I'll be honest, this is probably one of the bigger holes in my game.  It's pretty specific situation, but early in tournaments with heavier volumes and iffy surfaces, I get in spots where it's hard for me to tell the difference. 

Case in point, I bowling in a tournament this weekend that was a higher volume/longer pattern (44 ft.) and the ball never seemed to pick up anything.  On the fresh, I started with a Reax (45 x 3 1/4 x 30), and played it pretty straight.  It was on old wood, so I new there had to be some sort of friction, but the ball never slowed down or made any real motion.  I watched the ball's rotation and flare as it went down the lane looking for something.  I saw the flare transition, but there was zero motion.  I was playing dead straight...acutally, I pointing it a hair (laydown 5, looking 8-9, breakpoint 9-10), so I figured there would be some sort of movement.  Nope.  I could get the ball to hit OK, but I was pretty much piping it to the hole.

Later in the set, as a goof, I pulled out a shiny Diva (45 x 4 x 65) played the same line and actually got a wrinkle down lane, not much mind you, but enough to tell me that the Reax was burning up and not skidding 60 feet.  Later on, my inability to identify the surface reaction was really exposed when I saw a couple of guys throwing IQ Tour Pearls and getting a hair of recovery and picking up just a touch of area in a spot where I had to throw it perfect.

That being said, I realized I'm missing something and have been for some time.  I'll be honest that I've been slow to adjust to lane play moving from the front to the back, but it was exploited this weekend.  Now, I can see it better in spots where there is some defined friction and feel pretty confident as they get toasty, but in early/fresh squads, I'm missing something.

So, as I've blabbed on, I guess my question is this.  What ball motion/rotational transition (if it's not moving) should I look for on fresher conditions to detect energy loss? 

Not sure how well worded this is, but I'd like to start up a conversation and will be more that happy to explain what I'm talking about.  If I'm going to try to start really competing, this is a big leak in my game and I'm going to have to figure it out.

Normal 44' condition it takes the ball approx 5' to properly exit the conditioner thus making the 'hook' or reaction area just over 10'...not a lot of 'boom' room

You should have seen what it turned into by the step ladder finals.   2 qualifying squads, 1 3 game squad to get to cashers, 2 game squad to get to step ladder.

Off topic, but there was a guy with a decent amount of hand who had some voodoo roll throwing a Hyper Cell right in the heart of the dry.  It was impressive.  Got it to hit, too.

If you were really pointing the ball, it was not burning.  While it can be hard to tell sometimes, a ball that burns will make a small early move.  At 44 feet, the best way to play a shot is to square up and don't try to over power a condition that is not going to move a lot. 

All valid points

I'd like to get an opinion about this as well.  Apparently I really can't see the difference either.

#1

Our last night or PBA league (last year's Scorpion - 41', not sure why we didn't get the newer 47' version) and I want to throw my (red/black) Nexxus because I really haven't thrown it much since I got it (mostly because the original driller missed the span enough so that I had a hard time throwing it consistently).  We were locked into our position, so scores really didn't matter.

Threw my Wicked Siege (3000 abralon, pics in profile) a few shots to get a feel for the pattern.  I usually throw around 15 out to 7 or 5 out to 2 on this pattern.  The gutter is often a viable option at this house.  The WS hooks strong inside but seems to skid too far by the gutter leaving 2 pin combinations.

Towards the end of practice and the beginning of scoring I switch to the Nexxus, starting with the gutter.  I leave 3 consecutive 2 pin combinations with the ball seemingly reading the pattern too late.  The color pattern of the Nexxus makes it easy to see how the ball is revving.  Figured maybe it's too slick outside so I move inside (a few boards left of where I was throwing the WS).  Pretty much the same effect.  The Nexxus "skids" too far down lane and leaves a 2-4-5.  Tried another shot with a stronger hand position and got pretty much the same result.  Switched back to the WS and still had a good look, so I put the Nexxus away for the night.

The two balls are drilled very similar and the Nexxus has a stronger cover and more surface (1000 abralon), so the Nexxus should definitely handle more oil.  I even did a hot water bucket soak afterwards to make sure it wasn't oil  logged (it wasn't).  So obviously the Nexxus must have flared out too early or ran out of energy so early that I couldn't tell.  Watching the ball rev up down lane I would have guessed the conditions were too slick for the ball.

#2

I'm bowling a tournament tomorrow and they are putting out the brand new Viper (39') pattern.  It's never been used at the house before so they put it out this morning for practice.  I brought a variety of equipment to try.  I had a good reaction with both my Wicked Siege and Loaded Revolver.  Throwing 13 out to 8 or 9 out to 6 depending on the ball and release.  When I tried to move in a few boards with a Black Widow Bite, the ball just (seemed to ) skid down lane before smacking the 3 pin in the face.  Moved in a few more boards with a stronger hand position and again got no real reaction.  The new Viper has a lot more volume (33 mL) compared to the old (~24 ml) so I was expecting to get a lot of skid once the lanes broke down some.  Was there too much oil for the BWB or was it also burning up?

What gets me is the ball reaction of the guy bowling with me.  He's got a ton of hand and slower ball speed.  His ball will pretty much hook 10+ more boards than mine on every condition.  He had very little reaction no matter where he threw.  Cell, Special Agent, Black widow Pearl - inside, track, outside, they all looked more the same than different.  With 33 mL of oil, certainly there should have been a part of the lane for him to get proper skid, hook, and roll.

Based on what I've read here, I can certainly believe that in scenario #1, my Nexxus was too much ball for the condition.  But I'm scratching my head over #2.  Not only for my BWB but also for my friend having such a bad reaction with everything.

Thanks for the reply.

The Wicked Siege is several years old and has seen a LOT of use.  It really fits my game and it works really good on almost every sport pattern I bowl on.  I've de-oiled it 4-5 times so at any given time it's probably 80-90% of what it was originally.  I just picked up the Loaded Revolver on close out last fall so it's pretty new.  The Black Widow Bite is older as you mentioned but it really doesn't have a ton of games on it.  It never really looked good on a house shot, and I don't normally need that much ball on my sport shots (the PBA patterns where I bowl seem to get lighter in volume every year or my ball roll has become much heavier).  I have always had very low tilt and I've reduced my axis rotation a lot over the years (less THS and more sport shots).

That being said, I'm still confused about my BWB's reaction (and my friend's) on the new Viper.  On Badger, the BWB and Nexxus hook a similar amount.  The BWB is earlier and smoother/rollier while the Nexxus is straighter through the front with a sharper move on the back.  The BWB is still plenty strong.  Maybe it was still just too early (to see) on Viper, but with the volume increase it would be surprising if it was flared/rolled out super early.  I also threw a polished Nuts Pearl on Viper and it didn't get much of a reaction, so it's not like the pattern was overly dry.

I'm pretty sure the Nexxus was too much ball for Scorpion (scenario #1), but the covers on that line from Brunswick are super clean through the front part of the lane.  The Wicked Siege was pretty much a dart on my old THS leagues.  I had to bring it to 2000 abralon for a good reaction.  It's now at 3000 with the Loaded Revolver at 2000.  With them both at 2000 (my sweet spot for most sport shots) they were too similar.  Anyway, even though I'm pretty sure the Nexxus was too much, with as clean the cover is, it sure looked like it was just skidding.  That's why I'm trying to find a better way to tell by watching the ball's reaction.  Most leagues and tournaments give you so little practice time I want to read my reactions as soon as possible.

More things to think about....

This is the house where my PBA league is.  I think it's pro anvilane but I'm not positive.  Thee isn't any defined "memory" or worn area that dominates the oil patterns, although the gutter is frequently playable even on longer patterns (with my softer speed).  I generally practice every weekend when they put out the upcoming shot.  I always bring a variety of equipment and play all over the lane looking for anything that is there.  That's why I always try the gutter.  I'm not worried about score.

I do use the BWB at this center on the slicker/longer patterns.  I like it on the fresh on Badger when nothing else wrinkles.  I need the early movement for game 1; the Nexxus doesn't "seem" to cut it the first game.  After the first game I usually need to make a substantial move.  After the BWB wears out the heads where I start, small moves with either the BWB or Nexxus don't seem to work.  Maybe I don't move enough?  One or two boards look like they over skid.  Maybe I'm still in the burn - not moving enough?  The first week was super slick (for me) all 3 games.  The other two weeks after the first game I had to move in quite a bit and shell down.  I didn't have  a lot of hook, but get enough movement down lane to know I couldn't use anything stronger.

I'm 100% better than I was a few years ago, but I still know my limitations.  Even when I play "straight up" I usually belly the ball a few boards.  When I play the gutter, I'm still like 4/5 in the heads, but I can hit 1/2 at the break point when I'm on.  For Badger on the fresh, I'm honestly straight up 4, maybe pointing it at the head pin just a bit.  If I try up 12-14 or between 3rd and 4th arrow with just a bit of belly, my ball just skids until just in front of the 3 pin.  That's why I want the early roll of the BWB.  The Nexxus seems to be too clean through the majority of the lane.

I might have to shoot some more video.  I really don't see the ball distinctly until the arrows.  I have bifocals now; maybe it's hard to switch between the two "fields" as my head moves up.  Maybe video might show me how the ball is acting in the first 20'.  I don't use grips, but the tape should show me what I need to see.