But many will make a critical mistake before they leave home – de-


ciding what equipment they will use and how they plan to attack the lanes without any knowledge of what they will face. They will grab that nice, shiny bowling ball that produces a respectable 200 average in league play, stick it in their bag and set sail for Reno or Syracuse. Once on the lanes, they’ll line up in the same spot they do during league ses- sions and will look on incredulously when their ball hits the 3 pin flush in the face, time after time.


It doesn’t have to be that way. Bowl-


ers can gain a huge advantage by simply familiarizing themselves with the oil pattern used in the Open and Women’s Championships. The pattern information is released on the Cham- pionships website at BOWL.com, and even a cursory look can improve your chances for success. I’ll admit I never used to pay much


attention to the pattern, either. I just know that conditions at the Cham- pionships would be more difficult, and that always meant more oil. My preparation consisted of which bowl- ing balls to take with me. But today, it is much more difficult to fly with a lot of equipment. I’ve learned that by checking the length of the pattern and the volume of oil ahead of time, I will have a pretty good idea of what kind of equipment to bring and it also will help me prepare mentally for the changes I’ll possibly need to make on the lanes.


So, exactly what does that pattern


information on BOWL.com tell me? For starters, bowlers can assume the


shape of the pattern at the Champi- onships is going to be pretty different than what they are accustomed to at their home center. On a “house pat- tern,” the concentration of oil tends to be in the middle of the lane, with less oil (and, consequently, more friction) toward the outer edges of the lane. A bowler often can use a shiny-surfaced ball and expect it to change direction at the end of a house pattern. But use that approach on the pattern at the Open or Women’s Championships, where the oil extends across the entire lane, and the under-reaction of the ball will be obvious (see accompany- ing video) The distance of the pattern is my


first indication of where I want to play on the lane. It is natural to play in the same area on the lane that we play at home, and it isn’t a bad idea to start


MAKING ADJUSTMENTS: Click on the video above to hear Kim Terrell-Kearney explain why adjusting where you play on the lane is critical when you run up against more challenging patterns, like those at the Open and Women’s Championships.


there in practice to see the type of reaction. But if you are seeing a bad reaction, you must be open to making some adjustments. I use a general formula developed


by the USBC research team to nar- row down where my break should be on the lane. The team of engineers at USBC determined that subtracting 31 from the total distance of the pat- tern should tell you at what board the breakpoint should be. For instance, if the length of the pattern is 41 feet, subtracting 31 will suggest that the desired breakpoint should be ap- proximately the 10th board. That’s the point at which the ball should change direction toward the pocket. Your spe- cific ball roll will dictate how you get


15 USBOWLER APRIL 2011


to that breakpoint. If you are straight- er player, you might roll the ball right up the 10th board. If you have a high- er rev rate and hook the ball more, you might cross the 15th board and swing it out to the 10th board. To simplify things further, let’s say


I’m bowling with Carolyn Dorin- Ballard and Jason Belmonte. Carolyn and I would be playing similar angles through the front part of the land and our breakpoint is going to be around 10. Jason, who has a much higher rev rate, may be 15 boards to the left of us through the front part of the lane, but his breakpoint will still be around 10. We get there differently, but we’re attacking the pocket from the same spot.


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