This can be a tough question to answer because each person that asks it will have a different education on the history of the sport and overall knowledge of the sport of bowling.  So I'm going to give as brief an answer as I can that still explains what exactly sport bowling is.  Please visit The Bowler's Forum often for new posts about the history of the sport.  I will be asking many people to contribute to the forum.

Typical House Shot (THS)

To understand sport bowling, one must understand oil patterns first.  A typical house shot (THS) will have a high volume of oil toward the center of the lane and will taper the lane with less volume horizontally toward the outside of the lane, or near the gutter.  Oil will also be tapered vertically down the lane with a heavy volume in the front of the lane or near the foul line, and less oil toward the back end of the oil pattern, or closer to the pins.  A THS will generally only put oil on the first 37-44 feet of the lane, which means that last 16-23 feet are usually left dry.

This type of pattern gives those bowlers who "hook" the ball a large margin of error when it comes to ball speed, entry angle into the pocket, release variables, and overall trajectory of the ball.  Missing the target to the outside of one's mark will allow the ball to hit the drier boards (more friction) and hook back into the pocket.  Missing the target to the inside of one's mark will allow the ball to skid through the wetter boards (less friction) and still hit the pocket.  The vertical tapering of the oil pattern will increase hitting power by allowing the drier backends (more friction) to get the ball to drive harder into the pocket at preferable entry angles.

One way to explain the THS is to look at miniature golf or putt putt, whatever you call it.  We've all played putt putt and have noticed that some courses are really easy, and others seem quite difficult.  A THS can best be described by that hole in putt putt where the green is concaved or sloped toward the hole, thus making it very difficult to actually miss the cup.  As long as you get within a few feet of the cup, the concaved green will pull the ball right into the cup!  A sport shot can best be described as a flat green that gives you no help with putting the ball into the cup.

Sport Shot

A sport shot is simply a flatter oil pattern.  Generally speaking, the vertical taper of the oil pattern is identical to that of the THS.  The difference comes in the horizontal tapering of the shot.  The average sport shot (ASS?) will still have higher volume of oil inside and less volume toward the gutters, but the ratio of oil is the big difference.  A THS has no limit to the ratio of oil, so one bowling center may put 90 units of oil in the center of the lane and only 3 on the outside boards (near the gutters).  This would make for a 30-1 oil ratio of highest volume to lowest volume.  Sport shots limit the ratio to either 2-1, 2.5-1, or 3-1 depending on the lane surface that is used.  So if there are 90 units in the middle of the lane, the outside boards must have at least 45 units at the same vertical distance down the lane.  The vertical tapering of the pattern will decrease the number of units in both the middle and the outside as the pattern approaches the pins, but the horizontal oil ratio must always remain within the 2-1, 2.5-1, or 3-1 parameters at any given vertical distance down the lane.

Generally speaking on a sport shot, if you miss your target to the outside, the ball will not hook back to the pocket.  If you miss your target to the inside, then the ball will hook past the pocket.  What has so many people excited about sport bowling is that the vast majority of the time, if you perform well then you are rewarded.  Whereas if you perform poorly, you will not be compensated.  The goal with sport bowling is to measure the talent of the bowler on any given day.

Sport shots put an emphasis on accuracy, consistency, and repeatability; whereas a THS will generally give the bowler a false sense of achievement even when poor shots are thrown.

Conclusion

Good golfers like to play the championship tees and on more challenging golf courses.  Good bowlers are starting to understand that concept as well, and a demand for sport bowling is slowly arising.  According to many bowlers who have bowled since the 50's and 60's, the shot really isn't so much easier today than it was back then.  Bowling ball technology has by far made the biggest impact in regards to the higher scoring environment that has evolved over the years, but there are many other factors that have aided in this trend as well.  Better lane surfaces, pin deck treatment, oil viscosity, more advanced oiling procedures, and just more technology overall has given the bowling center proprietor a better opportunity to put out extremely "friendly" scoring conditions.  Understanding all of this is the key to understanding why many people have quit the sport and why many new bowlers don't stick around very often.

Give a baby candy everyday and the baby will always want candy, even though his/her teeth will eventually rot.  Now we have to find a way to teach the baby that we were wrong to give him/her the candy and why salads, fruits, and other nutritious meals will be better in the long run.

If you have any further questions about sport bowling, please do not hesitate to contact me via email, sportbowling@michiganbowling.com.  Also visit http://www.sportbowling.com for more information.