Well I'll give you my experience and others on the Chameleon.  Decided after practice to stick with plastic XXL throwing nice and smooth at the 10 board.  First game 121.  Found out you can't loop a Hammer Pain at a 4 pin because it will break huge once it hits the middle of the lane.  2nd game all clean for a 203.  I was watching others try and loop the ball and the results were smash strike followed by some nasty splits.  I kept it as basic as possible trying to leave makeable spares.  3rd game 159 with plain bad spare shootin.  Last game 237 clean.  At this point I feel I can score on this pattern it just won't be huge.  Keep it simple and focus on spares.  This is a good experience for me because normally I crank it big.

I thought the same thing, tenpin. If you are using plastic on Chameleon, you either need a very high-friction surface and/or massive revs and accuracy. I've seen and considered starting with plastic from the outside on Cheetah and even Viper (again, high-friction surface), but I've never seen it done on Chameleon.

In any event, it's good that you were able to learn some things right out of the gate, dogman. In general, it seems best to try to start off playing as straight as possible on each of the five patterns. Then, as things open up, if they ever do, you can bump in and get more aggressive. The guys and gals who really do well on tour conditions are the ones who control their games. They stay out of trouble early, make spares, and then they take advantage when things begin to open. There aren't many people who can swing the ball and smash away all day long. Those conditions usually don't lend themselves to that approach.

All the best as you attack the other patterns. Stay patient, and try to learn something every time you're out there.
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Bowling bad since 1979 with no end in sight

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dogman  I bowled on the Chameleon last night for the first time and fund there to be more backend than I intended, I shot a 173, 211, 157 for the night had 4 splits and one blown spare.  This is my first year in a PBA league and I joined it specifically to get better at shooting spares and being more consistent at hitting my target.  I am really enjoying league and the challenge it is presenting.  I am currently averaging 24 pins under my house league average but I went in expecting a 25-30 lower average after reading all of the threads on PBAX league experiences on this site.  Good luck to you with your game.

Mark

I don't have the hand to throw plastic on even the Cheetah or the Viper. I have done it personally on my center's THS, but there is much less oil there than on the Cheetah, even if it is only like 36 feet