A key skill of being a professional or competition bowler is adjusting to different lane conditions. As The Basics of Grip and Ball website notes, a lot of how the ball reacts on the lane depends on your release at the foul line. However, the ball can react abnormally in particularly dry or oily lane conditions. It is therefore best to have a range of bowling balls in your bag.
Matte Finish
The dry surface of the matte ball is designed to counterbalance very oily lane conditions. The dryness of the ball allows the revolutions put on it by the bowler at release to grip the lane and curve into the hook shot, reaching its target. Gloss balls will hook too late, if at all, on a very oily lane. The surface of the matte ball also is softer than a gloss ball, allowing for more grip.
Gloss
When lane conditions are dry or of moderate oil covering, gloss balls are preferable. A matte ball will break too hard in these conditions and miss its target from the bowler's standard delivery. The revolutions put on the ball at release help the gloss finish react with the dryness of the wooden lane and the ball to hook at the intended time.
Straight Ball
Straight balls are often gloss finished. The lane conditions make little to no difference in the behavior of the ball because the bowler does not put sideways revolutions on the ball at release. Many bowlers use a straight ball to pick up spares but it can be used effectively as a strike ball if you do not have the appropriate matte or gloss hook ball for the conditions.
Adjustments
Competitive bowlers use the dots and arrows on the lane as their targets, not the pins themselves, notes Complete Bowling Index. If you don't have the right ball for the lane conditions at hand, adjust your target in order to allow for the behavior of the ball. For example, if you have a matte ball hooking too early on a dry lane, bowl the ball wider to allow for the excess hook.
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