How to Adjust Yourself Mechanically From Pattern to Pattern

Written By: bowlingball.com | Written On: Monday, October 14, 2024

Posted by bowlingball.com: 07/10/2017 Updated: 10/14/2024

Adjusting to changing lane conditions and different oil patterns is a crucial skill in bowling, especially as you progress from a beginner to a more seasoned player looking to raise your average. Lane oil conditions can shift throughout a game, and understanding how to adapt your approach to these changes is key to maintaining consistency. Below are tips to help you adjust your approach for various oil patterns and changing lane conditions.

Understanding Lane Oil Patterns  
Oil patterns on a bowling lane play a significant role in how your ball behaves. The oil affects the friction between the ball and the lane, influencing the ball's speed, direction, and hook potential. Different oil patterns can range from light to heavy oil, and they can vary in length and shape. In general:  
- Heavy oil in the middle: Offers more hold (less hook) in the center of the lane.  
- Light oil on the sides: Provides more friction and more hook near the lane’s edges.  
- Short oil patterns: Create more friction early on, which makes the ball hook earlier.  
- Long oil patterns: Delay the hook, often requiring adjustments to account for less friction early.

1. Read the Lane During Practice Shots  
Before the game begins, take your practice shots seriously. Use this time to observe how your ball is reacting to the lane conditions. Pay attention to how much hook you’re getting, whether the ball is skidding too far, or if it's hooking early. If you know the oil pattern in advance (e.g., house patterns or sport patterns), use that knowledge to anticipate how your ball will behave.  
- House patterns are more forgiving and generally have more oil in the middle, which helps direct the ball toward the pins.  
- Sport patterns offer a more challenging and even distribution of oil, requiring greater precision.  
Adjust your approach during practice based on how your ball reacts. This can help you start the game with a solid strategy for both strike shots and spare shooting.

2. Adjust Your Starting Position  
The easiest adjustment for changing lane conditions or oil patterns is to move your starting position on the approach. Your starting position can affect the angle of the ball as it travels down the lane. Here’s how to adjust:  
- Move left for more hook (for right-handed bowlers, move right for left-handed bowlers). This is particularly important on lanes where the oil is breaking down, meaning there's less oil and more friction, which causes the ball to hook more. Moving left compensates for the increased hook by giving the ball more room to travel before breaking toward the pins.  
- Move right for less hook (left for left-handed bowlers). If you find the lanes heavily oiled, or the ball isn’t hooking as much as expected, moving to the right allows you to aim toward areas with less oil, increasing the friction and making the ball hook earlier or sharper.  
Generally, you want to move your feet in the direction that the ball is missing. If you're consistently missing left of the pocket, move left. If you're missing right, move right.

3. Adjust Your Target on the Lane  
Along with moving your feet, you can also adjust your target on the lane. Your target is usually one of the arrows or boards on the lane. Adjusting your aim can help you compensate for changing lane conditions.  
- Aim closer to the center when the lanes are heavily oiled, as this allows your ball to stay on a straighter path before hooking toward the pins.  
- Aim further right or left when the oil starts to break down, as the ball will hook earlier due to the increased friction on the drier boards.  
Matching your feet adjustments with an adjusted target can give you better control over your ball’s path.

4. Ball Speed Adjustments  
Speed is another factor to consider when adjusting for changing lane conditions.  
- Increase your ball speed when bowling on heavier oil patterns. A faster throw will reduce the amount of hook since the ball won’t have as much time to react to the oil on the lane. To increase speed, you can take a more aggressive step in your approach or focus on quicker arm motion during the release.  
- Decrease your ball speed when the lane is drying out or has less oil. A slower ball speed allows the ball to hook earlier and more sharply, giving you more control in areas with more friction. To slow down your speed, relax your grip on the ball, and take a more controlled approach during your release.

5. Change Your Ball if Necessary  
Different bowling balls are designed for different conditions, so changing your ball is sometimes the best adjustment.  
- Use a ball with more surface texture (a duller ball) for heavily oiled lanes. These balls create more friction with the lane surface, allowing them to hook more easily even in heavy oil.  
- Use a ball with less surface texture (a shinier or polished ball) when lanes are drier. Polished balls will skid longer before hooking, which is helpful when the lane surface has more friction.  
Many bowlers carry multiple balls in their arsenal specifically for different oil patterns. If you have a reactive ball that hooks a lot, it may be useful for drier conditions, while a less aggressive ball may work better on oily conditions.

6. Rev Rate and Axis Rotation  
Your rev rate (the number of revolutions your ball makes as it rolls) and axis rotation (the angle at which your ball spins) are both factors you can manipulate based on lane conditions.  
- Increase rev rate for heavy oil. By imparting more revolutions on the ball, you’ll help the ball hook more even in conditions where the oil delays the hook. This can be done by applying more wrist action during your release.  
- Reduce rev rate on dry lanes. A lower rev rate will keep the ball from hooking too early, allowing you to maintain control and avoid missing the pocket.

7. Watch Other Bowlers  
In leagues or competitive play, you can learn a lot by observing other bowlers. Watch how their balls are reacting to the lane and see if they’re making adjustments. This can give you insight into how the oil is breaking down and where the dry spots on the lane are forming.

Conclusion  
Adapting to changing lane conditions and different oil patterns is an essential skill for any bowler looking to improve their average. By adjusting your starting position, target, ball speed, and even switching balls, you can fine-tune your approach to handle various conditions. The key is to stay observant and be willing to make small adjustments throughout the game. As you gain more experience, these adjustments will become second nature, helping you maintain consistency and improve your overall performance.

This week something really interesting caught my eye and I had not noticed it until just now. That thing is when you go from a short pattern to a medium or long pattern, how do you adjust yourself mechanically? Now, I’ve only been bowling two-handed for roughly two and a half years, and through my experiences and knowledge I’ve been able to provide you the inside scoop and tips and tricks to the two-handed bowling style. This is definitely a topic I find myself referring back to for a long time to come, so not only by educating you, I’m also educating myself too.

Now many know that short patterns (36 feet and shorter) are kryptonite to most two-handed bowlers on the lanes. Fortunately for me, I’ve been able to diagnose the issues I have had on short and find a way to further score and execute shots needed to achieve maximum score. Using urethane mostly, I’m having to play way right cause we can’t open up the lane on short from standing inside, we have to play out. Playing out does not allow us to open our hip as much in the 3rd step necessary to bring the ball into our backswing properly and fully execute the shot 100% to the best of our ability. Playing the gutter is key on short and rarely can you play a tight hook on short without sacrificing the chance of potentially going over-under with your ball reaction. Thankfully, the Cheetah pattern I am bowling on for the next month has given me this great article idea to showcase how to transition yourself mechanically from short to medium or long patterns.


Bowling back to back days and going from PBA Cheetah to a house shot on a typical league night can be a difficult transition for a two-handed bowler like myself. From bowling four games on PBA Cheetah, forced up the gutter and not being able to open your hip as much and fully execute the best of shots, your body is going to mechanically begin to remember you doing that. So going into bowling on a house shot, your body is still going to remember the night before of walking straight as an arrow and failure to open your hip.

I unfortunately was a victim of this over the last week. Even though I knew what I was doing wrong, I was forcing shots, being up the back of the ball, not opening my hip, basically throwing the ball all over the lane and being inaccurate. Yes, just the best piece of advice, “Trying to fix yourself mechanically in a league setting is the best thing you can do for yourself if you’re in a mechanical rut,” said no one ever. Practice is the only place to practice mechanics, spare shooting repetition, etc.

Now I understand that this applies to just mostly two-handed bowlers as opposed to our one-handed friends, as their steps are traditional and walking straighter to the line. For them and their great mechanics, it’s all about lane play, right ball choice, and filling frames. It’s about that for us two-handed bowlers too but with added elements like opening our hip and being mechanically fine in tune as well.

For more excellent content and for great advice on how to practice mechanics in league like me, (just kidding) and to purchase all your bowling goods, wants and needs, please make sure to stay right here at bowlingball.com, it’s where bowlers go.

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