For the BTM I prefer to show up earlier. On the fresh I was able to throw a pin-over ring VG and a simlar drilled C-System 3.5. I tried weaker equipment in practice but I wasn't getting a good look with it. I backed into shooting 800 after a good start, left a pair of 4-9's the last game with no doubles
I agree with the above post on how the 1-2-3 played.
Here's an article from the 2009 BTM archives that might be helpful, especially what's said in the last paragraph:
To get a little more insight into how best to play “The BTM†pattern, I asked a bowler who absolutely dominated this event last year…four-time Team USA member Scott Pohl. At the 2009 tourney in Las Vegas, Pohl won the Regular Singles, Regular Doubles, Regular 8-game, and the Alibi. For those scoring at home, that was a clean sweep! So, who better to ask, right? Here’s what he had to say.
In order to help you unravel the mysteries of this year’s pattern, Pohl discussed the process he took to master last year’s version. Even though the 2009 “The BTM†oil pattern was basically the US Open pattern, it played much differently for Pohl, probably due to the lane surface. Because of this, he couldn’t play the outside part of the lane at all, so he was forced to play pretty deep. He used a medium ball with a hybrid coverstock that had a lot of games on it. It featured a pin-up layout five inches from his axis and no extra hole. Pohl said the reason he liked this ball is that it cleared the heads easily, read the middle part of the lane and didn’t do too much on the back end.
This goes against what a lot of bowlers try and do on really tough, flat patterns. Lots of times, you’ll see players grab aggressive equipment with lots of surface to try and get the ball to dig through the oil to get a consistent back end reaction. In reality, this just makes bowlers open up the lane more, decreasing their room for error as well as their carry. Pohl also said his biggest key to playing “The BTM†pattern was trying to play safe. He emphasized the need to maintain light grip pressure and let the ball do the work. This gave him a more consistent reaction and, obviously, a lot of strikes.
One final thing to remember about “The BTM†tournament is that the lanes are oiled in the morning and then bowled on all day. Pohl bowled in the morning after only one squad had bowled. If you prefer to play straighter up the lane on fresher patterns, you will probably want to try and bowl earlier in the day. If you like to play deeper on the lane, you will probably want to show up a little later. But no matter when you bowl, accuracy and the ability to repeat shots will be crucial. Well, that, and the ability to make your spares! Hopefully this knowledge, and a little luck, will give you what it takes to challenge Pohl for this year’s “The BTM†title.
