As I previously mentioned, there are approximately EIGHT Professional Oil patterns that are used mostly in the PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) Tournaments that you can watch on television. Sometimes they may appear on the lanes during some of the tournaments that take place around the country as well. Oil is placed on the lanes to present a challenge to each bowler. The quicker you can figure out the oil pattern, the better your scores will be. Oil patterns affect the speed, spin, and direction of your ball as it travels down the lane. 1. Strokers--Should begin aiming between the 2nd and 3rd arrows and play a bit straighter into the pocket area. Tweeners-- Aim around the 3rd arrow to start. Crankers-- Start the stance a bit more to the right than normal and can use the 3rd arrow as the target. As the pattern wears down it will be a higher scoring pattern for those with this style. 2. A stronger hooking ball is better to start with, one that hooks more on the back end for this pattern if you have one. 3. This will be a slightly higher scoring pattern and not as difficult as the Shark Pattern since the ball will have two feet less oil to travel on, which will allow it to be able to roll and hook into the pocket area a bit sooner. 4. You can play from different angles on the Scorpion Pattern, which allows you to have more options than with the Shark Pattern. 5.You can also try playing this pattern the way you would normally play on a house pattern but there is less room for error on this one, so try to be as accurate as possible. If you miss your mark to the outside for example (to the right), the ball may not have a chance to recover (hook back) and you may miss hitting the headpin altogether. 6. The breakpoint (when the ball starts to hook) is between the 6th and the 10th board, similar to most House Patterns. Use the above pointers as a starting point but it's best to just observe the ball to determine what adjustments to make. Remember too, as the oil moves farther down the lane towards the pins (carry down oil), you may have a little trouble getting into the pocket. Check out my ebook available on Amazon/Kindle--"Let's Rev Up Those Bowling Scores"! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZSMB99G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=P3PQWHFB1WYS&keywords=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores&qid=1652035291&sprefix=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2 Join me here again next week when I will be discussing "What is the best angle to bowl a strike"? Good Luck and High Scoring!!
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This is a continuation from Blog Post Part 6 written on 12/13/21:
36. The more Revs you put on the bowling ball, the later the ball will break or begin to hook. More REVS also increases pin velocity which increases pin action. This is what makes the pins dance around on the lane and fall sideways which will help knock more of them down. I have seen many people with lots of revs on their ball getting a lot of these types of strikes. The ball just barely touches the head pin and they still manage to get a strike. This is still a good thing because a strike is a strike and does looks the same on the score board. It doesn't matter how you get them really, but I still rather get the nice solid pocket hit rather than a lucky or sloppy strike, after all, luck eventually runs out. 37. TIGHT LANES-- This means there's a lot of oil on the lanes.You DO NOT need to put a lot of revs om the ball when the lane conditions are like this. The ball will mostly be sliding on the oil so why waste the energy? 38. The more a bowler moves to the center part of the lane, the more the ball will enter into the pocket (1-3 for righty's and 1-2 for lefty's) straighter and more parallel with the boards of the lane. MOST of the lane oil is to the center of the lane in the different oil patterns I have previously discussed. 39. ANGLE is determined by the amount of HOOK and SPEED that you put on the ball. No angle means you are throwing a straight ball down the center of the lane. Moving left or right at the stance and throwing in toward the pocket area will INCREASE angle. 40. If after your first shot you are leaving a 10, 8, 5, or 5-7 pins, then you are NOT using enough angle. Move more to the right of the lane at the stance for your first ball. 41. If you are leaving the 4, 7, or 4-7 pins after your first shot, then you are coming in at TOO much angle and you will need to move a little more to the left or toward the center part of the lane on your first ball. Join me back here next week when I'll be discussing another of the Professional Oil Patterns, "The Scorpion". I hope to see you back then. As always, I wish you Good Luck and High Scoring!! There are approximately EIGHT Professional Oil patterns that are used mostly in the PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) Tournaments that you can watch on television. Sometimes they may appear on the lanes during big tournaments around the country as well. As I have previously said, oil is placed on the lanes to present a challenge to each bowler. There is what's called "The 31 Rule". If you subtract this number from the length of the pattern you are playing on, it gives you an idea of where the breakpoint will be so you will have an idea of where your starting point can be. Remember this is just a starting point. When you get your practice session, always let your ball be your guide and adjust from there. The Shark oil pattern is 44 feet long down the 60 foot lane which makes it a difficult pattern to play because it doesn't give your ball much of a chance to hook until it's pretty close to the pins. The pattern looks like this: 1. Strokers-- Should throw between the first and second arrow. Tweeners-- Should stand further left and aim around the third arrow. Crankers-- Should play even farther left of the Tweener and aim between the 4th and 5th arrows. 2. If you can, I recommend either walking a bit more slowly along the approach, or holding the ball lower at the stance allowing the ball to slow down so it has more of a chance to hook into the pocket. Throwing the ball SLOWER will give it a chance to get into the rolling phase when it hits the pocket, or you may not be able to carry the strike.If you throw it to hard or fast, it will only slide on the oil and never have a chance come up into the 1-3 pocket (1-2 for lefty's). 3. If you have an aggressive ball (one that has a large hook), this would be good time for you to use it. It will be able to cut through the oil better than your regular hooking ball. 4. If you miss your target to the outside (to the right), the ball may not have a chance to hook back. 5. This pattern will become easier to deal with as you bowl more games. The oil will break down and some will be removed, then you can use a lesser aggressive ball. 6. You can also try rolling your ball more PARALLEL to the boards on the lane. 7. Keep the breakpoint as close to the headpin as possible. Worse case scenario, you can use your 10 pin spare plastic ball I mentioned to buy. It will go straight to give you more accuracy and will be easier to get into the pocket area leaving you with an 8 or 9 pin count which is better than having to deal with a possible split. A straight ball won't be affected by the oil, and then when the oil breaks down, you can use your regular hooking ball which will work better at that point. Remember to make sure you are keeping an eye on the ball and observing how it is working on the lane so you can figure out what adjustments you need to make as soon as possible. Join me here again next week when I'll be discussing "What do I need to know about in Bowling"?-Part 7" I hope to see you again. Good Luck and High Scoring!! Bowling Balls can be very expensive these days, especially with the economy being the way it is. The newer "Reactive Resin" balls can help you achieve higher scores because they can get through the oil better than the urethane ones, but they vary in price from $150 and up! These balls usually last anywhere from 2-5 years depending on how many games you bowl per week. They also absorb a lot of the lane oil, and over time the reaction of the ball will change and it will NOT perform the same as when it was new. If you're like me, you will want to help lengthen the life span of the ball as long as possible before you have to spend a lot of money buying a new one. There are several things you can do at home or have done at the pro shop to help lengthen the life span of your ball. Here are some of my suggestions: 1. Try to wipe your ball after each shot or at least after every few frames to keep oil from soaking into it and to wipe off any debris that may have gotten onto the ball. You can use a regular Terry Cloth hand towel from home or you can buy a "Micro Fiber" towel online or from the local pro shop (see my blog post from 4/26/21 on Equipment you need for bowling). Both will help to keep the pores clean on the balls' surface. 2. You can use a USBC (United States Bowling Congress) approved Ball Cleaner after each set of games you bowl. You can purchase a bottle of it online or at the pro shop in your bowling center. This product can be used during league play so if you prefer, you can wipe the ball off after each game (Ebonite Powerhouse Ball Cleaner, Reacta Clean are good ones that I have used and prefer). 3. Soaking the Ball: First I remove any tape from inside the holes in my ball and I put tape over the 3 holes in the ball (so no water will get inside of it) and I soak it in a large sink full of very hot tap water with liquid "DAWN" dish detergent. I leave it in there for about an hour. The dawn really cuts through the grease and oil does come out of the ball because you can see it floating on the surface. If you don't have a deep enough sink, then just put in half of the ball for 30 minutes and turn it over and soak the other half for 30 minutes. 4. You can also wipe your ball off after each 3 game session with some of these products you probably already have in your home-Ammonia, Windex, Orange Clean Multipurpose Cleaner, or rubbing alcohol. Don't use rubbing alcohol every time because they do say it can dry out the ball and make it more brittle over time. Also try NOT to let the cleaner get inside of the holes. 5. There is a product called "Scotch-Brite". They are pads used to scratch up the surface of the ball. Use it a little on the dampened side rather than totally dry. 6. Believe it or not, I used to bowl with a fellow who "Baked" his bowling ball in a 185 degrees oven for 30-45 minutes. I have tried it and I placed a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven to catch the oil that dripped out of the ball. Don't use this method too often because dry heat can dry out the ball and possibly cause it to crack over time 7. You can try using an Abralon Pad- This is a sandpaper with a foam backing on it which ranges from 1000-2000 grit.It can be used wet or dry on the bowling ball and will keep the bowling ball reacting the way it did when it was new for about 30 games until you will have to repeat the process. I just wipe the ball with a damp cloth, then go over the ball in a circular motion with the pad while the ball is still damp. It gives the ball a dull finish which will help the ball to hook a little later on the lane. Having "More" Surface on a bowling ball means to scratch it up more. Let's say using a sandpaper with a 500 grit will put more surface on a ball than using a 2000 grit sandpaper. Using a 500 grit sandpaper will help the ball to hook earlier than sanding your ball with a 2000 grit which will cause the ball to hook later. 8. They also sell OIL EXTRACTION Machines online or you an take it to the pro shop and have him/her re-surface the ball if you don't want to do it yourself. They put the ball on a SPINNER or Resurfacing machine and apply a 1000-2000 grit sandpaper finish to it. The process will last about one bowling season before you have to do it again, and the cost can range from approximately $10+ depending on the condition of the ball. The process cleans the pores of the bowling ball and allows more gripping power on the lane and thereby more hook. Most bowling centers no longer have the "Luster King" machine to clean the ball since the newer reactive resin balls cannot be put into those machines. It used wax to polish the ball but that will only CLOG the porous surface on these newer balls. These machines were used for rubber and plastic balls. So if there is one of those machines in your center, do NOT use it if you have a reactive ball, but you can use it to clean a plastic ball. The key here is to try and remove as much of the oil from the balls' surface as soon as possible before it has a chance to seep into the pores. The more you try to do that, the longer your ball is going to last and perform the way it did when you first purchased it, and you will not have to buy a new ball as soon as you would if you didn't do anything to the ball at all. Check out my ebook available on Amazon/Kindle--"Let's Rev Up Those Bowling Scores"! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZSMB99G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=P3PQWHFB1WYS&keywords=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores&qid=1652035291&sprefix=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2 Please join me next week when I'll be starting to discuss some of the different OIL PATTERNS the PROS play on and what you may encounter in some of the tournaments I hope you'll be signing up for. The first I'll discuss is the "SHARK PATTERN". I hope to see you then. Good Luck and High Scoring! |
AuthorHello!! My name is Joanie. Although I'm not a professional bowler, I have loved the sport for more than 45 years, averaged over 200 for several seasons, and learned quite a bit with research and experience. Archives
February 2023
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