I bowl the aforementioned league, and I believe the lanes do play tighter from the start as well. Combining factors with a very hard Brunswick Proanvil-hang(oops, I mean lane) surface, the majority of the league not throwing new enough oil soaking covers, nor having the revrate to break down these patterns as quickly as the tour guys can that these factors add to the "tightness" this year. Those combining factors seem to add to the fact that the lanes seem to get tighter as night goes on instead of breaking down easier like they do on tour.
I've been fortunate enough to see and play enough of these patterns over a variety of surfaces through coaching collegiately and practicing at three centers that can lay down these patterns on completely different surfaces (Proanvilane, 2nd gen HPL, 4 year old wood). Mimicking a lane pattern is virtually impossible when you take into every factor besides the graph. It is what it is. I've heard the strikepass commentary and first hand tour accounts from a few exempt friends and they've echoed the "they are hooking!" sentiments. They're also bowling 3x-5x the number of games as a league would in a day, with 3x the revrate of us league bowlers, and the newest strongest veneers that are made. It's easy to me to see why they're hooking alot more out there and not out "here".
--------------------
-DJ Marshall
...The Twelve In a Row Pro Shop. AMF Bowie Lanes -- Bowie, MD