Let's see if I can answer this since I've been around awhile.
Lane blocking goes back to the 50's. Back in those days lanes were dressed with a flit gun and towel. It is very easy to block lanes this way...you just have to know how to do it. Back in those days 50's and 60's and into the 70's balls were all rubber til plastic was introduced. Technique and shotmaking was at the utmost on an even condition. Many houses had just one part of the lane you always played. For instance, I know of one older house gone now that you only played the gutter. Another you played the track and another third arrow was always best carry.
Lane surfaces were all wood and lacquer was the finish of choice. Urethane finishes were introduced later after the amount of fires after refinishing lanes. I remember back in the day that alleys would shut down over the holidays during mid season to pull another lacquer coat on the heads to deglaze the track. Burnishing the track was practiced because it would make the rubber balls react better.
Also releases in those days were many times a full roller. It allowed a bowler to play the track without over reaction or you play from the corner with devasting carry. Billy Hardwick was one of the best at this that I've ever seen.
It was more about how to carry with rubber and then plastic. Remember that back then a 190 average was usually the best average in the house. 600's were a feat and a 300 might be bowled in a local association maybe a few times a year like two or three a year not two or three a night like it is now.
Lanes started to be more blocked easier in the 70's with the advent of machines like the Roto-Buff which I am very familiar with and softer plastic balls
like bleeder Col. Yellow Dots, etal. The Roto-Buff has a short pad that a mechanic ran say 9 to 9 or so and a long pad that ran the width of the lane. It was a manual machine you pushed down the lane and pulled back. Conditioner was applied in the front of the machine and a swirling 360 rotation of the pad on an arm under the mahine buffed the oil on the lane. You ran the long pad in the heads normally and the short pad any length you needed....as you can se this leads to easy blocking and a funnel to the pocket.
Back in those days you could apply lane conditioner any length. I've forgotten what the rules were as far as the ABC/WIBC were but they also checked the lanes after any honor score was shot.
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But with the advent of reactive, when did patterns become longer and slightly more uniform house to house?
When ABC/WIBC came up with the SoB <System of Bowling> so called 3 unit rule. Where any part of the lane that the machine tocuhed including the buff out area had to have a minimum of 3 units. I think this was started in 90 but not sure maybe a lil later. Can run any length as long as 3 units.
Actually it's easier to block lanes with a Century 100 and allow carry down which is what most centers did in the 80's-90's. Then, the advent of Kegel type machines higher tech and frequent/daily stripping, etc. Easier to do a large house but harder to maintain. It's also why you see so many weird lane conditions from week to week at many centers because they don't have the ability to maintain these high tech lane conditioning machines.
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How did we adapt to the position we are in today?
Adapt??? Not sure what you mean adapt.
Scott
