cherrychalk

Do you think it's a problem for the sport that many people aren't aware of the huge divide in difficulty between bowling on a sport shot pattern versus a typical house shot? If so, what do you think could be done?

Non-tournament play is generally on oil that is heavier in the middle and lighter on the sides. If you're throwing a hook, bad throws have a tendency to correct themselves on that oil.

For instance if you miss your shot wide then your ball leaves the oil early and it will hook back more. If you miss in the other direction (in the middle) then ball stays in the oil longer and therefore hooks less.

Tournament play has oil that's much more even from middle to the sides. So if you miss your shot wide it's not going to hit a dry (drier) spot and hook back like it does for a league player.

This is why good league bowlers will have higher averages than the best-of-the-best players in tournaments.