BallReviews
General Category => USBC Tournament => Topic started by: themagician on February 05, 2016, 10:23:05 AM
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Anyone have some insider information when they will be announcing the patterns this year?
Last year if my research was correct it was March 4th they released the patterns.
EDIT: http://bowl.com/Open_Championships/Open_Championships_Home/Lane_Conditions/
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Usually 2-3 days prior to the start
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From USBC's Matt Cannizzaro on the USBC Open/Women's Championship Facebook page: "Keep an eye out early the first week of March for pattern info, based on previous years."
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Well....there you go 😆
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I thought I read or heard they are not releasing the patterns or doing any live streaming this year so those how go later can't replicate the shot at home to practice.
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That's next year's tournament
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I thought I read or heard they are not releasing the patterns or doing any live streaming this year so those how go later can't replicate the shot at home to practice.
That's next year's tournament
Exactly...cause not releasing it will mean no one will know it ::) :o
Of all the changes, this one is only stupid one. Now, only a select few will get to practice on the pattern instead of anyone who wanted to. This is definitely more "fair" ::)
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People know people who know people, bowling, even though its "dorky" to people who don't bowl, still has a "good ole boys" feel to it for the upper crust players. You better believe the top shelf bowlers will have access to the patterns.
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it is to bad to I love the live streams and never bowl nationals that is the loss for me.
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More USBC'S infinite wisdom !
And yes, the top elite bowlers will get the pattern
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Ah the USBC, never does anything right. Either they are doing nothing, or when they do try something new, it's completely wrong according to the brain trust here.
By the way, how many people here will benefit from knowing the pattern? I'm willing to bet it's a VERY small number, probably in the single digits.
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Ah the USBC, never does anything right. Either they are doing nothing, or when they do try something new, it's completely wrong according to the brain trust here.
By the way, how many people here will benefit from knowing the pattern? I'm willing to bet it's a VERY small number, probably in the single digits.
I agree, but it sends a message that a lot of bowlers don't agree with. Whether they took advantage of the information in the past or not doesn't preclude them from thinking this isn't the best move.
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Ah the USBC, never does anything right. Either they are doing nothing, or when they do try something new, it's completely wrong according to the brain trust here.
By the way, how many people here will benefit from knowing the pattern? I'm willing to bet it's a VERY small number, probably in the single digits.
I agree, but it sends a message that a lot of bowlers don't agree with. Whether they took advantage of the information in the past or not doesn't preclude them from thinking this isn't the best move.
Is there a message(from USBC) that bowlers DO agree with? ;D
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Ah the USBC, never does anything right. Either they are doing nothing, or when they do try something new, it's completely wrong according to the brain trust here.
By the way, how many people here will benefit from knowing the pattern? I'm willing to bet it's a VERY small number, probably in the single digits.
I agree, but it sends a message that a lot of bowlers don't agree with. Whether they took advantage of the information in the past or not doesn't preclude them from thinking this isn't the best move.
Is there a message(from USBC) that bowlers DO agree with? ;D
Every year they don't raise the dues....... oh wait, this is the wrong conversation.
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Ah the USBC, never does anything right. Either they are doing nothing, or when they do try something new, it's completely wrong according to the brain trust here.
By the way, how many people here will benefit from knowing the pattern? I'm willing to bet it's a VERY small number, probably in the single digits.
Milo,
You know I am not one to bash the USBC. I have argued for many of their decisions. But this is one that I feel is not in the best interest of bowlers. You are correct, that many of those attending the Open will never use the pattern info to practice on. But, allowing the pattern to be freely released allows anyone who wants to, that option. It isn't just the select few "in the know" that get to do it. Will this help the 200 average house bowler win an Eagle, no. But it could help the 200+ house bowler know what he is going up against and allow them to ability to figure out at least a starting gameplan, if they so desire. Starting next year, they are going in blind. Even with the new divisions, this won't help them cash any easier.
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If the goal was truly to "level the playing field" as expressed by the USBC, then why didn't they shut down the showcase lanes and only allow entry into the Bowlers Journal Tournament after players have completed the Open Championship. Many of the top players prepare onsite with guys in the booths by practicing on the patterns and drilling balls to suit their strategy so how exactly does this rule change level the playing field? Well the reason is pretty clear...if they actually shut down the showcase and changed the rules for entering the BJ tournament it would take money out of their pocket and they can't have that. Good luck to the house bowlers in the top division next year competing against the best players in the world and their unlimited access to bowling balls and information from the guys working the tournament every day. So yeah...I would say this ruling was in the best interest of the USBC, not the members they supposedly serve.
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... So yeah...I would say this ruling was in the best interest of the USBC, not the members they supposedly serve.
I dislike this decision a lot. There are many bowlers I know that try to duplicate the shot and practice before going to Nationals. But I can't see how the ruling was in the best interest of USBC. What do they gain from this decision. Perhaps there was grumblings about how releasing the shot took away from the integrity of Nationals. I don't agree with that concept, but have heard some on this forum state as much. And remember, USBC seems to do that which the loudest complainers scream about the most.
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Mr. Murphy stated the decision to not release the pattern was done to "level the playing field" since not everyone has access to facilities capable of applying the pattern. Just trying to point out if that was the point of the rule change, they would have shut down the showcase lanes and forced participants to complete their Open Championships competition before competing in the BJ tournament. If the USBC were actually concerned about fairness for their members rather than generating revenue, maybe the playing field could have been a little more even since the first time anyone got to experience the pattern was when they compete in the tournament.
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I'm actually all for it. It puts the advantage back where it should be, to the guys that work the hardest. There are 3 divisions now, not everyone is competing against the "pro amateurs" anymore so why the complaints? I have NEVER heard anyone say, "oh yeah, I got the lane patterns and practiced on them for a couple months before I went and when I got down there, everything played exactly the same." They don't even play the same from the BJ or Showcase lanes to the actual tournament lanes. People who don't know what the shot is will take 6-8 balls and the guys who know will take 10, so I don't want to hear, "well I won't know what to take."
What's been the goal for the patterns at the tournament? To be tough but playable, and to be playable for as many styles, speeds, and rev rates as possible. If you have that much of a problem with it, go a few days early and bowl the BJ a couple times and spend several hours watching. The same stuff seems to work every single year. I'll also have to check the rules, but I'm pretty sure you can move your feet and make other physical adjustments. I'm also pretty sure you can practice and learn.
Too many people think that releasing the patterns helps. Guess what? It doesn't. When you show up without any preconceived ideas and just take what the lanes give you, you bowl better instead of going in with a "game plan" and then panicking when it's not working or when the "pattern isn't playing right." How many GREAT teams and bowlers did we watch on the live streams that didn't do well at all despite knowing the pattern and practicing on it for months? How did people ever have success before they started releasing the patterns? Pretty sure participation was higher before too.
Complaints about Reno. Are you going for a vacation or to bowl? Aside from maybe the new South Pointe facility, the NBS is pretty much the ultimate bowling destination. If you're going for a vacation, why do you care how you bowl? And if you're going to bowl, who cares if it's in Reno? I spend all my time at the stadium anyway.
You would also think people would be more happy. Not releasing the patterns means all these big guns that spend a couple months at Kegel practicing on "the pattern" every year won't be able to do that anymore. They'll have to do the same thing you do, practice and be prepared. You also can't tell me there won't be plenty of information relayed back by people who are going early. If you have a problem with "going in blind," don't go so early! If you want to do better, practice! Show up a few days early! If that's not an option for you, don't begrudge the people who sacrifice and/or put in the work to make sure it's an option for them!
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I'm actually all for it. It puts the advantage back where it should be, to the guys that work the hardest. There are 3 divisions now, not everyone is competing against the "pro amateurs" anymore so why the complaints? I have NEVER heard anyone say, "oh yeah, I got the lane patterns and practiced on them for a couple months before I went and when I got down there, everything played exactly the same." They don't even play the same from the BJ or Showcase lanes to the actual tournament lanes. People who don't know what the shot is will take 6-8 balls and the guys who know will take 10, so I don't want to hear, "well I won't know what to take."
What's been the goal for the patterns at the tournament? To be tough but playable, and to be playable for as many styles, speeds, and rev rates as possible. If you have that much of a problem with it, go a few days early and bowl the BJ a couple times and spend several hours watching. The same stuff seems to work every single year. I'll also have to check the rules, but I'm pretty sure you can move your feet and make other physical adjustments. I'm also pretty sure you can practice and learn.
Too many people think that releasing the patterns helps. Guess what? It doesn't. When you show up without any preconceived ideas and just take what the lanes give you, you bowl better instead of going in with a "game plan" and then panicking when it's not working or when the "pattern isn't playing right." How many GREAT teams and bowlers did we watch on the live streams that didn't do well at all despite knowing the pattern and practicing on it for months? How did people ever have success before they started releasing the patterns? Pretty sure participation was higher before too.
Complaints about Reno. Are you going for a vacation or to bowl? Aside from maybe the new South Pointe facility, the NBS is pretty much the ultimate bowling destination. If you're going for a vacation, why do you care how you bowl? And if you're going to bowl, who cares if it's in Reno? I spend all my time at the stadium anyway.
You would also think people would be more happy. Not releasing the patterns means all these big guns that spend a couple months at Kegel practicing on "the pattern" every year won't be able to do that anymore. They'll have to do the same thing you do, practice and be prepared. You also can't tell me there won't be plenty of information relayed back by people who are going early. If you have a problem with "going in blind," don't go so early! If you want to do better, practice! Show up a few days early! If that's not an option for you, don't begrudge the people who sacrifice and/or put in the work to make sure it's an option for them!
Please...you know you are being entirely too reasonable with this. We are bowlers, we bitch and complain and no matter how it's explained, we are going to bitch and complain about anything the USBC may try.
Because, you know, we are bowlers... ;D
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Here's the moral of the story......the patterns will be between 38 and 43 feet, flat and allow for multiple angles. Throw an errant shot and expect a bad result.
It will be a challenge but I wouldn't expect something extreme. Everyone should know this and prepare accordingly.
I know that sounds simplistic, but I mean that's what it will likely be.
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I'm all for keeping the pattern secret by shutting down all access to the pattern prior to competition if it's all about the integrity of the game. I just think it's a conflict of interest for the USBC apply the rule in a way that gives lip service to the spirit of the rule because they will make even more money from the showcase lanes and BJ entries.
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Here's the moral of the story......the patterns will be between 38 and 43 feet, flat and allow for multiple angles. Throw an errant shot and expect a bad result.
It will be a challenge but I wouldn't expect something extreme. Everyone should know this and prepare accordingly.
I know that sounds simplistic, but I mean that's what it will likely be.
+1 to that!!
You can practice on anything sport compliant and be ahead of the game. As was stated earlier, you can never really duplicate everything to practice on and expect the exact same ball reaction, etc. Just practice on something that forces you to be accurate.
I am completely fine with them not releasing the pattern.
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I'm actually all for it. It puts the advantage back where it should be, to the guys that work the hardest. There are 3 divisions now, not everyone is competing against the "pro amateurs" anymore so why the complaints? I have NEVER heard anyone say, "oh yeah, I got the lane patterns and practiced on them for a couple months before I went and when I got down there, everything played exactly the same." They don't even play the same from the BJ or Showcase lanes to the actual tournament lanes. People who don't know what the shot is will take 6-8 balls and the guys who know will take 10, so I don't want to hear, "well I won't know what to take."
What's been the goal for the patterns at the tournament? To be tough but playable, and to be playable for as many styles, speeds, and rev rates as possible. If you have that much of a problem with it, go a few days early and bowl the BJ a couple times and spend several hours watching. The same stuff seems to work every single year. I'll also have to check the rules, but I'm pretty sure you can move your feet and make other physical adjustments. I'm also pretty sure you can practice and learn.
Too many people think that releasing the patterns helps. Guess what? It doesn't. When you show up without any preconceived ideas and just take what the lanes give you, you bowl better instead of going in with a "game plan" and then panicking when it's not working or when the "pattern isn't playing right." How many GREAT teams and bowlers did we watch on the live streams that didn't do well at all despite knowing the pattern and practicing on it for months? How did people ever have success before they started releasing the patterns? Pretty sure participation was higher before too.
Complaints about Reno. Are you going for a vacation or to bowl? Aside from maybe the new South Pointe facility, the NBS is pretty much the ultimate bowling destination. If you're going for a vacation, why do you care how you bowl? And if you're going to bowl, who cares if it's in Reno? I spend all my time at the stadium anyway.
You would also think people would be more happy. Not releasing the patterns means all these big guns that spend a couple months at Kegel practicing on "the pattern" every year won't be able to do that anymore. They'll have to do the same thing you do, practice and be prepared. You also can't tell me there won't be plenty of information relayed back by people who are going early. If you have a problem with "going in blind," don't go so early! If you want to do better, practice! Show up a few days early! If that's not an option for you, don't begrudge the people who sacrifice and/or put in the work to make sure it's an option for them!
I dot disagree with you in general, but I do think you miss the point of moving the locations around. Coming from the other side of the country, getting out that way is expensive. It certainly limits the amount of balls we can take (10? Please. 6 is the absolute max unless we want to pay $100 for a second bag, but it's usually 5). But it also makes it difficult for bowling to be worthwhile financially. That's not all that important to me personally, I make enough and just enjoy the competition of bowling in general. But most are not like me and won't go unless they can reasonably expect to win some money back.
As for vacation, many are using their limited vacation time and limited available travel funds to go. Wanting to use that opportunity to see more than Reno and Vegas is understandable.
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I just enjoy the live streams watching some great bowlers do what they do best. I have never had the chance to bowl nationals but really enjoy watching them. maybe in Syracuse in a couple years.
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I will do what I usually do- ship 4 balls, one of them plastic, and hope I execute.
If I bring more than that, it gets too expensive (to ship via the USBC service) and I'll get confused by too many choices anyhow. Pin up, pin down, and a hook-in-the box will be my weapons of choice, like always.
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I will do what I usually do- ship 4 balls, one of them plastic, and hope I execute.
If I bring more than that, it gets too expensive (to ship via the USBC service) and I'll get confused by too many choices anyhow. Pin up, pin down, and a hook-in-the box will be my weapons of choice, like always.
I'm very similar to this. I will for sure have my IQ Tour Pearl at 2000, my IQ Tour Fusion at 3000 with a big shine for getting left and hooking it (those are the balls I feel most confident with on demanding conditions)......and then another piece to give me a different look. Probably my Eternal Cell as of now with a little surface so I have a solid with some diff.
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As stated above-these patterns all have the same characteristics year in-year out
miss out and it stays out
miss in and there is no hold
keep your angles up front straight and control the breakpoint
much easier said than done, I practice on these patterns plenty
does it make it any easier, somewhat, I do know what to expect
executing is another thing to my standards
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Yeah I get that, but that's not generally the complaint. I know it's halfway across the planet for the east coast, and maybe you hear it more because that's the more common gripe on your side of the country, but all I ever hear is people whining because Reno is "boring" and there's not much to do there.
I'm actually all for it. It puts the advantage back where it should be, to the guys that work the hardest. There are 3 divisions now, not everyone is competing against the "pro amateurs" anymore so why the complaints? I have NEVER heard anyone say, "oh yeah, I got the lane patterns and practiced on them for a couple months before I went and when I got down there, everything played exactly the same." They don't even play the same from the BJ or Showcase lanes to the actual tournament lanes. People who don't know what the shot is will take 6-8 balls and the guys who know will take 10, so I don't want to hear, "well I won't know what to take."
What's been the goal for the patterns at the tournament? To be tough but playable, and to be playable for as many styles, speeds, and rev rates as possible. If you have that much of a problem with it, go a few days early and bowl the BJ a couple times and spend several hours watching. The same stuff seems to work every single year. I'll also have to check the rules, but I'm pretty sure you can move your feet and make other physical adjustments. I'm also pretty sure you can practice and learn.
Too many people think that releasing the patterns helps. Guess what? It doesn't. When you show up without any preconceived ideas and just take what the lanes give you, you bowl better instead of going in with a "game plan" and then panicking when it's not working or when the "pattern isn't playing right." How many GREAT teams and bowlers did we watch on the live streams that didn't do well at all despite knowing the pattern and practicing on it for months? How did people ever have success before they started releasing the patterns? Pretty sure participation was higher before too.
Complaints about Reno. Are you going for a vacation or to bowl? Aside from maybe the new South Pointe facility, the NBS is pretty much the ultimate bowling destination. If you're going for a vacation, why do you care how you bowl? And if you're going to bowl, who cares if it's in Reno? I spend all my time at the stadium anyway.
You would also think people would be more happy. Not releasing the patterns means all these big guns that spend a couple months at Kegel practicing on "the pattern" every year won't be able to do that anymore. They'll have to do the same thing you do, practice and be prepared. You also can't tell me there won't be plenty of information relayed back by people who are going early. If you have a problem with "going in blind," don't go so early! If you want to do better, practice! Show up a few days early! If that's not an option for you, don't begrudge the people who sacrifice and/or put in the work to make sure it's an option for them!
I dot disagree with you in general, but I do think you miss the point of moving the locations around. Coming from the other side of the country, getting out that way is expensive. It certainly limits the amount of balls we can take (10? Please. 6 is the absolute max unless we want to pay $100 for a second bag, but it's usually 5). But it also makes it difficult for bowling to be worthwhile financially. That's not all that important to me personally, I make enough and just enjoy the competition of bowling in general. But most are not like me and won't go unless they can reasonably expect to win some money back.
As for vacation, many are using their limited vacation time and limited available travel funds to go. Wanting to use that opportunity to see more than Reno and Vegas is understandable.
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Patterns are out!
http://bowl.com/Open_Championships/Open_Championships_Home/Lane_Conditions/
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At first glance I would think the break-point would be somewhat similar to last year (in that 6-7 range down lane).....
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So the patterns are almost exactly the same as last year
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What effect does the difference in Buffer RPM have on the way a pattern plays?
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Patterns are here! Now everyone can go practice for a couple months, get their strategies and equipment together, pay zero attention to all the differences in lane machine, oil, and surface, go out and determine it's "not playing right," then blame whatever they want to blame and go home!
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PRO SHOP HOME/Lane Maintenance/5 Must Know Things about Oil Pattern Taper
5 Must Know Things about Oil Pattern Taper
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
By
Ted Thompson
ARTICLES
E-MAIL TO: TED THOMPSON
BIOGRAPHY
Oil pattern taper, the amount of lane conditioner in the front part of an oil pattern versus how much is at the end of the oil pattern, has had to change significantly as bowling ball technology has changed. Lane conditioner (lane oil) has two main functions; to protect the lane surface, and to provide smooth predictable ball motion for as many styles as possible.
1 - History
When bowling balls were balanced, the rotation of the bowling ball was very stable and there was essentially one oil ring on the surface of the ball. Front-to-back oil taper with balanced balls is very different than what is needed with modern high flaring balls, which have multiple oil rings on them.
Remember, with high flaring balls, the oil pattern breaks down from back to front and with low flaring balls it’s the opposite, oil patterns break down from front to back. As a refresher, here is an article on that explains how oil patterns breakdown differently between the two types of bowling balls: Breakdown and Carrydown – Then and Now.
At the same time that bowling balls were going through changes, lane surfaces were also changing – “it’s very hard to hit a moving target†was something John Davis used to say often when referring to the art of lane conditioning.
As we have shown often in seminars and online articles, regularly maintained wood bowling lanes are the most consistent type of lane surfaces from lane-to-lane, and bowling center to bowling center. There may be some lengthwise level differences from center to center, but the overwhelming majority of wood lanes were cut with a slight depression, which allowed statements like “the oil pattern taper should be 3:1†to be more valid.
With synthetic lanes however, lane shapes are all over the map, and blanket statements about front-to-back taper, or any oil pattern statement for that matter, can often do more harm than good for people trying to find the best solution for their bowling center.
In measuring hundreds of bowling centers around the world with the Kegel LaneMapper we have found the lanes in any one center follow the same trend as it relates to lengthwise levelness. The only exception to that rule is when bowling centers have added sections of lanes over time.
So if we simply talk about oil pattern taper as it relates to the lengthwise level of a bowling lane, if a lane went downhill we could easily increase the front-to-back taper ratio to help the ball slow down to achieve “good ball motionâ€. Conversely, if the lanes in a bowling center predominantly go uphill, we might decrease the taper of the oil pattern so the ball would slow down less in order to provide good ball motion for the majority of bowlers.
When lanes were made of wood and resurfaced often, and bowling balls were essentially balanced, it was that simple – but not today.
Today’s synthetic lanes can be crowned, they can be depressed, they can be depressed up front and crowned down lane or the opposite, they can be high right, high left, and anything in between. We very often have seen synthetic lanes that are shaped like a seagull wing; crowned outside and depressed in the middle.
Add the fact that your customers have bowling balls that are still balanced (low flaring) to the very unbalanced kind (high flaring), providing that perfect front-to-back taper can be a challenge.
Of course your daily house pattern is most important for your center, and getting that one pattern “right†can be accomplished, but applying a tournament pattern, or one of the many named patterns out there, and having players expecting it to play similar from center to center is like expecting to win the lottery.
2 - House Shot Patterns (Recreational Type)
Most daily patterns used in bowling centers around the world are of the easy variety – a lot of conditioner in the middle and not much outside. For these type oil patterns, it is most important to control the amount in the mid lane and at the very end of the pattern to 1, minimize carrydown and 2, to open up the outside portion of the lane.
The graphic below is of a typical oil pattern taper when only non-flaring balls were in use. The goal then was to protect and apply conditioner only in the head area and let the conditioner “bleed off†the oil transfer system the rest of the way down the lane to the end of the oil pattern. From 8’ to the end of the pattern was typically a front-to-back taper ratio of 3-4 to 1 and that was with a maximum of 20 units in the head area!
Today’s oil patterns with today’s high flaring balls require a different type of taper, and much more volume. If we start with 80 plus units in the heads, there might still be 50 plus units in the middle to the 30 foot range. We do this in order to provide the bowler with a lot of hold area and decent ball motion, along with providing durability to protect the lane as long as possible.
To get that amount of oil throughout the pattern, the buffer brush must be loaded much more throughout the oil pattern with possibly a much more drastic drop off of conditioner towards the end part of the pattern. The amount towards the end of the pattern should decrease at a rate according to the type of lane conditioner in use and/or lane topography.
Below is an example of a typical daily oil pattern taper using high flaring bowling balls. As you can see, much more conditioner is used throughout the entire pattern.
The outside portion of the pattern has very little conditioner because most centers want to provide the bowler with a lot of mistake area outside of target. So even though we may want some taper there to allow the straighter player to start more to the right, most are concerned about not having too much conditioner towards the outside area in order to provide the largest margin for error possible.
3 - Challenge and Sport Oil Patterns (Competitive)
When designing competitive oil patterns, the goals of a specific oil pattern can vary greatly. If the pattern must play good on the fresh, because of a match-play format for example, finding that perfect taper for game one might be in order. That type pattern will usually be a higher front-to-back taper ratio in order to get the ball to read the lane sooner within the oil pattern.
If the goal is for the pattern to keep players in a specific zone for a longer time, front-to-back taper might not be as important as making sure the end of the pattern holds up for more games. That type of pattern would most likely have much less taper and play more difficult on the fresh, and then become easier as depletion towards the mid and end part of the oil pattern occurs.
A perfect example of an oil pattern with very little front-to-back taper is the 2015 US Open pattern that was used in Garland Texas. The amount of oil in the middle at 8’ on this pattern proved to be in the high 50 unit range, at 22' in the mid 60 unit range, and at 2’ before the end of the oil pattern (41') was in the mid 30 unit range. The front-to-back taper in the middle of that oil pattern was about 1.75 to 1 from 8' to 41', and 2 to 1 from 22' to 41'.
Below are two graphics of the 2015 US Open oil pattern – the 3D and 2D graphs. Lane tapes were taken at 8, 14’, 22’, 27’, 32’, 36’, and 41’.
The pattern goal of that event was to try and keep the players from lofting the gutter, which was accomplished, but we cannot discount what was done with topography at that venue as well. Our studies show topography is always a factor in how oil pattern plays, develops, and breaks down. In this case, the USBC made topography public so we know lane topography definitely was an additional reason the pattern held up so well. (The why will be a future article!)
4 - Lane Conditioners
The lane conditioner you choose also must be factored into your oil pattern’s design. Lane conditioners are developed with specific characteristics and your oil pattern should complement those characteristics in order to benefit from them.
For instance; FIRE and ICE were created for increased durability (to make it take longer for the ball to read the lane as it breaks down and depletes) and both require less conditioner at the very end of the pattern than many of our previous conditioners. If there is too much at the end of the oil pattern the ball will read the carrydown much more than if for example, the same amount of Prodigy was at the end of the pattern.
If using our newest lane conditioner, Curve, more conditioner can be applied at the end of the oil pattern simply because it’s a higher friction conditioner and that will help the ball slow down. Also, the ball won’t “see†what is carried down beyond the oil pattern as much as it would with FIRE or ICE. The trade-off however is durability.
5 - Topography
Now that we have those other factors covered, we can touch base on topography some more and how lane shape affects oil patterns. As we touched base earlier, wood lanes have very similar topography; all are slightly depressed (lower in the middle than the outsides) with the main differences from center to center in lengthwise levelness.
Yes we have more wear issues with wood lanes, which can be corrected with a resurfacing or re-coating, but with synthetic lanes we have more diverse shapes on the lane than ever before in the modern history of the game. Those shapes can vary from lane to lane, and even within the same lane. This makes finding that perfect oil pattern on synthetic lanes across any one bowling center more challenging than ever.
For lanes that are predominantly crowned, lowering the amount of conditioner in the mid lane and at the end of the pattern will help the ball lose energy at the proper rate, which will help provide truer ball motion. Crown lanes tend to act like lanes that go downhill, so anything you can do to help the ball slow down will help your bowlers with good ball motion.
For lanes that are severely depressed, and if you wish your bowlers to play right of center, additional conditioner in the mid lane and at the end of the oil pattern helps reduce friction slightly, and therefore helps the ball not lose energy as quick. Think of depressed lane like a banked curve on a race track – the inside part of the lane is lower than the outside part of the lane so the ball is rotating up the hill causing it to use energy quicker along with normal force helping the ball move more to center.
For seagull wing shaped lanes, and believe us when we say there are many overlays like this, shorter patterns will need increased front-to-back taper in order to get the ball to read the lane earlier. Yet longer patterns on this lane shape will need less taper simply because from 10-10 the lane is depressed - once the ball gets towards the middle and end part of the pattern it sees the lane more, and sooner, as the oil depletes.
Conclusion
In the article titled Breakdown and Carrydown - By The Numbers, we showed how today the front part of the lane never really depletes to the point of excessive friction unless there is a major wear issue – it’s the mid lane and backend that deplete to the point of the ball seeing a great amount of friction.
Sure the front part of the pattern depletes, but if we start with 70-100 units up front, or less like in the US Open example, at the end of play there is still 30 to 40 plus units of conditioner in the front part of the lane, which is plenty to provide a low amount of friction. In addition, that part of the lane the bowling ball has the least amount revolutions and the most amount of speed - both of those attributes make the ball “see the lane less†than it does at it slows down and revolutions increase.
The point is, front-to-back taper ratios with today’s patterns is not as important as controlling the amount of conditioner in the mid lane and at very end of the pattern. If you get that correct in your center, the majority of bowlers in your center will have predictable and controllable ball motion, and back end change (carry down) will be minimal. And for the most part, hopefully, you will have happy bowlers.
More articles by Ted Thompson