Pro Oil Pattern vs League Oil Pattern

Someone commented on my entry from Monday asking if bowling on a league is helping or hurting me. I really think that any bowling i can get under my belt will help me. Before I had bowled on a pro pattern, i didnt really know what to expect. I was amazed at how precise you have to be in order to score high. Even shooting at spares is different.

So now, when i miss my mark on a league pattern, i really know it. Even in that 280 game i had last week, i missed my mark by more than 2 boards to the right, yet, it still caught and hooked back into the pocket. They call that "bumper bowling". At the masters tournament, 2 boards to the right meant gutter. 

But, the more accurate i get in league, the higher my scores will be and my average will reflect it. Last year I finished the friday night league with a 192 average. Already this year i am at a 208. Almost 20 pins a year improvement is great and I hope i continue that way until my average is 230. 

The question of will I enter another pro tournament was asked. Yes. As long as I can get sponsored again, I will enter as many as  I can. I actually got invited to go back to vegas to compete in the USBC Open Championships. A team that a friend of mine knows needed a bowler so i got picked up. This means I will get to bowl in the team event, Doubles and Singles. The oil pattern there will be challenging but nothing like the Masters. 

Here is a link to the Masters pattern:

http://www.bowl.com/Downloads/pdf/tournaments/Masters/2009_usbc_masters_las_vegas.pdf

Here is the Open Pattern:

http://www.bowl.com/Downloads/pdf/2009%20USBC_open_championships_lane_condition.pdf

The open pattern is 40 feet long, where the masters was 39 feet. Seems to me that the backends wont react like they did in the masters, but the open shot will be a little more forgiving. If you look at both patterns, the open has more oil in the middle and less on the outsides compared to the masters. To me, that means you can miss right or left a little more and still hold pocket. Ill never know until i get there though...

Another thing is I think i need a specific tournament ball. Idealy I would want a ball for each pattern, but until i get a major sponsorship, i will have to settle for one. I am thinking of going to holiday bowl and telling them i want a ball drilled for the shark or chameleon pattern. Ball choice is another big thing. I have always wanted a Cell or Cell pearl just because of Wes Malott.

 

I found this gif of his release though, and i think that has a little to do with how bad ass his ball is. Can you believe that? Look at how contorted his wrist is until the last second. 

I have always been partial to Brunswick balls. The Virtual gravity is the only non bruswick ball i have had other than the Ti-boss i gave Nathan. Theres really nothing on the market from brunswick that impresses me. Michael bought Hammers "the sauce" and it was a lot of ball, but i really wasnt 

that impressed with it either. The cell has caught my eye, the pearl mostly. I will probably end up getting that.