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About Bowling

Every bowling lane is coated with oil to protect the lane surface. But the oil is not only for

protection: the way the oil is applied to the lane can affect the speed and direction of your

bowling ball. To prepare the lanes for a League or Tournament the bowling center’s mechanics

use oil machines, also called lane conditioner, to clean and to spread oil on the lanes’ surface.

The oil goes from the fault line (the beginning of the lane) up to BEFORE the pins:

from this position up to the PINS, there is no oil. This “dry” area is known as

the back end or the hook area. The oil machines have 64 capillary tubes from where the oil goes to the lanes:

32 spread oil to left part of the lanes.
32 spread oils to the right part of the lanes

The oil machines are set to spread oil equally in all lanes. There are several different

settings to spread the oil down the lanes, depending on the oil viscosity and quantity.

spread in each frame. The result is called “The Oil Pattern”. There are several different Oil Patterns, and they are identified by their names, like

Cheetah, Viper, Chameleon,

USA, House Sport and so.

However, to have a consistent bowling experience you DO NOT have to know the Oil Pattern

applied to the lanes: instead, you must LEARN how your ball is reacting down the lanes:

pay attention WHERE you are releasing the ball (the Target point) and where you are standing

for the strike shot. One of the MOST important things is you should remember is that

BEFORE the pins THERE IS NO OIL (“back end” area), it is DRY!

THE BALL MOTION AND THE HOOK : THE CURVE THE BALL MAKES

The balls are released by the bowlers close the fault line and slide down the lanes and knock down the PINS.

Sometimes there is a STRIKE, sometimes not, depending on WHERE the ball hits the HEAD pin.

No matter if your ball makes a CURVE or goes STRAIGHT into the pins, if it hits the pins with the correct

ENTRANCE ANGLE, you MAY have a “splash” STRIKE (it looks like the pins “explode” all together) or

just knock down the 10 pins in any other way. ALL bowlers strive for strikes, so let’s talk a bit about strikes …

The image below depicts which pins your ball should carry after hitting the head pin in the strike’s angle:

Conventional grip and Fingertip grip

The oil and the lanes

A CURVE BALL RELEASE: THE BALL HAS REVOLUTIONS

Bowling balls drilled with fingertips are used by bowlers to release the ball with revolutions.

The ball released with revolutions travels spinning over the oil most likely without changing its trajectory, until the ball reaches the “back end” (the “dry” area before the pins).

When it reaches the beginning of the “back end” the ball normally starts to curve (to “hook”).

The beginning of the “back end” is called “the brake point” because it is the point down the

lane where the friction between the surface of the ball and the dry lane starts to happen.

Reactive surface balls (not plastic balls) react with the lane once it reaches the dry area. Reactive

balls have a weight block inside, called the "core" of the balls. Depending on what the ball's manufacturer wants the ball to achieve while on the lanes. the core can be symmetric or asymmetric. The core position normally affects the ability of the ball to hook earlier or late, when comparing with other bowling balls.

The manufacturers disclose the ability to hook of their bowling balls. They also specify which oil condition (heavy oil, medium or dry lanes) the ball is performing better.

While in the back end, the ball keeps changing its trajectory until it hits the pins in an angle.

The Ball release.

There are two (02) basic ways to release a bowling ball: straight with no side revolutions or spinning the ball by giving it revolutions.

A STRAIGTH BALL RELEASE: NO REVOLUTIONS IN THE BALL

Normally the house bowling balls are PLASTIC balls, with no core inside, used for people that do not want to spin the ball.

THE CURVE

There are several factors that interfere with how the ball hooks and below are few examples for right-hand bowlers. For left hand bowlers, consider the same arrows to the left of the lane.

1. The bowling ball has to have a reactive surface; you CANNOT hook with a plastic bowling ball, like the “house” balls.

Bowling balls travel on the lanes practically without changing direction until they hit the break area (the “dry” area). At this moment, reactive balls start to hook toward the pins and plastic balls don’t.

2. Quantity of oil on the lane surface

3. How the oils were spread over the lane (the Oil Pattern). For instance, “heavy oil between

the first and the second arrows”

4. The release motion: ball speed and revolutions

The released speed and revolutions are factors that make the ball to hook more or less when it hits the “break point”:

a. If the speed is too high the ball may not have “time” to curve and hit the head pin. It may instead hit pins 3 or 6 and DO NOT hit the head pin (pin number 1).

b. If the speed is not enough the ball may curve BEFORE the head pin and hit pins 2 or 4 instead. Also, it is possible to hit the head pin (pin #1) to its LEFT instead (called the "Brocklin side").

Reactive bowling balls are manufactured for specific lane conditions like heavy oil, medium oil or dry lanes conditions.

They have a "core" inside improving the impact over the pins with less chances of deflating after hit the pins.

THE HOOK OF THE BALL (The CURVE)

WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE OIL WHILE YOU BOWL

In a typical night league session, there are at least 8 bowlers bowling per each pair of lanes, during 2 to 3 hours, at least.

Balls travel over the lanes from the beginning of the lane up to the pins.

Normally they slide over the oiled part of the lane without changing direction until they reach the back end, or the dry area just before the pins.

At that moment a friction force between the ball surface and the dry lane is activated and the ball starts changing its direction from outside to inside, making a curve.

Bowlers try to repeat this trajectory over and over, most likely near the same spots down the lane (same happens for left hand bowlers).

The oil is splashed to both sides of the ball trajectory, making the ball track different for the next bowler.

Also, as more you bowl, the oil sticks over the ball surface during its trajectory. This oil is deployed to the back end, which is less and less dry, making the balls to react slightly different.

As more as you, your teammates and your opponent's bowl, more changes happen in the lane surface by the balls action.

Depending on the oil quality and viscosity, the changes in the lane's conditions may start to affect your ball reaction during the second game (sometimes the third game) when comparing with its reaction during the first game.

What was described above should answer questions like these:

a. Why my ball does not hook as in the beginning?

b. Why my ball is hooking too much?

c. Why my ball is not hooking at all?

The answer to all these questions is:

The original oil pattern over the lanes has changed since the start of the game, due to the action of all balls released during the competition.

So, what can you do to minimize the above-mentioned effects of the interaction between the balls and the lanes surface in order to be more consistent and bowl better?

See next sections ...

THE ABILITY TO “READ THE LANES” AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS

Bowling is a very difficult sport and mastering it is very difficult.

Probably you already have heard that “to bowl better you have to learn how to read the lanes” to

overcome the oil changes in the lanes’ surface. This expression refers to your ability to interpret, at a certain time during the game, how the lanes have changed and how it is affecting your ball reaction.

The correct interpretation (“read the lanes”) will allow you to make adjustments to correct the ball

outcome, even in the beginning. Many bowlers say that

- (a) pro bowlers are able to read the lanes faster than amateurs

- (b) as better you read the lanes as better bowler you are

- (c) as better you read the lanes, more chances you have to make the right adjustment

We consider all these sentences the expression of the truth. However, can you improve your ability

to “read the lanes” and make the correct adjustment?

There are several ways to adjust according to the changes in the lane conditions.

Below are some examples of adjustments that a bowler can make during the competition (one or a combination of the options below).

The word “strike position“ refers to your body position when you are standing before the foul line for your first deliver. The word “target” refers to where you release the ball or the direction of the ball:

(a) Move your body (strike position) to the right xx boards while keeping the target position;

(b) Move your body (strike position) to the left xx boards while keeping the target position;

(d) Move your body (strike position) backwards half foot while keeping the target position;

(e) Move your body (strike position) to the right xx boards and move the target position yy

boards to the right;

(f) Move…

(g) Change the ball and keep your position and target

(h) Change the ball and move…

(i) Keep the strike and target positions and speed up the ball;

(j) Keep the strike and target positions and slow down the ball;

(k) Etc., etc

It is an endless list of advises.

As you can see, the number of possible adjustment combinations is very high. What is worse, the wrong interpretation of the lanes and subsequent wrong adjustment may cause you to lose the game and your confidence!

Often, there is not much time to try different adjustments during the game …

To benefit from an adjustment, the adjustment MUST be the correct ONE ...

In fact, for each different lanes' changes, the correct adjustment is the one indicated by your

own bowling style, your own bowling preferences and your own ability to release the ball WHERE IT SHOULD BE!

What is good for you may not be good for another bowler.

BW - BOWLER WIZARD ENGINE AND YOUR BOWLING STYLE

BW - Bowler Wizard implements in its core engine a powerful algorithm with AI - Artificial Intelligence learning ability.

BW was designed to “learn” your bowling style and build its Knowledge Base about you, based in your own style of bowling.

The BW app has many interesting features but maybe the most important is its ability to guide you on “how to bowl the next frame”: the button

“Get Advice” allows you to inquire BW’s core engine on what to do in the next frame to enhance your chances to strike.

Then BW's Inference Algorithm inspects the Knowledge Base ABOUT YOU and based on your bowling style, displays a list with one or more adjustments that you can make to start striking again!

Below an example of advice displayed when the bowler clicked the button “Get Advice”: