Lane Play and Oil
The keys to good lane play are often as simple as trusting your gut and finding the window that maximizes scoring. I’ll explain what I mean shortly. Be ready to understand the things that go into lane play and get creative! In this tip we’ll look specifically at lane play and oil.
The Elements of Lane Play
The five keys to good lane play are oil, the lane, the pins, ball selection and what you as a bowler impart to the ball in your delivery.
Lane Play and Oil – The Three Keys
Oil affects lane play by where and how it is distributed on the lane. The three things you need to be concerned with oil are the length, volume and ratio of oil on he lane. When you look at a lane graph you should know where to find these three things:
How Volume Affects Lane Play
The volume of oil on the lane tells you how strong the core and cover of the ball will need to be. More total oil means that you need an earlier rolling ball with a more aggressive cover stock. A total volume of 26mL or higher would be a higher volume of oil. Total oil between 22mL – 25.9mL would be medium volume, Total oil less than 22mL would be light volume.
How Length Affects Lane Play
The length of the oil placed on the lane tells you how far to the outside of the lane you can get the ball. In general, take the length of the pattern and subtract 31. Let’s use an example of the length as 39′. If the oil were evenly distributed on the lane, you would have to be close to the 8th board at 36′-39′ to get the best ball reaction. On most patterns you can take about 80% of that number, meaning on an average pattern you can get the ball as far out as the 6th board on a 39′ pattern.
Your rev rate and ball choice affect this number. If you have a lower rev rate, you won’t have as much room toward the outside of the lane. If the ball choice is a little weak for the lane pattern, you also might not be able to get the ball as far to the outside.
How Ratio Affects Lane Play
The ratio tells you the difficulty of the pattern. If the ratio is high (e.g. 10:1), it’s an easy pattern. You might have 4-6 boards that you can hit at the end of oil pattern and still get to the pocket. If the ratio is low (e.g. 2:1), it’s a harder pattern. You will likely only have 2, maybe 3 boards at the end of the oil pattern to hit and still hit the pocket.
Putting This Together
For the example above, you would be looking at a stronger ball, sending it out to about 6-7-8 at 39′ when the pattern is fresh. Strength of the ball is relative to your game. Where you roll the ball through the arrows to get to that spot at the end of the oil pattern depends on your game. You will use this general information to give you an idea of where to start. View this tip for more information about how league and tournament conditions are different.
Understand That Lanes Change Every Shot
This only applies to how oil tells you how to START your competition. You and all the other bowlers take oil off the lane on every shot, constantly changing the playing field. The front portion of the lane will lose oil first, causing you to change your angles to get to the same point down the lane. Later in competition, the back portion of the lane begins to dry out, causing you to move that spot toward the center of the lane.
Be Creative
You might need to get a little creative to get the best match to the oil as it is on the lane at any given moment. Take what you see based on the motion of your ball to “picture” how the oil is distributed on the lane. This tip gives you a starting point and a general idea of how to move on the lane based upon how and where oil is initially placed on the lane.
For more information on this topic view this video