If you want the same thing that they have in the round of 64, they're going to have to strip and oil the pairs you bowl on a lot of times. The PBA lane man has said that they don't get the lane clean the way they want it for days. This is also backed up by people who've bowled the PTQ's who've said that the lanes don't react the same during practice as they do during the PTQ's, and they don't react the same way during the PTQ's as they do during the round of 64.



It's not spin, it's reality. Bowling is about who executes and adjusts better, regardless of the condition. A house shot make Execution and adjustments much less important. Sport conditions make it these things a premium. If you are the one who scores higher, you out bowled the other person. If you didn't, you got out bowled. That's the bottom line.

And you're right, you can absolutely complaint about it all you want. Just fill in the blank : "I bowled bad because..."

My answer is going to be "because I didn't get it done".

CWULFF, there is a lot of merit to what you say. Practice and get coaching. The problem I found with that approach was what was I practicing on? Used up, weak oil lanes. If I was bowling on tournament conditions, I wanted to practice on tournament conditions. And, around here, that is hard to find.

I searched out the toughest lane conditions I could find for league. they were House Sport leagues, and they were not sanctioned as such. But, the oil was heavy and the competition good. I really enjoy practicing on PBA patterns in the Summer. It throws a different wrinkle at you.

I just don't see the PBAX league as a viable alternative. Most of the competition is weaker, and many are fighting themself instead of the lane.

When I bowl, my first focus should be me against the lane condition. Not me against me.

You can always be available to sub in the evenings. That would give you some "fresh" conditions on which to ply your game. Though our teams do not utilize subs, many do. Even on house shots you have to execute. And if you are in the mind set to really pay attention to your ball and your Execution you will see for yourself what's going wrong and right. But you have to be totally honest with yourself when you hit or miss. And recognize that sometimes when you miss, you get the hit because........another thing you have to learn. Why when you missed, did you still get a pocket hit and carry.

But this is why I say that when you can average 200+ in say.....10 - 15 different houses. You have a pretty good handle on your game. Doesn't matter if its house conditions. At that point you are proabably ready to move to the weekly sport or PBA condition without it being a major confusing and demoralizing experience.

Erin

There's a lot of dis illusionment with the Sport and PBA experience leagues. USBC dished out more then they could maintain and provide. Therefore you have to take into account your center and its equipment, its mechanics and therefore its ability to put these patterns into effect. Even though you were fed a story of PBA conditions that played like the PBA write ups from the pros......that's not how it works. Too many variables. So in the end you are left with what everyone is left with when they walk into any competition league or tournament. You have to play what's there. Bad approaches, bad lane conditions, mal functioning machines, PBA or Sport condition etc........... PBA or Sport shot doesn't save you from these all too common glitches. You know as well as I do that when the pros bowl the machine is prepped and working well. Lanes are double stripped. That the proper amount of stripper is in the machine that its filled with oil as it should be. You are NOT guaranteed that in your home center. That's given that your center has a fairly contemporary lane oiling machine and a lane mechanic that knows what they are doing. A fairly rare event in my experience.

Erin

You continue to miss the point, and its pointless for me to continue this discussion.

I wanted to bowl on PBA PATTERNS, not a sport league. I couldn't care less how anybody else bowls on it. It is simply the only way I had available to bowl on the pba patterns. Simple as that my friend. There is no competition in my eyes outside of me against the lanes, obviously I haven't bowled well on it and that is my fault.

It DOES NOT however change the fact that I am now forced to pay for 13 weeks of bowling that is other than what was advertised. I am not going to re-tool my entire game for 13 weeks of this nonsense. In fact its really only 4 weeks of Cheetah and Viper that matter. The other patterns play just fine inside where the 1-5 board never come into play.

So myself like the person who started this thread are not interested in making changes for the summer only to have it affect us adversely this winter season.

I'll stick to the THS where us house hacks with no talent belong. At least there when I am averaging 220, I can use the same excuse that everybody bowls on the same condition. Of course we know how that discussion goes as well.

New Flash: You are bowling on PBA patterns and PBA patterns are sport compliant.



You are getting what's advertised. No one said that they were going to bring in the PBA's oiler, lane man and shut down the center for a week so that they could get the patterns exactly the way they are for a tournament. They don't even get them exact from week to week on the tour.



This right here is one of the biggest problems with the sport today. People don't want to bowl on a condition other than the great wall of china because they figure out that their game isn't as good as they think it is. Heaven forbid that someone actually has to change something to make them a better bowler.




Have fun.

A long while ago, we had this big discussion on this board of whether a 300 bowled on a house shot was really the same as a 300 bowled by a PBA member on their shot.

Wow, did that raise some eyebrows, on both sides of the fence.

Subsequently, this thing called the PBAX came about, and some, myself being one, took this as a dare. And, I was humbled. But, not by the lanes or condition, but by the way I reacted to the patterns. Instead of playing what I saw, and using the appropriate equipment, I tried to force the result as I could force it on a house shot. And, that just didn't work. In fact, it screwed me up for almost 8 months.

Needless to say, my first experience with the PBAX was not a good one.

In retrospect, I now know what I was doing wrong. I can remember what others were doing wrong and saying. And, I now have learned from that. But, I didn't realize it at the time. I was fighting a losing battle, and changing me in the process.

This year is an entirely different approach. I am taking my time to read the lanes more and see how it has shown me a flaw in my approach, my swing, my release, my rotation. And, I am more conscious of that. Rather than say the ball didn't react on that oil, I say what did I do that caused the reaction, and how do I modify that. As has been said here many times, these patterns magnify any flaw that you have. And, it takes an astute player to recognize that. That's why I am an advocate of a Coach or trainer in attendance.

Too many of us are not addressing this PBAX thing in that manner. I am the only one that I know of from our league of last year that is doing this again. The others were frustrated, and gave up.

Now, when I bowl in tournaments, I'm not apprehensive. I have learned how to read the lanes better, and how to adjust to the condition, any condition, laid down. I now realize that I didn't get enough revs out of the ball, and addressed that. I now realize that I often early rotated, and sometimes over rotated. I have improved my accuracy. I now can manage my speed and timing better. I now realize the value of using the right equipment to match the condition. I have learned my equipment better. I would have shelved a ball. Now, I pull it out for the Shark. And, I have learned this through PBAX.

Most of these things, I could get away with on a house shot, or contrive some method around it. This was the wrong approach that I have been using for the past 3 years of my return.

And, this is for you Erin. Those methods would have worked in the 70's. Not today. Where you used to muscle, you need ease and fluidity today. Where you could play straight up 10 before, you may now have to move inside. Where you could side rotate before, you have to come out straight up today.

I will admit, I have bowled better practicing on the PBA Patterns, with the score off. I don't care about the score. But, I now know when I have rolled a good ball, and made the proper adjustment. I can tell by the feel of the speed, the swing, the hand, and the release, regardless of the score. How many times have you pulled a ball, but rode the center oil for a strike? Be honest. Did you correct that? Chances are not, because you struck. You just went to the next frame. That doesn't happen on these patterns.

Now it's time for me to put it into real play. And, that will take practice.

I guess I will have to bowl a regional to put this one to bed.

DD, don't think I missed your point. You want what you pay for, and that's it. That discussion should be between you and the House, not here.

All we are saying here is the PBAX, or for that matter, any Sport pattern, should be a challenge that the bowler has to be able to play. There generally are not any patterns of this type where one can practice, and when faced with one, it causes trouble.

This type of league, and if you are lucky to have practice available, gives you the opportunity to bowl on a more challenging shot. Whether it is PBA, NCAA, Seniors or Denny's patterns is immaterial. This should be a learning experience.

All I know is when I bowl ABT's, they tell you the pattern, but it is usually a house sport shot, and all they say is 40 feet tapered, and buffed. Not much else. One has to be able to bowl on that. And, you only get 1 ball on each lane to read the lane.

I agree, if you expect one pattern, it should be that pattern. Talk with your house.

desertdog71:

You can have 2 houses that punch in the numbers into the oiler for a PBA pattern but they will play different. There are differences between the way machines put down the oil. There is different types of oil used. The lane surfaces are different. Humidity, temperature inside and outside, all of these will make a difference in how the same pattern will play different from house to house.