Southern Lanes
Tucker
This week we used pattern 5C and were bowling on an old wood surface. This pattern has the first 2 boards on both sides completely dry, with a very quick build up of oil on 3,4,5 & 6. This pattern forces you to get the ball to the edge boards. If you try to make your break point anything other than the first 3 or 4 boards, you will not keep up with the rest of the field.This pattern produces a 1.7 to 1 ratio at 15 feet, 2.6 to 1 ratio at 25 feet and a 2.8 to 1 ratio at 33 feet. Although this is not a sport pattern, if you do not play this pattern properly you can look very bad. In fact, only 44 of 105 players averaged over 200.
There were 25 left handers in the tournament, 10 on 'A' squad and 15 on 'B' squad. Most of them were playing left of L10 at 15 feet and outside of L6 at 25 and 33 feet. Four left handers made it to Sunday.
'A' squad played the lanes as they should have and got 10 people into the finals. Most players started around R15 at 15 feet, out to about R8 - R10 at 25 feet and outside R6 at 33 feet.
'B' squad 'scattered' the breakdown and did not have any defined 'holes' in the pattern to develop, that created a defined 'hold' area. As you can see, at 15 feet, there is depletion in the pattern from R8 to C20. At 25 feet the depletion ranges from R6 to R16. At 33 feet they were outside of R10.
In match play, the right handers started at R12 - R18 with most of them at R18 late in the day. At 25 feet most were hitting around R9 and at 33 feet, everyone was outside of R6. The left handers were playing the same area they played in qualifying.
If you see this pattern again, you had better play the edge of the lane and forget the middle if you expect to compete.
Norman Simard
Laneman for the Southern Region
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A Squad before bowling
A Squad after bowling
B Squad before bowling
B Squad after bowling
Championship Squad before bowling
Championship Squad after bowling