Just wondering if anyone has ever or is now bowling in a PBA region. I've been bowling "for real" for almost a year and a half. Before I just bowled for fun and of course straight down the lane. Well I finally learned how to do it correctly. I am in my 2nd league and my avg is up to about 200. The last 4 weeks I'm averaging almost 650.

Anyway my question is how hard/different is it in PBA type events with the oil patterns. I heard once from one guy it is BRUTAL. I am just lookin for more info. I realize just cause I can beat up on locals it doesnt really amount to jack against other good people.

If I'm 28, and have only been doing this less than 2 years how much can I really improve or learn? I know nothing about lane patterns and have no idea what I would need to do to adjust to new ones. Is that hard? Just alot of odds and ends questions, but I love bowling and would love to do more than just a once a week league.

my first suggestion is start going to different bowling alleys around your area. if you can step onto a new lane at a new alley with only 3-5 minutes of practice and then see if you bowl your 200+ average. If you can do that at quite a few different alleys around your area, then you may want to look into it more. But the pro tour is brutal due to the change in oil patterns. sometimes at the front desk they will tell you how they oil the lanes, but a lot of them don't know.

I don't know first hand, but what the realnick is what I've heard a lot of from people. There's someone on here that knows bowling, because maybe last year, Nebraska was the women's bowling NC's, and some idiot started running his mouth about how he dominated in his bowling 199 class, and how he could've dominated them all. Someone who knew their stuff came on and put him in his place pretty swiftly.

Last year before I moved here we had 3 alleys to try. I did just as well on all of em. My style is not like most of these people with their big pretty hooks. I understand those dont even come close to flying when you go to a "real" oil pattern.

I use what was described to me as a very traditional release. I line up like just to the right of the pocket and my ball moves very little right in the pocket. An older pro shop guy told me people who can still throw like that will win alot more than some of the others. I dunno if he knew what he was saying. So I'm just thinking...if my ball requires little movement and I can do it VERY consistently and adjust it easily, maybe i can learn more and take the next step. Apparently with my current average in my USBC league I can get my PBA membership and start doing those little tourneys. I'm gonna play this big tourney comin up locally in April. If I win or get top 3 I'll take another step heh. Thanks for the info so far.

[This message has been edited by lostdog (edited 1/30/2010 11:27p).]

I'm also very aware this is a big difference of dominating a local league and coming close to bowling a 200 in a real tourney. I just dont know the ins and outs. Like golf and football I know. I know in golf if you shoot around an 80 you are not ever going to really improve on that. And football there is like no chance at all of going "pro" I just dont know jack about pro bowling.

thats great lostdog and i hope you do well. Please let us know any updates in your endeavor.

lostdog, this could make for a really awesome blog.

I'm a member of the PBA Southwest Region.

The best advice I can give you is to get rock solid on your spare shooting. That means 95% or better on single pin spares. In a decent number of our tournaments, even to plus 100 (over a 200 average) for eight games makes the cut. The tough conditions put a premium on spares. If you can't consistently cover single pin spares, you are just throwing your money away entering one of these tournaments.

The most important purchase you can make is a polyester spare ball. You must learn to throw straight at all spares (except those with double wood). While you may be good a throwing your strike ball at spares in your league, that won't work on PBA conditions. We change lanes after every game and you just never know how that pair was broken down (oil moved around the lane during practice and the tournament). Throwing a reactive ball somewhere other than you strike line to pick up a spare is a complete crap shoot,

The next thing you need to do is just enter a PBA regional in your area as a Guest. Check the Southwest Region schedule at the PBA.com website to find one close to you. You can cash twice in a year without having to join as a PBA member. Pete McCordic is our region's director. He is really a great guy and will help you along with how our tournaments operate.

Once you pick a tournament, bump this thread to the top. We will most likely be bowling on one of the five named oil patterns. Once we know which one it is, I can help to give you what insight I have as to how to play them. The lane surface we bowl on will make a big difference as well. If I have bowled in that center before, I can tell you how they have played in the past.

On the Friday before every tournament we have a two hour practice session. That will give you an opportunity to try your equipment out on lane condition we will be using that week. I would encourage you to introduce yourself to the other players and let them know that this is your first tournament. Talk to them and pick their brains. Most of the guys (not all, unfortunately) will be willing to help you out.

Good luck. I hope to see you at one of our tournaments.

[This message has been edited by The 5200 Acres (edited 1/31/2010 10:06p).]

Awesome response 5200. I still think this would make for a great blog, especially if he got really good and became a full-time bowler.

wow thanks for the insight. very helpful. that is something I do not have. I only recently got a new ball, before I was using a 15 year old ball a guy gave me free lol. It got a crack in it so I figured I played enough to go get one. Spares have always been very easy for me, espicially 1 pin. 10 pin, whatever pin didnt matter, I am like a sniper. I adjust from my slight gradual draw into the pocket to an almost straight shot with the same ball. I just roll my wrist more under the ball before i throw it. That is interesting to know that wont work on real oil patterns. I always wondered why people even had a spare ball. I'll have to look into that.

I did play a tiny little tourney last night just kinda last minute. However it was a 9 pin no tap so not really a good indicator lol. I did manage to win $180 but that was just from a strike pot at the end of the tourney

I'm going to start with this semi-big local tourney in April and see how that goes.

Thanks again for all the advice!

One other question for you, are the PBA oil patterns more likely to make your ball move or less likely than a "easy street" type oil pattern or can they go on both sides of the spectrum? I hear it's way way different just wondering in what way.

quote:

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One other question for you, are the PBA oil patterns more likely to make your ball move or less likely than a "easy street" type oil pattern or can they go on both sides of the spectrum? I hear it's way way different just wondering in what way.

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It depends on the pattern and the lane surface.

The biggest difference in the PBA patterns and your THS (typical house shot) is not so much the total amount of hook. It is the lack of "free hook" to the right (if you are a right handed bowler).

On a THS there is a flood of oil in the middle of the lane and much less on the outside. The more you miss to the right, the more friction there is. If you tug the ball inside, your ball hits the puddle, skids and holds pocket. On fresh PBA patterns there is no puddle inside and no dry boards to the outside. If you miss more than a board, you won't hit the pocket. As the lanes transition through the day, dry areas will appear that may provide some room for error. But it still won't be as easy as a THS.

As far as total amount of hook, you shouldn't have any trouble getting your ball to read the lane on the shorter patterns (Cheetah-35' and Viper-37'). Shark (44') on the other hand can be a challenge for the rev challenged player as players are forced deeper (farther left for a right hander).

More than anything else the length of the patten will determine where the bowlers will play the lanes. On Cheetah most players will line up with their break point (the point where the ball starts to read the lane and hook) outside of the 5 board. On Shark, most players will have their break point between the 10th and 15th boards.

Lane surfaces will also play a big factor in how your ball will read the lanes. In general wood hooks the most. AMF and Murrey synthetics hook a little bit less. Brunswick Pro Anvilanes hook the least. You can tell if you are bowling on Pro Anvilanes if they have the 4 lane indicators (3 foot dark stripes) down the lane at 36 and 40 feet.

Thats awesome. See? This makes bowling even more exciting. You can make it as complicated as football (I coach football) so that means I have a ways to go. I'm thinking the best bet is see how I do in these tournaments then if I am still serious about it I'll find an instructor/coach. I can do just about any sport "GOOD" but not awesome. The more I bowl the more I think I could run with this and really concentrate on it. It's too much fun not to take to a new level.

Not sure how much money you have to burn, but I'd maybe think about spending a little time in a PBA Experience league or at least practicing on some sport patterns before you spend the $300 to jump into a Regional. If you've never done it, it's a completely different game.

I'm a 205-210 THS bowler but I only average 180 in my PBA Experience league. There have also been worse - I've seen 220+ THS guys join for a summer season and average in the 160s. It goes without saying - the more practice you get on this stuff the better you get. Even on the shorter patterns with similar overall hook as your THS, you might be playing boards that you would normally never touch.

If you're in the Dallas area, USA Bowl and Plano Super Bowl have decent sized PBA Experience Leagues (I bowl in Plano). In the latter they leave the patterns out after league so you can get some additional practice if you want!

So question: How to they make the patterns? Does someone go out there with oil and redo them? Or is there like a zambonie? Or do they actually change the lanes?

There is a $20,000 machine that strips the lane of all the old conditioner and any dirt that may have built up on the lane and simultaneously applies the new conditioner.

The latest technology uses something like an inkjet to spray specific amounts of directly on to the lane. Each board (about an inch wide) gets a specific amount of conditioner for each foot of the pattern. A buffer brush is used to smooth the pattern and push the conditioner toward the end of the pattern (the buff area) where no conditioner is directly applied. That kind of feathers the pattern down before you reach the dry part of the lane where there is no conditioner at all.

It really is amazing just how consistently these machines can apply a pattern from lane to lane.



That is a long way from the old days of hand striping and application with a bug sprayer.



[This message has been edited by The 5200 Acres (edited 2/1/2010 11:40p).]

[This message has been edited by The 5200 Acres (edited 2/1/2010 11:40p).]

Sweet! So, what's the reason different patterns were developed? Did different people prefer different patterns? Or was it created because people got too good at one pattern so it added some challenge to the sport?

Sorry if I'm asking dumb questions, but it's a sport I don't know a lot about, and I'd love to learn more. Didn't know we had almost semi-pros on here.

There are three general reason the PBA choses to vary the patterns.

The first to is to vary the skills that may be favored by one pattern over another. Some patterns favor rev dominant players while some favor speed dominant players. Some favor players that like to play inside vs outside. Some favored lefties over righties. Some favor players that roll the ball more end over end as opposed to high axis rotation players. And so on...

Another reason was force play into or away from a specific area on the lane surface. For example, if a center has old wood lanes with a poor finish, the track (area around the second arrow) may be highly worn. In those cases the tournament director would instruct the lane man to set up a shorter pattern to force play out toward the gutter. Or he could have him keep a medium length but increase the volume of oil in the track.

Finally, the variation in lane condition was and is still used to control the scoring pace. Give the pros some room to miss and the scores will go through the roof. Put them on the US Open pattern (40' of flat oil all the way across the lane) and it plays the US Open in golf with six inch rough. Miss even the slightest bit and you won't hold pocket.

The named PBA patterns is something that is relatively new (last ten years or so). They have standardized the patterns so as to let bowling centers put the pattern down for amateurs so they can see how difficult they are. The newer lane machines (see thread above) allow centers to come pretty close to replicating the conditions the PBA uses. As a player I like the named patterns system because it allows me to have some idea of what conditions I will be bowling on. This allows me to tailor my practice and tweak the covers on my equipment in preparation for the tournament.

For me personally, I tend to be a bit speed dominant (about 300-325 rpm and 17.5-18 mph at release). I also like playing outside the first arrow. Thus Cheetah (35') and Viper (37') are in my wheelhouse. I've cashed on the other patterns as well, but those two are my favorites.

[This message has been edited by The 5200 Acres (edited 2/2/2010 9:51a).]

5200 you are not in BCS somewhere are you?

No. I'm out in West Texas.