bowling balls and Irish Lane conditions

tariqbutt

I was having a look at the pro shop leaflet at the stillorgan leisureplex and the list of balls available.
I looked a bunch of them up on bowlingballs.com (One Pearl, Bash, Evolve, Pin slasher etc).

One thing I noticed is that all of the balls were listed on the leaflet as being for "Medium/Heavy" oil lane condition.

Does anyone know what the lane conditions are in Stillorgan and elsewhere in Dublin (palmerstown & alsaa).

Since all the balls for sale seem to be for Medium/Heavy I was curious if that is what the conditions are in Stillorgan, or if maybe that was just specific for the Irish Open lane conditions.

r3nu4l

Palmertown used to be medium oil when I bowled/worked there. The best way to tell is to throw your current ball down a lane using a littlebit of hook. If the ball stays very straight then the oil is likely to be medium/heavy. Otherwise, if it hooks well, then the oil is likely to be light.

All this depends of course on when the back end of the lane was last cleaned...

You could just call them and ask to speak to the lane maintanence people

Rigardo

It depends what night you play but Stillorgan is a generally heavier oil condition (if not a little patchy at times). It's actually world class believe it or not. The Irish Open is held there every year and makes for a great spectator's sport.

r3nu4l

I played in both the Irish Open and Irish Masters in Stillorgan about 15 years ago

Pretty much any centre can be world class if the lanes are maintained properly. Make sure the back ends are clean, your oil machine lays a recognised pattern and the lanes are in good nick (few bumps and hollows) and you're there.