Author Topic: PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...) (Read 919 times)

JessN16 · « **on:** June 27, 2006, 02:55:29 PM »

I'm bowling on a PBA Regional pattern league this summer and wanted to share comments/ask questions.

We're going straight through, Pattern 1 for three weeks, Pattern 2 for three weeks, etc. We just finished up the first week of Pattern 3.

According to PBA.com, four of the five Regional patterns -- all but Pattern 4 -- are "medium to high-scoring." Well, not for me. (g)

What I'd really like to know are two things: Which current PBA Tour patterns each most closely matches to, and what's the best way to attack each.

Here's what I've been seeing, personally.

Pattern 1: Looking at comparison pics on PBA.com, Regional 1 looks most like Shark but is described most like Viper. This has been my highest-scoring pattern so far. Lots of backend but you had to be careful. Pull it, you can wave goodbye. Throw it through the breakpoint and you had no chance of recovery. Far outside was OOB. But we had multiple attack angles, from down-and-in to guys playing a lot of swing.

Pattern 2: Looks most like and is described most like the Cheetah pattern. Supposedly this was going to be a high-scoring pattern. Heh. This pattern thoroughly kicked my a**. I never want to see it again as long as I live. Weeks 1 and 3 were high-volume oil spray; I shot 403 and 400. In Week 2 it was low-volume and I was up in the 500s somewhere, I think. But it still had virtually no room for error. That "free hook off the gutter" everyone talks about didn't exist. Swinging the ball was a mistake because it was over/under as far as the eye could see. The best thing to do was Norm Duke-style, pipe it right at the pocket.

Pattern 3: Looks most like Scorpion but is described most like Viper. From the first ball of practice tonight, we loved this shot. It's a "blended pattern" with "smooth transitions" according to PBA.com and that's very accurate. It played very much like a tough house shot. For the first time in seven weeks, I had an area to throw to and not a mark. If I hadn't screwed around with my equipment the first two games I probably could have shot a high five or maybe even a six. By the time I got zoned in it was way too late. You could play all over the lane, so long as you were accurate. If this is what Regional 3 is like on tour, I don't see how the top guys don't average 250+ on it.

Pattern 4: Haven't bowled on it yet. Looks most like Viper but is described most like Chameleon. Supposedly long, high-volume pattern that I bet ends up playing like a heavy Regional 2.

Pattern 5: Haven't bowled on it yet. Looks most like Chameleon but is described exactly like Shark. It doesn't appear to have nearly as much middle lane coverage. Also looks like it could turn into an extreme over-under pattern.

Comments welcome.

Jess

Jeff Carter · « **Reply #1 on:** June 28, 2006, 08:49:55 AM »

In my opinion, only 2 of the regional patterns play anything close to the tour patterns and that is 2 and 5.

Now keep i mind that the main variable on how the lane conditons play is the lane surface. That in itself can make the pattern play totally different than what you might expect. Some of the other variables are volume of oil used, type of oil used, type of lane machine used,etc.....Then you have to factor in how many people will be bowling on the pair ( we usually have either 3-4 ) and what is the "quality" of the player. When i say "quality" i'm referring to rev-rate. That really determines how a pattern is going to be broken down. My point is that you can watch the show on Sunday and see how guys are playing the lanes, but unless you in the same "environment" you wont be able to duplicate that. Please keep that in mind

Now as far as the regional patterns go here are my thoughts :

PBA Regional Pattern #1 - 41' pattern ( won on this pattern in Scott AFB,Il/2006 )
I've seen this pattern play two totally different ways. When we've bowled on AMF HPLs ( or any other higher friction surface ) you can actually play this one similar to Cheetah, with less bounce off of the gutter. We've had plenty of hold on this pattern lately, so find a comfortable spot around the track area and try not to feed it too close to the gutter. On a slicker surface ( Bruncswick Pro-Anvilane ) you will need to be a little more direct and wait for the pattern to break down. After that you should be able to migrate in

PBA Regional Pattern #2 - 35' pattern ( never won on )
Plays just like Cheetah. Enough said. I HATE THIS PATTERN !!!

PBA Regional Pattern #3 - 38' pattern ( won on this pattern in DuBuque, IA/2006)
I would say that this pattern has some similarities to Viper. My plan of attack on this pattern is usually pretty neutral for the first few games ( sometimes pretty straight ) until the pattern starts to break down. Usually particle is the way to go early to keep the ball from reading the back of the pattern so hard. Once you get some carry down, you should be able to start migrating in

PBA Regional Pattern #4 - 42' pattern ( won on this pattern in Weston, Wi/2006 )
I won on this pattern and i still hate it. The seniors use this "thing" for their US Open. They also use this pattern for the Regional Players Championships and the Regional Players Invitational. The pattern is great for those events, just not for the regular regional rotation. We dont have a pattern on Tour that plays like this. The 2 to 2s downlane at the back of this pattern make it very tricky. Scores are always very low, so 190s and 200s are good games. Patience is the key to this pattern. Grind along until you find a pair with a little extra "bump" on it and then take advantage. Again, particle is definitely the way to go on this pattern for me. Control and predictability are a must on this pattern. I generally start around 18-20 and try not to give the 3 pin away ( and stay away from the hang !!! )

PBA Regional Pattern #5 - 44' pattern ( won on this pattern Fort Smith, Ar/2006)
This is by far my favorite pattern both on Tour and in the regional program. I've had the majority of my success on this pattern. Depending on the surface and volume of oil, i generally start at 20 and just keep moving left on this pattern. I know a lot of guys like to start farther right and move in from the track, but i dont even waste my time. My "a" game is playing in and thats where i'm gonna start. We have played pretty straight and farther right on this pattern, but it's rare. I use balls that i can create a lot of angle with and stand left / throw right / repeat

Again, this is just my opinion and how i generally approach each pattern. Other people will have different opinions, which is understandable. Keep in mind that the variables that i mentioned right up front are the key. If you are bowling on old wood with a pad machine all of this is thrown out the window

--------------------
Bowl up a Storm,
Jeff Carter
www.stormbowling.com
www.jeffcarterbowling.com

JessN16 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 28, 2006, 05:41:03 PM »

Thanks to both of you.

I should have given you more info about the house and me: The house has brand-new AnvilLanes down, and the end of the house we shoot this league is the lesser used of the two halves. Brand new pins, I think they're Brunswick but to be honest I've never looked closely. Newest Brunswick machines you can buy.

The oiler is a Kegel something. I don't know what brand of oil they use but I know they've just changed from a thicker to a thinner kind of oil. In fact, they did it after week one of this league so we've technically played on two versions of Regional Pattern 1 already.

I tend to like to play the lane's right half whenever possible, even though I've got above-average revs and above-average speed. I tend to mid-high track when I'm in my comfort zone, but I can change my axis tilt fairly easily. I can also really pipe up the speed when I need to. I'm not comfortable going any further left than the fourth arrow. I tend to have problems with both my fingers and my wrist breaking back when I'm swinging the ball that much (old injury issues). Bob, I also like to play up five but I really have to be "on" when I do it. My overall game's weakness is inaccuracy in hitting my mark. And I've been much worse shooting spares this summer than I've been in probably five years. I'm missing at least two per game that I'd ordinarily nail. I think I've let the toughness of the shot get into my head.

Jess

charlest · « **Reply #3 on:** June 28, 2006, 07:35:12 PM »

jeff & Bob H.,

You two are sooooo far above us peons that we really have no true, frame of reference.

Thanks for your comments.

Sigh ....

--------------------
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

JessN16 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 28, 2006, 07:44:55 PM »

Bob,

It's kind of funny why I play most everything from right of the fourth arrow, and use fairly compact angles, even after getting more "rev-vy" as I got older: I learned to bowl in an old house in south Alabama that is still standing -- and still has on-the-top ball returns that go down to the foul lines. On the righthand lane of a pair, you couldn't drift at all because you'd run right into the ball return. So unless you wanted to play two completely different shots depending on whether you were on the left or the right, you learned to go down-and-in at everything, or somewhat close to it. That's also where I learned to shoot fairly straight balls at my 10s because I couldn't get left far enough to go cross-corner at it. It's only been since I moved away from there and into more modern houses that I've learned to open up my angles a little more.

When I'm really struggling and nothing else works, I'll still move to the center and just ram the ball straight up 12 with a lot of forward roll and a bunch of speed. Vestiges from that old Alabama house.

Jess

Mike Austin · « **Reply #5 on:** June 29, 2006, 12:53:01 AM »

I'd like to add that the farther along in the tournament that you get, the dry gets dryer and the slick gets slicker, as the Kegel machine cleans the lane better and better. Residue or "memory" as I have heard it called gets wiped away.

We bowl on some bad wood in our region, which is usually more friction and the pattern "goes away" faster.

I have made the match play on all 5 patterns, and don't know which ones I like better. I just know that I cash alot on 4, it is a grind, and I know going in that 190 is okay, and like Jeff said, if you can get a good pair or two, and take advantage by having a big game, and then ride that by shooting even, that will get you a check.

--------------------
Mike Austin's Precision Pro Shop
Houston, TX
Drilling and Tech Advice BirdDogbowling.com

Driller to many "Stars" and Tony Melendez too!

"So Many Balls, only ONE drill press!!"

Chuck Norris is the only person to ever count to infinity..........twice!

Author Topic: PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...) (Read 919 times)

JessN16

PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...)

Jeff Carter

Re: PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...)

JessN16

Re: PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...)

charlest

Re: PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...)

JessN16

Re: PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...)

Mike Austin

Re: PBA Regional Pattern League (Jeff Carter, feel free to jump in here...)