Can anyone claim that he's good at Lane Condition reading ?
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OK guys,
Let's move on, I would like to know really like to learn more on this, and i must admit i have very little knowledge on this topic.
Why must one know how to read lane conditions, Accurately?
So that you can switch to another ball to combat the conditions right?
And if so, by right the next ball used supposed to be the "Correct type" to be used right?
If so, the scores of the games should be in the ranges of 240-270+++ right?
Reality? how many of such type of bowlers exists? even in the PBA?
Why some PBA bowers comes to our regions and flops, does its means that they are also not good lane readers or did not have the right balls with them?
I am still searching for a SOLID answers.
How to read lane? When to change to the "Right" ball.
rgds -
Hey Spook,
An interesting question posed. Everyone will have their set of answers, because this is a very subjective question. From your careful use of quotation marks with terms such as correct type from your initial post, I think you know this.
Even on good days, i'll never average 200+, let alone your range of scores quoted. But reading conditions allows a player to adapt in their own fashion, be it switching equipment or adjusting their play/lines/approach/et cetera.
Often, the results may only manifest significantly later. Hence in short shootouts and bracket matches, few spectators see the difference. Even at international level, certain players use the last frame of a game to help line up for the next game. Different players adapt differently.
But its an important skill to have for anyone. Knowing the rough conditions and how they change will help any bowler plan how they play, or how they train, and even what equipment they will buy next.
As for the point about PBA bowlers not playing well. We all know PBA bowlers are some of the best in the world. Given your knowledge of the EPL, I'll use an analogy from football:
the difference between a league and a Cup competition? In a one- or two-leg cup tie, any team can win on any given day. But we all know that over the course of a season, the cream will rise to the top.
I.e., Even PBA bowlers are human - they have bad days too.
A final note about reading lane conditions:
Often its the bowler who adapts the best that wins. In certain cases, reading lane conditions better than your opponent may only result in a strike instead of a spare. To many of us that's negligible difference, but it all counts - just ask Michael Haugen Jr. after he lost a tournament final to Pete Weber 279 - 290 a few years ago. Classic.
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Hi Spook,Originally posted by Spook:Why must one know how to read lane conditions, Accurately?
So that you can switch to another ball to combat the conditions right?
And if so, by right the next ball used supposed to be the "Correct type" to be used right?
If so, the scores of the games should be in the ranges of 240-270+++ right?
I am still searching for a SOLID answers.
How to read lane? When to change to the "Right" ball.
rgds
Hope i can ans some of your questions correctly.
the exact reason for reading the lane is that, firstly, a player will have to decide which ball to use at the game start, roughly can be decided by the first few practice throw, and secondly, as we all know, the lanes are oiled with a thin layer of oil, in specific pattersn, such as long oil, short oil, christmas tree oiling...wat have you. As the ball rolls down the lane, the oil shifts all over the place, some stick to the surface of your ball, some carried down into the backend. ok, ball hooks when it encounters friction, so all these moving oils affects your ball reaction.
For example, on fresh oil, your high end particle ball follows your line, retains most of its energy, and when it reaches the back end, hooks in beautifully. But after 1 or 2 games, the oil would have carried forward, so the lane heads may become dry by now. So now if you throw the same particle ball with the same line, the ball will react with the lanes much earlier than compared to your initial condition, so the ball will lose its energy much earlier, by the time it reaches the pins, it may hav much less energy, and therefore you may observed that the impact is much smaller. Also since it encounters friction so early in the lane, it may overreact and overhook, making it hard to control.
So now, decision making. A) you can either use the same ball, change your bowling styles, release, rev, ball speed or line to fight the lane. or B), change to a suitable ball to match the lane, instead of making drastic changes to your bowling style. -
As to how to read lane conditions, it is actually very easy to say, but very difficult to do. It is very difficult to read the lane just by looking at the plain ball, so a good way to start is to put a white cross tape on the positive axis point of your ball, then when you release your ball, observe the way this white cross moves, quite hard to explain here, but i will try my best, as the ball is skidding on the oil, this white cross will appear to be stationary, and then when the ball starts to encounter friction, it will start to flare the this white cross will start to move, this is roughly when your ball starts to hook, and by the time the ball finish its hook and transits into its final roll, the white cross would have shifted to a new position. After a while you will be able to read the transition even without the white tape.
from this, you will be able to see at which part of the lane is your ball reading the lane, whether it is at 20 feet, or at 30 feet or such... the earlier your ball reads the lane, the earlier it will lose its energy, the smaller will be the impact of the ball. Ball readng lane too early may also make your ball hook earlier than wat you would prefer it to be....
this is the method that the national tema is using now, Nowadays you mayb see some national youth bowling or training with this white cross on their ball, and this is wat it is for!!! -
usually great bowlers have an arsenal of balls for different contidions. It really differs from bowlers to bowlers, but generally for less than professional level, when you start to struggle with the ball that you are initialy comfortable with, for example it hooks too much, or loses so much energy as compared to your initial throw, then it is time to change ball to one that suits the condition.Originally posted by Spook:How to read lane? When to change to the "Right" ball.
rgds
however if you are stil comfortable with it, than really there is no point to change your ball, isn't it??