WTBA Stockholm - 34 ft

Again, I played three games on a freshly oily Stockholm pattern.

As one might expect, this shot played similarly to the Sydney - 33 ft pattern of the previous week. After learning some valuable lessons on that pattern, I began my practice this week the way that I ended last week.

The Set Up
- Sliding 19, Targeting 10
- Moderate Hand Position
- Ball Layout - Even-arcing action and skid
- Ball core - Low Flare Ellipse
- Coverstock - Reactive Resin

The Lane Play
In the first ten frames, (in cross-lane, league-style play) I got a very nice, predictable roll out of my ball. I would categorize it as smooth, arcing roll with plenty of punch and carry in the pocket. I had the most room missing left of target as my ball would catch some of the heavy early oil and just sit and skid. Missing right was, again, not a good option and I got very little recovery. However, I left far fewer washouts and splits. (In other fun news, I did take the 3 pin cleanly out of the 1-3-6.)

In the second ten frames, the lanes remained fairly open, and I was able to string many strikes together. Any shots that missed the pocket were clearly my error and I did not feel the need to move my feet at all.

By the last ten frames, the oil had moved down the lane, and my area got much tighter. I experienced the same two boards of room that I had the previous week on the Sydney pattern. I could not buy a pocket shot and in retrospect, I wish that I would have tried to move my feet right to take advantage of the lighter oil and get my ball into a better roll. All shots left of target went left - although not nearly as left as on the Sydney pattern. All shots right of target left me multiple pin combination spares on the left side. Throwing a ball with a nice even-arc reaction, though, gave me make-able spares and no splits. 

Things I Learned 
STRAIGHTER IS GREATER at spares. The movement of the oil down the lane from frame to frame will leave you scratching your head at your ball movement as you try to guess how to pick up any multiple pin spares.

I suspect that any player willing to throw a little more aggressive ball will benefit in the long run in terms of favorable ball reaction - IF AND ONLY IF - they are able to make a consistent release.

When I did NOTHING with my release, (in other words, I did not try to hook the ball at all) I got the most consistent reaction down the lane. When I got more aggressive with my release, my ball struggled in the oily heads and suffered down lane. I am, however, only 5'7" and my arm span can be  a disadvantage on these lane conditions. Taller players with arm spans long enough to miss most of the heads will experience fewer headaches with the early oil.

I will amend this post with any post-league play thoughts, when I experience the condition with 6 players on the pair.

WTBA Sydney - 33 Ft

I played three games on a freshly oiled Sydney pattern.

Here are my thoughts:

I always start any practice session by not lining up shots at all, but rather picking up the ball and just getting into my swing. This makes for very effortless arm swings and a nice way to ease into a mentally challenging set.


The Set Up
- Sliding 20 - Targeting 10.
- Moderate hand position.
- Ball Layout - Leveraged for max track flare potential
- Ball Specs - Pyramid core (very forgiving), Solid reactive cover. This ball is generally my benchmark ball for medium lane conditions. In the end, I think I would have gotten better results with a Pearlized cover stock and pin down placement.

The Lane Play
 I learned a few very valuable things about this pattern.
1. There is a definite out of bounds right of five. I picked the ten pin off a full rack after throwing a three bagger.
2. There is about 2 board margin of error, and that is all right of target. (Zero margin of error left of target.) This may have been improved with a different ball in play.
3. If you miss at all left, your ball will end up left of pocket. No forgiveness. 
4. Bring a Plastic Ball for spares or something extremely tame like the Ice. Your ball will jump in the back ends and you will miss your share of opposite-side spares if you don't play them straight.

And here is the most important thing:
5. A relaxed arm swing and release will pay off HUGE DIVIDENDS on this pattern. Your ball will hook so much coming out of the back ends that your instinct will be to throw harder. DON'T DO THIS! It will only produce less consistent release, more hook, and possibly your ball just rolling out. You will leave frustrating things, like the 8-9, which I left THREE times!
My best advice is when you want to hit the ball or pull down your swing for power, DON'T. Just slide, sit down in your approach and wait for the ball to get in front of you, then release. Keep focused and calm. Refill your mental game every shot. You will need it.

Final Notes:
- In the end, I wish I would have had a different piece of equipment to play. Everything I brought had lots of track flare. As I stated above, I think I will try a Pearl coverstock with a tamer, pin down placement so that this ball has a smoother back end reaction.
- Lot's of oil came back on my ball, every shot, and continued through about 20-25 frames until I saw substantially less oil.
-  This pattern doesn't necessarily create an early ball reaction - there is plenty of oil where there is oil - but with the combination of Hollywood's ProLane surface (hot back ends) and the shortness of this pattern, you are presented with a major challenge and FUN!

  Welcome to Pattern Play. We will use this blog as a way to discuss approaches to playing the World Ten Pin Bowling Patterns. We'll play one pattern per week, shortest to longest, and tell you targets for eyes and feet, equipment used, and any moves we made. We'll even try to give you measurements like ball speed and discuss our release position. We will try to cover this from the perspective of multiple bowling styles, when we've got apt players to provide commentary.

  This blog's goal is to educate fellow bowlers and share knowledge. Please feel free to comment and add your experience.

First Pattern Up:
Sydney (33 ft)


  We'll be playing this pattern on Tuesday, May 7th and returning to blog about it later that day.