Bowling Lane Surfaces and How To Play Them

First, we are going to start by looking at bowling lane surfaces.
There are basically two different lane surfaces out there, Wood and Synthetic. We will look at both of these surface types, and how they both offer different finishes.

Wood Lanes 

Wood with Water Based Lane Finish - This type of lane surface is very soft and will have a lot of friction, making any bowling ball read earlier than intended. 

Wood with Epoxy Urethane Lane Finish - Normally this type of lane surface is just a bit harder than water based finish, but will still have a lot of friction again making the bowling ball read earlier than intended.

Wood Overlays - There is Guardian and Lane Shield, basically both do the same thing. They are film overlays that go on wood lanes to help make lanes last a bit longer without resurfacing. Both offer the same reaction, a lot of friction with early back ends.

The tough thing about wood lanes is, because there is more friction due to a soft surface, the shot ends up changing faster. With today's equipment available, the shot tends to breakdown instead of carry down, which means moving farther left or right to get to where oil still is. Carry down happens when plastic or urethane balls are used. The rest of the equipment breaks down the pattern even that Pearl ball is absorbing oil.

Synthetic Lanes 

Brunswick Pro-Anvilane - This lane surface tends to be the most popular surface put in bowling centers today. It is the hardest surface, which means, less friction causing the shot to hold up longer. You can use more aggressive equipment on this surface without the ball rolling to early (depends on the shot). These lanes also have the 4 range finders on the back-ends located on the 10th and 15th boards. 

AMF HPL - This is the second most popular synthetic lane surface. HPL is a bit softer than the Pro-Anvilane, which means, more friction, more back-ends, and the shot changes faster. HPL is still harder than wood lanes.

Softest to hardest surface goes like this- Wood, Guardian/Lane Shield, HPL, and Pro-Anvilane. A softer surface makes the ball roll earlier, and a harder surface makes the ball go longer before hooking(again depends on the shot).

Now, lets look at oil types/patterns, and some of the terminology that goes with it.

Oil Types/Patterns 

Viscosity determines how thick or thin the oil is. 

Lubricity is the measure of the reduction in friction of a lubricant. 

Lane Carry Down is when the oil gets pushed down the lane causing the ball not to have as much back end due to the oil being down at the break-point. 

Lane Breakdown is when the oil pattern starts evaporating or being absorbed by the bowling ball, thus causing the oil to disappear.

How to Play the Oil Pattern 

Magic Number is 31? - Lets look at how long the pattern is, say we are bowling on a 41' shot, (MAGIC NUMBER IS 31), so take 41 minus 31 and you get 10. 10 will roughly be your break-point on that shot(Not always the case). So again if you are bowling on a 35' shot, minus 31, equals 4 which again will roughly be your break-point on that shot. The Magic Number of 31 is good just to get an idea of where the ball should be exiting the pattern or hitting the break-point. 

Ratios - Another thing to look at for oil patterns is ratios. A 3.0 and lower are Sport Conditions(harder, less room for error). 3.1-4.9 are more of the Challenge Shots(still hard, but more room for error than sport shots). 5.0 and higher are your House/Recreational Shots(Easy, a lot of room for error). 

Conclusion - Hopefully this has been a helpful start to understanding bowling lane surfaces and oil types/patterns. It is important to just enjoy the game of bowling, but remember there is always more to this sport than just tossing a round ball down the lane. As you can see, paying attention to the type of lanes you are bowling on are going to determine a lot of your needs before you even bowl. See if your mechanic or center will provide you with details of the shot on the lane to help get a better judgment on where to play and with what type of ball. Then let it fly!

How To Maintain Your Bowling Equipment

Have you ever had a ball that after 30-50 games the reaction is about half
of what it use to be!? Yes technology is great, but does tend to have its flaws along the way. Why should we maintain our equipment? In this article we will discuss the reasons why maintaining your equipment is a GOOD thing.

One question you may have is, what happens to the bowling ball if I never clean it? Well, with today's equipment and technology being spilled into bowling balls, the cover stock of a bowling ball is very sensitive. Imagine a bowling ball acting as a sponge, obviously a bit harder than a sponge but with the same principles. Every time that ball goes down the lane, it's absorbing oil on every shot. Have you ever noticed the rings of oil going around the bowling ball? Some of that oil is actually going straight to the core of the bowling ball. I personally have found out the hard way why I should clean my equipment. I threw a Columbia Sport ball (one of my favorite balls of all time), but my downfall was I never cleaned the thing. Well after some time of oil going to the core, the reaction was about as good as a plastic ball. So I used it as a spare ball for a little bit until.... the ball cracked 360 degrees around. Ever since that happened to me I have always cleaned my equipment and performed better maintenance on my bowling balls.

What are some ways to clean and maintain your bowling balls? One thing that I recommend is using the same brand cleaner as the bowling ball company you are using. For example, with a Brunswick ball try a Brunswick Cleaner, with a Storm ball try a Storm Cleaner, etc. This is what I recommend since companies test ball cleaners on their own equipment. Everyone has differing opinions on which cleaners are best so try several and pick the one you like best. Some people prefer to apply the cleaner straight on the ball and some on a towel then to the ball, either way works. I also recommend a micro-fiber towel for the cleaning part of it, but any clean towel will work.

Another way to revive your bowling ball is to go to your pro shop and talk to him/her about resurfacing the bowling ball. This will help get the ball close to its original surface. This doesn't help get the oil out of the core, but at least will freshen up the cover stock for you.

There are some other commonly used methods of cleaning/maintaining a bowling ball or getting the oil out of the ball. One method is placing your bowling ball in a bucket of hot water, and possibly adding soap to it. Another method is using the dishwasher. Some have used their oven to cook out the oil. The Innovative Revivor Bowling Ball Oven is my favorite thing to use to extract the oil. Please be warned that it really is not good for the ball to be heated up to extract the oil out, but it does bring back the ball to life again. If you are to try some of these methods, make sure the heat does not rise above 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything higher than that will end up causing the ball to crack more rapidly. Think of a bowling ball like a basketball with air in it, the colder it is, the more the ball will contract, thus having what appears to be less air in the ball. The opposite is true with heat, the ball will expand, sometimes causing a lump in the basketball. Same thing will occur with the core of a bowling ball, it will expand and contract due to the weather.

My recommendation is to stick to cleaning your bowling ball with cleaner until the reaction is not there anymore due to the oil being soaked into the core. Then I would go to your pro shop and see if they can resurface your bowling ball for you. As a last resort I would try some of the heating methods to get some of the oil out of the core. It is tough to say how many games a bowling balls keeps their reaction, but dull bowling balls due to their porous cover stock tend to have a shorter life span than pearl bowling balls. I hope that some of these tips and methods work for you. These are just some of the ways to help prolong the life of your bowling ball. Remember that a bowling ball will not last forever, eventually Father Time does catch up, even with bowling balls.

(Please note that soaking or baking your bowling ball may void the manufacturer's warranty. We recommend checking your ball's warranty before performing these methods.)

Help aiming for beginners

BY SCODADDY:

One basic rule I follow when aiming is to pick a target arrow to throw at.  I am right handed and usually throw between the 2nd and 3rd target arrows to the right of the middle arrow.  Then I stand around the middle dot on the approach and foul line indicators when releasing the ball.   I throw a few shots and if I am missing to the right of the pocket then I move my feet to the right of my original approach point.  If I miss the pocket to the left then I move my feet to the left of my original approach point.  However, my aiming does not change.  I keep aiming between the 2nd and 3rd arrow.  So a simple reminder is to find a target arrow and keep it.  Then if you miss left, move your feet left.  If you miss right, move your feet right.  Hope this helps!

When purchasing a performance ball...

By Scodaddy

Just wanted to remind anyone who purchases a performance ball for the first time, or maybe even if you have bought them before, remember that the ball is going to require maintenance.  Generally you will want to get a ball cleaner and a towel (preferably oil free or microfiber).  Over time a performance ball will soak up the oil from the bowling lane.  Once the ball soaks up enough oil it will lose its hooking ability and will not perform well.  So what you want to do is to prevent as much oil as possible from being soaked into the ball.  You may notice professionals on tv or maybe even league bowlers at your local center toweling off the ball.  They are wiping the oil off the ball before it has a chance to soak in.  After you have played a few games, even though you towel the ball after every shot there will still be some oil that soaks in.  So what you want to do before putting the ball up for the night, is to use a cleaner to help extract the oil to the surface of the ball and then use your trusty towel to wipe of the extra oil.  You will want to try and clean the ball evenly around the surface so make sure to cover the entire ball.  Cleaning the ball with cleaner is really only necessary when you have finished bowling for the day.  You dont want to clean in between shots or games.  So to make sure your ball works well for a long time, keep it cleaned. 
Also, on a side note, please keep your bowling balls stored in an area that does not have drastic temperature changes.  Usually a locker or closet works fine.  You do not want to leave it in your vehicle because the temperature can cause the ball to crack! 

If You're Looking for 'Magic' to Revive Your Game, It Might Just Be a Stone's Throw Away

BY TOM KOUROS : Reprinted Courtesy of Bowlers Journal International

IN THE MIDDLE AGES lived a sorcerer named Merlin. He performed many miraculous feats, one of which was to embed a sword in a huge boulder, making it impossible for anybody but the next King of England to remove it. Many tried, but all failed. Then a young man named Arthur stepped forward and easily unsheathed the sword.

Some time ago, a struggling bowler known as Sam entered a pro shop. There, a ball drilling sorcerer designed for him an artful creation of magical properties. As a result, Sam left that shop a new bowler.

The metamorphosis was astounding. In short order, his average skyrocketed and his teammates started calling him "The Slasher," denoting his new ball's effect on the pins.

With regard to King Arthur's feat, that still remains an enigma. Indeed, for hundreds of years, much has been postulated. Some say it was simply Merlin's black magic; others say it was Arthur's great strength. There are even those who believe that Arthur used something like WD 40 to get the sword out of that boulder.

But there's no mystery about Sam's success. It is known as the "exotic ball experience," and across this nation, pro shop wizards - better known as ball technicians - are increasingly arming average bowlers with the formidable equipment of today.

In that vein, I recall what I wrote years ago: "Physically, bowling is a sport comprised of two elements... accuracy and action. In terms of priority, develop your accuracy skills first. Once you are hitting the pocket on a regular basis, then begin enhancing your action technique. Keep in mind that, in bowling, action is primarily applying a torque (force) with the hand to the ball. This torque is comprised of three factors... lift, turn and extension. And be careful not to stress accuracy at the expense of action and vice-versa."

Well, since writing those words, the game has changed somewhat. It still requires the accuracy skills of the past, but the action aspect is a different story. Much of the ball action today is built into the bowling balls by the use of sophisticated weight blocks, dynamic balancing and modifying the coverstock with more or less porosity as the lane condition demands. It is a fact that revolutionary weight blocks and dynamic imbalancing have inserted much of the torque requirement into the ball, thus lessening the responsibility for the hand to apply a strong torque.

For example, the farther the weight mass is located away from the axis, the greater the torque effect it has on ball roll. Briefly, the principle is this: In order to overcome a resistance, you must expend a certain amount of effort. This is always the product of the force which you exert times the distance through which you move the force. What you lose in distance you gain in power and vice-versa; 10 ounces moving one inch is the same as one ounce moving 10 inches. A torque working through an angle is work, just as a force acting through a distance. Understand that the definition of work in physics is not quite the same as the dictionary definition. Work always implies motion. It is the product of a definite force acting through a definite distance.

To be sure, these modern balls have been a boon to bowlers young and old, as evidenced by the many honor scores registered of late. Where par in bowling was widely recognized for many years as a 200 average, that distinction has now been upgraded to a 220 average. And if you are still holding on to that ball that Aunt Sarah bought you for Christmas 12 years ago, do yourself a favor and get down to your local pro shop and modernize your weaponry. Trust me, no matter how talented you are, you can't compete using old, antiquated equipment in today's environment.

LPs are a thing of the past. Likewise, give that "old apple" a descent burial and get in on the fun.