Bowlers Journal International - April 2008 - (Page 60)

LANE CONDITIONS BY DENNIS BERGENDORF BRIDGING THE GAP FROM HOUSE TO SPORT Kegel introduces a series of patterns from easy to difficult, including an intermediate level. KEGEL WANTS TO SEND YOU ON A JOURNEY down bowling’s highways, byways, avenues and thoroughfares. And it wants to provide you with a road map that will keep you on your boulevard of dreams while avoiding the “Highway to Hell.” For more than 25 years a pioneer in lane maintenance systems, the Florida-based company has become the Ferdinand Magellan of the bowling world, the navigator of the game’s often bewildering playing fields. In fact, that’s pretty much the name of the program that Kegel has unveiled: the Navigation Pattern system, and its attendant library. It’s a set of 12 distinct oiling programs within three categories, enabling the lane technician to literally dial in the degree of difficulty — and discuss it with a degree of precision. This ability to discuss the patterns was one of two goals. “The first was to create a more understandable language,” says Chris Chartrand, Kegel's Vice President of Sales. “Before, all our customers could tell us was that they had a house or Sport condition. With specific names for the patterns, the customer [can identify] a range of conditions.” But the more pressing goal was to create a conditioning system that actually works — for the proprietor and the bowler. “There are essentially ‘house’ patterns or ‘Sport‘ patterns,” Chartrand explains. But because, in the real world, that may translate into “too easy” or “too hard,” Kegel saw a void, and came up with the Navigation Pattern system to fill it. The system evolved over the past year or so, when company President John Davis began working with right-hand man Ted Thompson to develop a more comprehensive program of patterns for tournament play. Then Chartrand became involved, and the scope was broadened to include league and even recreational bowling. Ultimately, three separate “series” were created. Those three are based upon levels of difficulty and are appropriately named Sport, Challenge and 60 bowlers journal international APRIL 2008 Recreation — each the umbrella for four distinct patterns. As one may surmise, those within the Recreation series are pretty much what league bowlers have been accustomed to for years: oil ratios of at least 7-to-1, with length to keep the ball on line (although two of the patterns eschew an outright Great Wall). At the other end of the spectrum is the Sport series, four of the meanest, most demanding oil patterns ever laid down on a bowling lane. Playing on these, the bowler will encounter ratios as low as 2.3-to-1, with lengths that’ll make all but the best-thrown balls play tricks. Nestled in the middle is the Challenge series, its four patterns designed to put more emphasis on making and repeating quality shots, but with just enough fudge-factor that the bowler won’t (we hope) contemplate suicide. Even within each category, the four patterns vary in degree of difficulty, and their names tell the tale. “John gave us a specific mandate. He wanted the names to let the bowler know something about the patterns,” says Chartrand, who adds that the process wasn’t always smooth. “It was quite challenging coming up with names that describe the pattern as well as the theme behind it.” But the team succeeded. The bowler can pretty well deduce that “Wall Street” means a variation of the standard league shot. Being a little reckless on “Dead Man’s Curve” can easily lead to the ball sailing off the cliff and into the gutter (or the “moat,” as Kegel’s literature calls it). If you were to surmise that “Boardwalk” involves playing out near the 1-board, you'd be right. And, yes, the relatively flat oil of “Beaten Path” means that the best route here will likely be on the inside edge of the most-worn area of the lane. Then there’s the aforementioned “Highway to Hell,” with its 2.3-to-1 ratio and 40-foot length that’ll make a threebagger seem like a 300 game. The names also come with a number. The first two digits identify the oil ratio, while the last two

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Bowlers Journal International - April 2008

Bowlers Journal International - April 2008 Contents Leading Off Letters Bowlitically Incorrect Calendar Par Bowling The Coach Frame of Mind Inside Line The Truth Be Bowled Tournaments Pro Bowling PBA Bayer Classic PBA Pepsi Championship PBA Don Johnson Classic Regional Roundup Cover Story Up Close Senior Tour The USBC Move USBC Convention Pattern Play Anniversary Flashback Time Capsule Media Beat No Holes Barred Shop Talk Spotlight Marketplace Hall Marks Profit Prophet Advertisers' Index Classified Advertising Intelligencer Business Calendar Business People Strikes Me

Bowlers Journal International - April 2008

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