Lane surface is a big factor but I've found the bigger factor to be what your opponents are using. I bowl on a mixed handicap league aimed at beginners in the summer (they ask some of the more experienced bowlers to join to help out the others) and I'm going to tell you, that league is harder than some sport shots I've been on. Three-quarters bowl with plastic and they're spraying the ball everywhere, and by the middle of the second game, there IS no pattern. Someone mentioned particle pearl balls, and I carry a couple -- at least -- every week in the summer.
This year, they ran that same league as a get-a-ball league, and most everyone got Black Widow Pearls near the end of the year. My average went up 6 pins the last 3 weeks, after they all switched to resin, because the lanes broke down in a more expected fashion and the carrydown was less.
I bowl on HPLs, which are higher friction than AnviLane, and I still see a lot of carrydown on some nights.
There seems to be a debate among some about whether carrydown exists, because burn-up can mimic it if you don't know what to look for, and many people who think they're seeing carrydown are actually seeing burn-up. It hasn't quite reached the scope of the CG/no CG fight, but some people are adamant that carrydown isn't prevalent. I disagree.
To fight it, you're either going to have to get equipment that will go through it (typically particle-based) or around it (by changing your ball path). You'll stay in your comfort zone more by switching balls, but then you're at the mercy of the oil in the heads. Once the heads go, particle gear, even particle pearl, is typically a no-no. Then you're forced into a path change (and maybe a speed change, too) whether you want to be or not.
I find it easier for my game to go around it on the outside rather than chase the oil in, past a certain point.
Jess
Edited on 1/24/2009 11:58 PM
