Last night, bowling in the before mentioned beer league, they were supposedly having trouble with the lane machine.
The shot appeared to be 50 feet of fairly flat oil. Heavy. Wow. Rooster tail city. I bet it would have been easily sport compliant - but really, really, really long!
I tried all kinds of angles. I tried outside pointed up. I tried straight up 15. I tried 4th arrow. I couldn't get anything to finish for more than 2 shots - I think I was getting in my own way with carrydown.
I had one ok game - with a double. It was 202. The first game was 158 - one open, but TONS of headpin 6 and 7 count spares.
The third was 147 - whatever I had went completely away. I shot 517.
Of course, on our pair were two serious flingers - they were consistently getting somewhere in the vicinity of the headpin, and carrying garbage. Of course, if they hit the 1-3 pocket, they either left 5-7s or 8-10s. But guess who won??? Not me. I knew way too much to just fling the ball.
And two women in the league had their first ever 200 games! Guess it'll teach me to practice, and work on those things called revs!!!
And - the most frustrating part - guess who was having more fun!!!

BTW - interesting side note - a friend of mine (230+ average) was there practicing. He agreed about the shot, but said that it was the same tournament shot they put out for the local scratch association. He said it was buffed to either 45 or 50 - he wasn't sure which. My guess is the lane man forgot to change the machine back...

Great shot for practice - but for league? with no warning? It was ugly.

DP3 - yes. When I bowl a silly beer league, that has had a reasonable wall shot for the past several weeks, I think it unreasonable for the house to change the shot that much without any indication. My reason is this:
I LOVE playing a tough shot - but if it's a tough tournament shot, usually I'm either around folks who I can talk to about the shot, or around good enough bowlers that they might help open up the shot. Neither was the case last night.
To give you an idea of the severity of the change -
my feet were 11 right of "normal" in that house. My target 7 right. My ball - 3 steps up in aggressiveness from what normally works in that house.
If I was bowling a tournament, I might have been mentally a little bit more ready to grind it out. If I'd been mentally prepared, and had prepared my equipment to react appropriately on that kind of shot, I might not have felt the way I did last night.

However - all that aside - you seemed to have missed my original point - flingers don't know, don't care, and even if you explained it, it wouldn't change a thing. On a really grind shot, the ones who are blissfully unaware of how the game is "supposed" (note quotes) to be played are the ones who are blissfully unaware of a tough lane condition. Since they don't have revs to lose with long oil, and don't have a ball that reacts violently when it hits dry, why would it affect them???

Also - note - a buddy of mine here in town calls this style of bowling "head hunting"...