OilEvery bowling lane in any bowling alley has oil on it. The oil cannot be taken lightly when it comes to bowling. The oil on the lanes can be your best friend or your worst enemy, you just need to know how to read them and adjust accordingly. First, you need to know some different oil patterns.
House Patterns For people who do not know, a bowling alley is also referenced as a house. Each house has a house shot, or oil pattern. Even though every house has a house shot, they are all different from alley to alley. Sport Patterns Sports patterns are the hardest oil patterns within the bowling community to figure out. Look at the top picture to the right, just like house shots, sports shots vary even more. The aspects of oil that might change in a bowling lane are:
Length references how long the oil pattern lasts on the lane until it reaches dry, or the break point (see lane for more details). Look at the top picture on the right hand side of the page. Notice how the length varies for each patter. For example, the far right oil pattern reaches approximately 46 feet long, while the middle oil pattern reaches an estimated 37 feet, and the far left lane has around 40 feet of oil. From left to right, the lanes are denoted as medium, short, then long. Short patterns usually range from around 35' - 38'. Medium patterns range from 39'-44'. Lastly, long patterns range from 45+'. Now these ranges may vary from bowling association, but this is what stands by the USBC (United States Bowling Conference). Amount Amount references how much oil is in place on the lanes both width and length. Look at the bottom right picture on the right side of the page. Do you see the variations of blue and white? This discoloration is showing you the amount of oil. The darker the color, the more oil is present on the lane. Now look at the pictures again, the left lane has a lot more oil present in the center of the lane and a greater length and width than the right lane. Oil pattern tips When it comes time to actually bowl on these oil patterns, there is a tip on where to throw your ball; the 31 feet tip. What the 31 foot tip means, how ever long your oil pattern is, subtract 31 from the oil length, and that is your mark. Example: You are bowling on the bottom right lane on the right side of your screen. the length measures approximately 46 feet long. Now, take 46 feet minus 31 feet equals 15. That answer, is where your mark should be, so your ball should hit the 15 board fro a proper strike. |