06/05/2026
One thing I hear over and over again is people complaining about the shot at their local bowling alley. I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said “this isn’t the shot we bowled on last week.”
I have posted about lane topography and how the airflow and temperature in the building can affect lane conditions, but there is one thing that most people don’t even consider…who they are bowling with and against on the lanes.
This past season there were three 300 games on my team. The strange part is that they were all bowled on a different pair of lanes on different weeks by different people. But there was one common denominator, they were all bowled against the same team. They had three or four guys who threw a plastic straight ball right down the middle and my team burnt up the outside giving us hook to the right and hold to the left. If you follow the USBC Nationals, you will see this done on purpose by the top teams in the tournament. They take it upon themselves to make the lanes more scoreable.
I always have a conversation with my teammates about how it’s weird that we can’t all bowl well on the same night. Well although bad carry has a lot to do with it, we all throw the ball in different parts of the lane with different equipment. Some throw pearls, some throw solids and I’m more of a hybrid guy myself. We all have different rev rates and ball speeds so it actually makes more sense when we don’t all bowl well.
Do you ever notice how there is one team that seems to own you every time you bowl against them? Or maybe it’s just one person. That is not a coincidence. Maybe you are drying out the outside and they like to hook the ball. Or maybe you are playing inside where they are which gives them a better ball reaction. Watch where that person plays, are they inside or outside where you are playing?
Where you play on a lane relative to the people you are bowling with makes a big impact on the lane and how the oil breaks down. This is why lanes get harder or easier as the night progresses. The equipment being used also affects the lane conditions. Some people like to blame urethane and plastic going down the lane. Well, sometimes it actually helps because those people aren’t burning up your line and are providing carry down and hold. However, if those people are spraying it everywhere, it’s gonna be tough to get a consistent ball reaction. I’ve thrown urethane before and had a teammate shoot 300. I’ve had teammates throw urethane and I shot 300. I’ve also bowled against a whole team throwing urethane and barely broke 500.
A few weeks ago I shot 300/803 on a night where I had five left handers on my pair. That wasn’t a coincidence. When there is a lot less traffic on your side, the lanes transition a lot slower. I only had to move my feet a couple boards all night.
Pay attention to who you are bowling with and against and where they are playing and adjust accordingly. You are not going to find a great bowler who stands and throws in the same spot every week against every team on every pair.
