Coach, I’ve Got a Question! – October 2025

In this recurring feature, I answer questions from Bowling This Month readers and bowlers that I work with. If you have questions, please leave them in the comment section below so I can address them in a future installment of Coach, I’ve Got a Question!

Last year, my center changed its house pattern, and it took me a few months to get lined up again. I’ve heard they might be adjusting it again, and I don’t want that to happen to me again. How can I figure it out faster?

This question is the best example of why I don’t really like the term “typical house shot.” While most bowlers know what is meant by the phrase “house shot,” there’s nothing typical about them. Every center has a different one based on the oil they use, the type of machine they have, and the age and type of their lanes. While some centers use a stock oil pattern suggested by Kegel or Brunswick, others customize their house shot completely.

While we can generally say that house shots are forgiving and allow for some margin of error, there can still be plenty of nuance in how to play them. Sometimes, the center will change oils over the summer without changing the pattern, and even that’s enough to completely shift how bowlers need to attack them. So let’s dig into this a bit.

Differences in house shots

Below is an image of three of Kegel’s house shots from their pattern library: 2022 Starting House Shot, Main Street V2, and High Street V2. I’ve skewed the images to better reflect the lane’s proportions, and you can see a few key differences beyond their length.

I’m excluding the pattern sheet details because my goal here is not to do a thorough analysis, but rather to highlight some key differences and variables.

At a quick glance, we can see the ...