No Control For Lane Conditions

Bowlers cannot control the conditions they will have to compete on. All they can do is try to be aware of the circumstances that could affect them and compensate as best they can to score high. (This does not mean you have to compile a list of 100’s of things that you have to pay attention to; but, it does mean you should realize there are a lot of things that can affect how you perform during competition.)

If you’ve read a lot of bowling articles, you’ll undoubtedly have run across one’s that have highlighted the different “environmental” situations that affect your bowling center. The bowling lane proximity to entrances/exits and ventilator shafts, the height of the ceilings, or type of air conditioning unit they utilize, among many others. While that certainly has an overall affect on what a lane will be like, there are more personal factors that will have a greater affect on your scores.

It is easy for anyone to get caught up in the conversation of complaining about how the lanes are different each week, the left lane doesn’t hook as much as the right lane, and this is the toughest pair in the house. When “everyone is doing it,” it is difficult not to join in and agree with them.

This “Choc-List” concentrates on keeping your mind focused on what must be done to keep yourself in the “frame-game” instead of the “blame-game:”

1) Keep an open mind. Stay in the moment and remind yourself that regardless of what the lanes are like, you have no option but to complete the match on the pair that has been assigned. It is your challenge to find the shot that will optimize your bowling scores and average, not to be worrying about how bad you think the lanes are. As has been mentioned many times, treat each frame as it own “game.”

2) 5-left and 5-right. For each of the games you bowl in competition, you only have to throw the ball five frames on the left lane and five frames on the right lane. If the lanes happen to be different, then do what you must to get the best shot for you. Since you know they’re different, why are you attempting to play them the same? Thinking outside the box, maybe you have to play two different lines or more radically, two different balls.

3) Shoot straight for spares. Watch how many 10-pins or left-side spares are being missed by yourself and other bowlers. There is still this mindset of throwing a regular ball for spares no matter how much advice is given about spare balls. The lane beyond where the oiler stops applying oil (about 40 feet for most house shots) is dry, and then gets streakier as the night goes on. A plastic spare ball will go straight and is easier to control.

4) Make small moves to keep up with the lane breakdown. You know already that the lane will hook more as the night goes on. A common lament is, “wow, from the tenth frame of the second game to the first frame of the third game, there was at least a five board change in my hook.” Anticipate the breakdown. Study the various ways to make the adjustments as the match progresses and, most importantly, use them.

A Hui Hou! (See You Again!