Most of the patterns can be found online, the only one you most likely won't find is the THS for your particular house (Unless your house just happens to provide it.)

Given if more of houses bowlers were interested in knowing this stuff, then the houses might be more forth coming.