FROM A PLAYING STANDPOINT, BRUNSWICK LANES ARE THE HARDEST, WHICH MEANS IT OFFERS LESS NATURAL FRICTION. IN ESSENCE, THE BRUNSWICK LANE WILL PLAY LIKE THERE IS MORE OIL ON IT BECAUSE THE BALL WILL SLIDE MORE AND TEND TO HOOK LESS. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
individually nailed to one another. Syn- thetic lanes are actually single sheets of material with the boards and markers drawn on them. The difference between synthetic lanes is more subtle. AMF and Brunswick are the primary synthetic lanes. The AMF lanes have a red tint, while the Brunswick lanes are much lighter. You can also dif- ferentiate the lanes by their markings. From a playing standpoint, Brunswick
lanes are the hardest, which means they offer less natural friction. In essence, the Brunswick lane will play like there is more oil on it because the ball will slide more and tend to hook less. In reality, the hard- ness of the lane plays a major role. How do you compensate for the vari-
ous surfaces? Let’s say a bowling center has all three
surfaces and puts out the same house shot on all three. Now let’s say you usu- ally bowl on an AMF synthetic lane, and your favorite line with your favorite ball is to stand at board 20 and look at the second arrow. If you throw that same shot on the Brunswick synthetic lane you’ll get an under reaction. The ball will likely not make it to the headpin. Remember, this is the same oil pattern. To compensate you’ll have to move right where there is more friction and stand around 18 to find the same reaction as you had on the AMF lane. Conversely, when you bowl on the
wood lane you’re going to have to move significantly farther inside (left for a right hander) to find the same amount of oil
CHANGING LANES Bowling lanes vary in hardness, which affects your ball’s reaction. The video above can help you judge how different lanes will affect your shot.
due to the natural friction. Both moves should be based off your normal starting point at your home center. The important thing is that the infor-
mation is available to you ahead of time. You can make an educated decision the second you walk into a center, instead of wasting a handful of frames trying to figure out why your ball isn’t reacting as it normally does. There are other options as well. If you
prefer to stay in the spot you’re most comfortable in, you can change equip- ment. Again, if you go from your AMF center to a Brunswick center you might change to a more aggressive ball. If you
go to a center with wood lanes, change to a weaker, shinier piece of equipment. If you are a higher-average bowler, you
might adjust your launch angle depend- ing on the surface. The harder the lane surface, the more closed or shut down that angle should be. As the surface gets more forgiving, open that angle a bit. This concept holds true regardless of
the pattern. Even going to an event like the USBC Open Championships, knowing the surface as well as the pattern is beneficial. If you can’t practice on the same surface prior to the event, adjust for that surface when you arrive at the tournament.
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