I have heard that during the Hoinke, if big scores are being shot, people at the alley call their friends to come in and bowl. There is a guy on my old league who goes every year. He said that they started going during the week because they would get killed on the weekend conditions.

My House has the same problem form week to week. One night it be so dry you have players playing in front of the ball return and other nights it be flooded with oil.

I do see in my house a lot of people like it when its dry. I'm the reverse i struggle on dry lanes and bowl good on oily lanes. Last week we had a high concentration of oil on our lanes and i ended up being in the top three in series. 665, 635, and 614(me).

I definitely feel the pain of inconsistent lane conditions. I usually either get too much hook or not enough... Like many have said, it is a nice challenge, but I haven't shot a 600 in weeks lol. I have been bowling a lot more consistent, as I've improved my spare game quite a bit. Though it gets frustrating when I'm not able to carry more than a couple of strikes a game... if any at all.

Well, I understand your frustration there. It does get old when you're doing all you can to carry only to end up leaving 9 counts. It wasn't too long ago I was there as well. But the thing you've realized is something that's invaluable - learning to become consistent and picking up what you leave. If you can learn to be a much better spare bowler, your consistency will show up on the scoresheet. Eventually, you'll learn to take the pressure off of yourself and then you'll start striking. Couple that with a good spare game and your average will be sure to rise.

I'll second Brian on the importance of spares and what making them can do to your game. Making the spares you are suppose to make can make a big difference in your score and average. Thats the biggest reason I'm been bowling as bad as I have been, terrible spare shooting when it comes to the "give me" spares. Granted I'm not making the best of strike shots on even the easiest of conditions but I've been leaving makable spares, many single pin spares or clusters of pins that are makable. The problem is missing probably half of them on any particular night. Making all but the large splits I could be in the 540s or better every night, instead of around 480 and sometimes lower. Missing those spares repeatedly makes it harder to be relaxed on a strike shot and you try to force it and it just spirals downhill.

Yeah even with my lowly 173 average for the night last weekend, I only missed one or two of my "gimme" spares. The largest problem for a lot of us bowling on the pair last weekend, were splits. I even picked up a couple of the smaller ones. Though seeing two or three pocket 7-10 splits makes you wonder. I wasn't the recipient of them, but they looked like nice shots only to end up with jaws hitting the floor lol. I must say the second game really baffled me as I bowled it clean, but only shot a 188. Though I'm glad you understand some of my frustration, now I've just got to make sure I can repeat the shots even if I don't get all 10 in the pit. Hitting the pocket is certainly my goal every time it's my turn to bowl :-)!

I've been actually begging for pocket 7-10 splits recently, it means I hit the pocket, lol. If I throw a solid pocket shot right now and leave something I'm a little upset but just shrug it off. I need to get in the pocket more than I am and then make those gimmes.

i go in cycles, i'll nail every single pin i leave for a few weeks, while chopping 1 out of 2, or 2 of 3 in clusters, then a few weeks later, i nail all the garbage, and whiff the singles.

I think a lot of what happens around here is that enough people complain to the desk about there being "no oil" or "too much oil" that a center manager tries to keep his/her bowlers happy (or at least away from the desk), so after a dry week, the next week ends up being flooded. I bowl on a condition on Thursday nights that is the most violent wet/dry I've ever seen. I need to start the ball in the oil, swing it outside of 4-5, and keep it slow enough that it will come back. When I hit it, I'm fine. Tug it 1-2 boards at the break point, though, and I'm lucky to hit the headpin. The pattern is about 40-42 ft long.
This condition hasn't been there all year. It only turned into the wet/dry condition a couple of months ago, and I'm sure it's because enough people complained that they didn't have enough of a condition left by the end of the night that they kept building up the oil in the middle of the lane. People wanted it easy, but didn't ask for "easy" the right way. Now there's too much oil in the middle to get even the strongest equipment to move.

You need to take a strong dull aggressively drilled (leverage, or Rico) and play the oil line, the strength of the ball will get it back to the pocket without over hooking if missed to the outside and the oil will help hold the ball in the pocket if you tug it.