Trust Your Bowling Reads
If you are an experienced and talented bowler, then trust your bowling reads.
Reading the lanes and reacting properly to the lane conditions with the skills you possess are key to solid and consistent performances.
When you are warming up on a pair of lanes for leagues or tournaments, you must read the lanes and align yourself the best way you can to hit the pocket starting your competitive session.
One important thing to remember is that everyone on your pair is faced with the same challenge in reading each lane and making alignment decisions to begin the competition.
When you are surprised the lanes are reacting considerably differently than the norm (as in the typical case of league play), don’t panic but rather trust your reads and then make an adjustment and try again to hit the pocket.
If your initial adjustment is not working, then try another. Since you have developed into a skilled player, you likely have multiple adjustments you routinely use. Not every adjustments works the first time you try.
If you feel lateral moves to adjust toward or away from the build up of front end lane oil is not producing an immediate result, then you may have to use simultaneous multiple adjustments, as example, such as a ball speed change and a slight release change in addition to lateral adjustments.
If you have used your usual adjustment techniques and are still getting an overreaction, then it is certainly time to change bowling balls.
As a rule of thumb, the tougher the lanes get, the less of a reacting bowling ball is likely to help you stabilize your ball reaction.
Trying to force a strong layout in an asymmetric ball with an aggressive coverstock may not be the answer if you face lightly oiled lanes with a light blend and out-of-bound areas near the lane edges.
In this case, perhaps you can switch to a low flare ball with a less aggressive coverstock and use less hand to produce a smooth and controllable arc motion in an effort to restore a good ball reaction and find your range in hitting the pocket.
Experience is your best ally.
Trust your initial reads, adjust as needed using your most reliable techniques, and have a stable reacting bowling ball ready for use when bowling on tough lane conditions you will undoubtedly face from time to time in leagues or tournaments.
