Practicing on dry lanes?

[bjeffe1234]

I know that sometimes in tournaments or league you may have to face some less than desirable conditions and you have to do your best to adjust. I've been bowling leagues and some tournaments for about four years now and am wondering how some more seasoned bowlers feel about this. How bad does it hurt your game to practice on dry lanes?

[J Anderson]

I have the opposite problem. Where I normally bowl puts out a lane condition with a fair amount of oil. Every other year the local USBC tournament is in a center that seems to specialize in dry lanes and sticky approaches.

[bjeffe1234]

Really?! I know the grass is always greener on the other side, but I would love to go to bowl on a non-league night and have some oil on the lanes. I just wonder how hard it makes it for beginners learning to bowl a ball with a hook (whether cross lane or down-n-in).

[aussiedave]

I know that sometimes in tournaments or league you may have to face some less than desirable conditions and you have to do your best to adjust. I've been bowling leagues and some tournaments for about four years now and am wondering how some more seasoned bowlers feel about this. How bad does it hurt your game to practice on dry lanes?

We usually get medium to oily conditions on league night and then practice on Sunday the lanes are seriously torched - it does challenge you and force you to adjust, but it doesn't give you a chance to experiment on league conditions.
Oh well.
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[HunterRunsIt]

My center the lanes are dry when I practice and oily at the houses I go to for tournaments..I HATE IT.

[bjeffe1234]

Well, I watch videos and read bowling literature and some mention that the oil protects the lanes from wear also. Is the lane conditioner that expensive? Shouldn't it just be a necessary expense, just like the cash register? You can't ice skate without ice, so are you really bowling without conditioner. Is that a valid comparison? What do you think?

[kev3inp]

Synthetic lanes are pretty durable, hence the years and years that go by before replacement. The oil was used to protect the wood, but now it's used more for the shot it gives, rather than any other benefit to the house. Oil is not necessary to protect the synthetic, not, at least, as it protected actual wood.

[aussiedave]

Synthetic lanes are pretty durable, hence the years and years that go by before replacement. The oil was used to protect the wood, but now it's used more for the shot it gives, rather than any other benefit to the house. Oil is not necessary to protect the synthetic, not, at least, as it protected actual wood.

I think the next thing in bowling will be a lane surface that can be "dialed in" from the desk that does not need lane conditioner. You won't need to wipe the ball, you will have league or tourny conditions always and the mechanics will rejoice fer sure...
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[got_a_300]

I love getting the chance to bowl on dry lanes I go out to our center on Saturday night
after the junior bowlers have bowled on the lanes earlier in the day and all of the open
bowling earlier in the afternoon and early evening because I know the lanes will be fried.

The center uses a short dried out on the outside shot for the junior bowlers and then by
the time I show up in the evening the lanes are completely dried out and especially if I go
out on Sunday or Monday evening since they are not oiled again until Tuesday during the
day for the senior league.

It will only help you in the long run to practice all you can on fried dried out lane conditions
because not every tournament is going to have the perfect oiled shot out there waiting on
you and it is also a good ideal to find some lanes that are flooded in oil so you can learn how
to bowl on any condition dry, a little dry, just right, a little on the oily side, and flooded lanes.