Can somebody please tell me the difference between a short pattern ball and dry Lane ball...  I have been getting the wrong balls or something because I am having trouble controlling a complete dry lane ball...  It doesn't consistently break in the same area...    any ball suggestion for short oil would be good if there is a difference......

also keep in mind I have allot of revs...

Thanks again..

A short lane ball, as Good Times has said, needs to bleed energy and not overreact when it leaves the oil pattern.  A 32 foot shot has 28 feet of dry lane so the ball chosen needs to not burn up all of its energy too soon or else it will roll out or become uncontrollable when it hits the dry.  An example I see often is trying to use a skid/flip ball thinking the ball will "skid" all the way down the lane and "flip" at the end.  Unfortunately, these balls will flip when it sees dry at 32 feet.  Balls for short oil are usually solid balls drilled strong so the ball uses energy early. They are typically drilled "pin under" so the ball can use its energy over a longer distance (28 feet of dry).

For a "dry lane", lets assume a lightly oiled42 foot THS pattern.  At the beginning, one can use their typical benchmark ball and play the track area of the lane and have success.  Because of the length of the oil, there is only 18 feet of dry lane so more equipment can be used.  One can through a pearl ball and have enough room at the end for the ball to not "burn up".  But as the shot drys up, the bowler will instinctively move inside to find more oil.  Unfortunately, balls designed to use energy earlier can have trouble getting back to the pocket when the angle the bowler throws is more extreme from moving inside.  In this case, the bowler will need a ball that can save its energy and "glide" through the heads which are now dry and have enough energy to "turn the corner" at the end of the pattern.  These balls are typically pearl balls with a typical "pin-up" drill so the ball will use its energy quickly at the end (18 feet of dry).

If you try to use the short oil ball on the "broken down" shot, the dry heads will cause the ball to burn up even quicker and the ball won't turn the corner.  Even if you can get the ball through the heads, the ball may not get into a good roll/angle for carry purposes since it was designed to need 28 feet of dry instead of 18 feet.  If you try to use the "broken down" shot ball on short oil, the ball will burn all of its energy quickly when it leaves the oil and be hard to control.  The ball was designed to use its energy in 18 feet instead of 28 feet.

This is a long ramble and I hope it makes sense.

At what length does a "short" pattern stop?

I have had a tuff go of it at a new house this year. Flying back ends is the best I can really tell you. First three weeks people with lower speeds and lower revs could not find the pocket, then they made a change and I was told it was walled up and lengthened. Rumor was 35' the first three. The house has no range finders and no one want to pass on the pattern off of a older Kegal Machine.

I just sold my only pin under fingers ball which was a Frantic which I used sparingly on the adjusted pattern and had a very low X% and left nine 10 pins in three games with it.

Maybe I should taken that coverstock down to 2000 abralon and tried it before I sold it.

My high game on this pattern came from a Cell which is the only solid ball I own. My main ball at this house is a VGNP...had some luck with a X Factor early and some with my other Frantic pin above fingers, but same issue there. Low X % and 10 pins.

I own two hybrid balls, Tropical Heat B/S and the Frantic...do you suggestion taking them to 4000 or 2000 for this shot?

For patterns of 36' (total oiled and buffed length) I prefer heavy rolling symmetricals with lots of surface, 1k or 2k dull with pin down drillings in the 5" pin to pap range...this is to control the backend reaction.

For dry shots or playing on the burn i prefer medium strength pearls with shiny covers and longer pin up drillings in the 5.5" pin to pap range to save as much energy for the backend as possible so i can still get the corners out.

here is a couple of idea's, which i do not think anyone brought up..

How about urethane??   which would help calm down your reaction off the dry and help create a more consistent reaction for you.

Another is to use a Rico drilling..   or the boomer drilling..   A drilling i had on a old ball years back which worked well on flying backends for me was different lol.. so it was hard to explain..

basically the CG was in the middle of your palm and the Pin is slightly above the pin, but it's almost a reverse rico drilling... and what it did was put the ball into a roll early, and calmed down the backend..

I think urethane is an under used option on a lot of patterns.  It certainly can be good on short oil, although if there is a high volume in the heads, carrydown can make adjustments tricky.  It is also a great option on wet dry house shots