September 2013 – How New PBA Patterns Shook
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100 TOP COACHES & 10 TOP TIPS • $5 MILLION YOUTH BOWLING INITIATIVE SEPTEMBER 2013 • $3.95 • www.bowlersjournal.com Happy Days at the U.S. Open Why Champs Liz Johnson and Wes Malott No Longer Take Winning for Granted Posted with permission from Bowlers Journal International. 0913_BJI_COVER.indd C1 8/19/13 9:09:57 AM Clinic Pro Tips And Ball Reviews THE PRO APPROACH BY BILL SPIGNER { [email protected] } How New PBA Patterns Shook Out THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ASPECT of our sport involves lane The Wolf gave the play- surfaces and the oiling patterns applied to them. That’s what made the ers more angles through the front part of the lane PBA Summer Series in Milwaukee so interesting, as three new “animal for getting to the correct patterns” were introduced. There was a big difference in not only the breakpoint. Coupled with the length of the patterns used, but also in the dominant style of players increased pocket-entering angle, that produced higher that made the shows. Simply put, it marked the return of the strokers. scores for more players. The Wolf enabled players The fi rst new pattern angle we normally see when to use the greatest degree of was the Badger: 52 feet in the bowlers play deep inside. hook among all the patterns. length, contested on a wood The perception was that the It again brought out the surface. On wood, the ball ball wasn’t even hooking into strokers as the dominant per- rolls earlier and fi nishes the pocket, yet it would get to formers, with Chris Loschet- less — especially if the lane the 5-pin and rip the racks. ter leading and then winning hasn’t been resurfaced in a This pattern brought an in- his fi rst PBA Tour title. while. On synthetic surfaces, teresting cast to the TV show. The third new pattern was the ball gets down the lane All are straighter players and BADGER PATTERN LENGTH: the Bear, which was basi- easier and fi nishes harder. excellent shot-makers, with 52 FEET cally the U.S. Open pattern. The Badger on wood was a medium speed, revs and rota- It measured 40 feet, with throwback to lane conditions tion. Josh Blanchard led, but no blend in the oil across of the past, and it devel- was defeated by Jake Peters the width of the lane. It was oped into a “fall-back” shot, for the title. They are two of the lowest scoring and most something unheard of today. the top shot-making strokers brutal lane condition, and The bowlers started out on tour who have graduated produced the widest range playing between the 15- and from the college ranks. of players for its telecast. 20-board, with a direct line Most bowlers believe that Advancing to the show to the 3-pin (right-handers). to play deep inside angles, were two strokers (Chris WOLF PATTERN LENGTH: The length of the oil would you have to have a ton of 32 FEET Barnes and Chris Loschet- not allow them to swing it revs and hook the ball a lot. ter), two crankers (Dan out to the right. The pattern The Badger pattern proved MacLelland and Jason did have more oil in the that this isn’t always true; Belmonte), and one hard- middle of the lane, which it was a stroker’s pattern. throwing, higher rev, me- the players used for “hold.” The Wolf was the second dium hook guy (Tom Hess). As the Badger wore down, pattern, and a replacement The pattern had enough players moved in even for the Cheetah. It was 32 backend for one to be able deeper, but still couldn’t feet in length instead of to hook the ball, but the swing the ball out past the 35, and it proved to be the fl at oil provided no room 3-pin. So, they actually had highest scoring pattern. Its BEAR PATTERN LENGTH: right or left of target to get the ball slide back toward length leaves 28 feet of the 40 FEET the ball to the pocket. With the 3, and then at the end the lane for the ball to hook on. the opposite of the Badger, no mistake room laterally ball needed to “tip” into the This pattern requires one on which players needed on the lane, the down-lane pocket, creating some angle. to get the ball out to between to keep the ball inside direction the ball travels The balls that were strik- the 2- and 4-board before it around the 13-board before is vitally important. It has ing did not demonstrate the starts to hook back — just it headed back to the pocket. to be on line and rolled at Posted with permission from Bowlers Journal International. 56 September 2013 • BJI’s 100th Anniversary Celebration www.bowlersjournal.com PRO APPROACH 0713.indd 56 8/19/13 9:12:35 AM Clinic Pro Tips And Ball Reviews the right speed. If the speed is a little the oil to different parts of the backend the length of the pattern was 40 feet and fast, the ball skates too long. If it’s a (the last 20 feet). Ultimately, much of there was 20 feet of backend to navigate. little slow, it hooks too soon. All in all, the play area went to the middle of the On the Badger, one basically threw it was tough to navigate with the oil lane. (Remember, the Badger played in right at the 3-pin. On the Bear, one had changing subtly on almost every shot. the middle, too, but the difference was to arc the ball out to around 10-12 and This pattern played okay from multi- that virtually everyone was there.) hook it back. Without any area built ple angles on the fresh. Starting out, the When the dominant shot moved to into the pattern, the only area that bowlers were all over the lane, moving the middle of the lane, it was because could be created came from develop- ing a track in the oil, the carrydown and the ball track in the lane surface. The fl at pattern is the truest form of bowling. There’s no help to steer the ball to the pocket, and it takes an incredible amount of patience to be successful on it. The fourth tournament featured all three patterns, and the cream really rose to the top, with fi ve stro- kers left standing at the end: Chris Barnes, Pete Weber, Norm Duke, Mike Fagan and Jason Sterner. Sterner has developed into one of the best players on tour, a very solid shot- maker. Fagan has made some impressive adjustments to his game, tightening up everything and using straighter lines — from his swing to his follow- through. He now can play angles that were foreign to him just a few years ago. Here is the basic rule of thumb for playing lanes that are freshly oiled: The longer the pattern, the closer you play to the headpin; you do not throw the ball away from the pocket. The shorter the pattern, the more you play toward the 10-pin or the gutter, and start the ball the farthest away from the pocket. Long patterns give you less time for the ball to hook when it exits the end of the pattern. But as the pattern gets shorter, you have more time for the ball to hook and need to be farther from the headpin to accom- modate the hook you’re going to get. For the average player, the tough- est patterns are the short ones, where your lay-down point must be outside the 10-board and the breakpoint outside the 5-board. Always play the lane based on the amount of hook the lane al- lows you to play, not on what and where you want to play. Bill Spigner is a USBC gold-certifi ed coach, and a member of the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. Archived “Pro Approach” features are available online at billspigner.com. Posted with permission from Bowlers Journal International. 58 September 2013 • BJI’s 100th Anniversary Celebration www.bowlersjournal.com PRO APPROACH 0713.indd 58 8/19/13 9:12:35 AM.