December 2013 Ask Bob

By Bob Korth 12/01/2013

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAQ. I just saw on line that the PBA is going to oil the lanes with a blue colored dye. Is this true?

And what do you think about this?

 

 

A. Yes the PBA is going to try the blue dye for the TV finals. I think it will be good for the for the

PBA overall. Especially to attract new viewers. Something we bowlers have had to deal with

since oil was put on the lanes to keep them from burning due to friction of the ball on the lane.

Is the fact that the placement of the oil and how it moves during play is not visible. We have to

read where it is by watching the reaction of the ball. This would be like playing golf at a course

where you could not see the rough. Everything would look like fairway. So showing this aspect

of the game will be very interesting not only to novices who had no clue there was oil applied

to the lanes but also to us veterans of the game. To actually see where the oil moves to during

play should show just how hard it is to keep up with the moves needed to score. Then the

viewers will get a feel for how difficult it is to keep making those great shots that the best of the

best make especially when they can’t see it.

 

Q. I have a few questions for you I am a 185 average bowler and during one of our league sessions

that wasn’t going so well our best bowler said the lanes were under/over. What does this mean?

What is the cause of under/over? Last how can it be best dealt with?

 

A. WOW! This is a great question and a bit of a tough one. I might leave something out so if I do

I want to ask you my readers to let me know your thoughts on this subject. First question,

over/under is a ball reaction that means one time you throw the ball and it goes light. You make

try to make a move and go through the nose. Make another small move and it’s the nose again.

Another small move and miss the headpin. You are dealing with over/under.

The cause can be many things and this is why over/under can be very frustrating. It can be the oil

pattern and you are lined up wrong. It can be your speed you need more or less of it. It can be

the ball you are using and maybe the cover stock of that ball or the balance of that ball is

just not matching up to the oil pattern. It can be that you are just out of time or trying to hard

that day. It can be that you are overturning the ball or turning to early. (chicken winging).

Solutions, first you have to try to get a handle on what might be causing it on this day. If

everyone is having this problem it might well be the oil pattern that day and it is just plain

tougher than usual. For this you will have to try to make good shots and stay relaxed. If it is

just you ask someone to watch to see if you might be turning the ball over or turning to early.

If you have been bowling well lately and you just can’t get anything to work try changing balls.

Also with the change of ball you might have to change your line on the lanes. It takes a little

experimenting and some knowledge of your own game. So more practice is very important.

Here is an example of what happened to me in a recent tournament. Practice shots went great

but after about ½ of the first game I began to get a huge under/over reaction. Knowing I had been

bowling well as of late, I tried changing balls. No help. I had 3 not so good games and was lost.

Then it hit me All this time my move on the lanes had been small, a board or two. So I made a

large move 7 boards with the feet and 5 with my mark. This was the solution the lanes had

transitioned and I missed it. I shot 670 the last 3 games with a 250 game. You have to keep your

thinking cap on all the time. I was caught by the oil I could not see. I needed the BLUE DYE.

 

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