Blog - Bowling Education — Oil Patterns

By Dustin Zehner, 2016 U20 Junior Gold Runner-Up One of the hardest decisions any Junior Gold bowler has to make is what bowling balls to bring after the practice sessions. There are a number of different components that need to be taken into account when choosing your arsenal. So let's talk about the different types of ball motion, how different surface prep can affect ball motion, and finally building your final arsenal for the tournament. The 4 Types of Ball Motion in Bowling The first step in building your arsenal is understanding the different balls on the market.  With the large...

A couple years ago, I averaged 237 in a league. People often asked me for tips to having a high league average. Obviously there are a lot of factors that play into scoring. Most importantly -- the lane condition. What bowling ball or balls should you have in your arsenal for league bowling? Most league lane patterns or house shots are built to help you get your ball to the pocket. This is because there is typically a high concentration of oil in the middle of the lane and less oil outside. As bowlers, we tend to use aggressive bowling...

Urethane was the popular coverstock choice in the 80’s.  It hooked earlier than polyester coverstocks and was more durable. That technology began to fade once Reactive Resin bowling balls became popular in the 90’s.  Reactive Resin was longer and more angular, it wasn’t as durable, but that was the price you paid for the added performance.  The truth is, reactive resin balls are actually urethane based with a liquid additive called plasticizer.  This additive gives the ball the ability to absorb and it changes the texture of the coverstock.  Reactive Resin technology hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years...

  We get many questions about lane patterns. Let me preface this by saying there are many, many patterns and as technology advances, there will be more to come. This is a general overview of how to read a lane graph, and how play the specific pattern called the Detroit Cup. The blue graph above is the shape and length of the pattern from the foul line to the head pin from an overhead perspective. The shape of the pattern is similar to a Christmas tree. This is a common shape for many patterns today. The red and green graph...

Written by Dustin Zehner Whether it be your first time or you are a veteran to the tournament, Junior Gold succeeds to be one of the best and most challenging youth tournaments. Preparation is super important for the tournament. Now that the USBC no longer uses WTBA patterns, we never know exactly what to expect in the 16 games of qualifying, the advancers rounds or match play. This means  you must be prepared for anything to come at you. So here are some steps I recommend going through to being able to tackle the challenging patterns and having success this...