We didn’t talk about a recreation pattern for a while, did we? Well, I have just the thing for you today. It’s the tournament participants’ favorite oil pattern- the Kegel Bourbon Street. Named after the famous street of New Orleans, the Bourbon Street oil pattern is just as fascinating. Once the ball starts rolling on this pattern, you can forget trouble and get loose, and start having fun while bowling. So let’s learn some tips and tricks to understand the pattern better and how to play it successfully, shall we?
What is the Kegel Bourbon Street oil pattern?
Title-winning professional bowlers, newbies, seasonal players— everyone loves the Kegel Navigation Patterns. The Bourbon Street from their Recreation Series really does add fun to the challenge. So let’s take a look at specs and see how the Kegel Bourbon Street enables more shots upfront and makes bowling super fun for everyone.
The Bourbon Street oil pattern by Kegel (6240) runs to 40 feet and has 50 uL of oil on each board. The Total Forward Oil is 15.6 mL and the Total Reverse Oil is 7.85 mL, therefore, you’re gonna face 23.45 mL of Total Volume Oil. On this Kegel pattern, the Total Boards Crossed are 469 Boards, where the Forward Boards Crossed are 312 boards and the Reverse Boards Crossed are 157 boards. The oil ratio on the Bourbon Street pattern is 7.67:1. Phew, not flat at all!
How to attack on Bourbon Street oil pattern?
My local bowling center had the Kegel Bourbon Street oil pattern as a house pattern for 6 months, so I have bowled on it a lot! So speaking from my experience, this pattern does sound a lot like a typical house oil pattern, but you gotta play it a bit differently because of how the oil is laid down on the lane. If you take a closer look at the pattern sheet, you will see the outside is very buffed and only the middle part of the lane has a high concentration of oil. So to make your ball touch some oil and carry it down the lane, you should play somewhere around the 2nd arrow.
Even if we calculate the expected exit point using the ‘Rule of 31’, we find the 9 board (40-31=9) which is around the 2nd arrow. So I assume you can imagine you have to play a bit from the inside to use the oil. The oil in the middle of the lane is going to keep the ball on the line and then take it to the pocket while the dry outside is going to make sure the ball recovers. When I played this pattern, I kept on bumping inside and had my ball’s breakpoint around the 8-9 boards.
From this information, I am sure you’re thinking the pattern is gonna play easy. Well, true. But there are some challenges too. Indeed, the Bourbon Street is not a complicated pattern, but it gets tricky and can become your biggest enemy if you try to swing a bit early. You have to be very precise and learn to keep your shots consistent.
Although the Rule of 31 is pointing out your ball’s exit point on the 9 board, you can move a little on the left or right. When I practiced, I went as left as 11 board and as right as 7 board. If you miss left on the Bourbon Street pattern, your ball will either hit the headpin in the face or just knock down a few pins on the left. On the other hand, if you miss right, your ball will face the high friction of the dry part of the lane and hit the 6-pin in the face or just knock down a few pins on the right.
There are a few issues with this Bourbon Street oil pattern that most bowlers come across. You’re likely to struggle with not throwing the ball properly. Perhaps it’s not your fault, rather the lane you’re playing isn’t for this oil pattern, or perhaps you have used the wrong ball with the right delivery method. If your shots aren’t put down correctly, you need to practice till you identify a way to play the pattern easier.
For this particular oil pattern, Kegel has used its reverse drop function which is known for allowing more shots up front and then making them more open down lane. Bowlers seem to enjoy these features a lot because they love the flexibility the lane has to offer. You also have the option to move around on the inside. If you’re a low rev bowler, you’ll love how a strong ball reacts to the pattern. Oppositely, if you’re a high rev bowler, you’re gonna love the flexibility of swinging your ball to play direct. Just make sure the swing is right on time and not early as I have mentioned earlier.
Which bowling ball is best for this pattern?
Playing this pattern isn’t going to be a walk in the park. You will need the right bowling ball to make it a high-scoring bowling oil pattern. I really had fun using my Motiv Venom Shock to play the Bourbon Street oil pattern. The surface reacted nicely with the high concentration of oil on the middle part of the lane and hit the pins with a tremendous amount of force, ensuring strikes most of the time.
Some of my other favorite bowling balls for this recreation oil pattern are— DV8 Freakshow Solid, Radical Xeno, Brunswick Fanatic BTU, Pyramid Path Rising Black Solid, Radical Yeti Untamed, Brunswick Absolute Nirvana, Brunswick Platinum Ringer, etc. Once I juggled between the Roto Grip Idol and Idol Pearl. If you have any of these balls, let me tell you, the OG Idol is going to be more continuous.
Besides these bowling balls, you can also go for these alternatives— the Motiv Jackal Legacy, Storm Dark Code, Motiv Desert Tank, Motiv VIP, Motiv Ripcord, Hammer Black Widow Pink, Roto Grip RST X-2, Hammer Scorpion, and DV8 Activ8.
Conclusion
That’s my two cents on the Kegel Bourbon Street oil pattern. Scoring on this pattern shouldn’t be too difficult. So if you have a challenge coming where they will be using this pattern, now is a great time to start your practice session. Don’t overthink, and just treat it like a THS. You got this! See you later.
