This has probably been talked about before but I wanted to vent.

32 lane house.  Our league takes up 30 lanes.  Back in the day, most houses would leave that last pair open incase a league pair broke down.  Not anymore.  Open bowling on both lanes.  Kids, bumpers, teenagers - all right against the leagues. 

Owner doesn't want to turn away business.  But the league can pay for the lane(s) in their linage and he will keep them off.  Really? 

There's tactful ways of handling it...  If you start by being courteous to them they'll be courteous back...  So if go to get your ball off the return at the same time they are, say something like "hey go ahead & roll your ball, I'll wait.  We'll take turns..."  That's an easy way of saying to them what the proper etiquette is without offending them or coming off like jerk...  You might have to say it one or 2 times, but eventually they see your neighbor lane doing the same thing & they get the drift...

Otherwise, just wait til they've released their ball then go yourself... Next week you'll be bowling on the other end of the alley or 4 lanes down anyway...

An open bowler is a customer.  A league bowler is a customer who bowls at the same time every week.

I play golf in a men's club at the same course every Saturday and Sunday morning. There is a sign up sheet out 2 weeks in advance. Men's club members have priority from daylight until 10 am until Wednesday. Then it is filled in with public play. We normally have 5-8 guys that play at first light. On the days we have less than 8 it would be ridiculous of us not to expect the pro shop to fill in our empty spots.  If we didn't want to play with guys outside our club we should have filled the spots.  And I play with guys that have been playing at the crack of dawn every weekend there isnt snow on the ground at the same course for over 20 years. 

As for a tournament it's all in what was agreed upon between the tournament organizer and the center manager/proprietor.  If the TD says he wants a buffer pair then he should expect his lineage to be priced accordingly.  If not they should just understand that customers will be placed next to tournament bowlers, but it should be the last lanes given out. 

This thread makes me sad. I have not one, but TWO bowling alleys with 36 or 40 lanes each (I forget exactly) within 4 miles of my house... AND NOT ONE SINGLE LEAGUE IN EITHER OF THEM! All open bowling all the time.

So you guys complaining about having to put up with open players next to your league can cry me a river... AT LEAST YOU HAVE A LEAGUE! If you like it, you best do everything you can to keep the league full. Recruit new members... fill the house every week. Otherwise, you might find your bowling alley has become just another kiddie entertainment center to babysit for lazy parents.

Open play must be profitable, so to those claiming "They NEED league bowlers"... don't be so sure.

You tell em 9er... The "manhood robbing" thread is open for bowlers like them...   

I am on the fence about this. The last thing that I want to see is our sport going under due to lack of interest...I don't know what I'd do without my Sunday morning PBA telecasts and the prospect of being a PBA Tour bowler. So I find it important to recruit as much as possible, get more people in leagues, keep centers open and keep the sport alive. I think turning away open bowlers during league play would be detrimental in the long run. 

However, it is horribly annoying when you are shooting a good game. When you're up on the approach, you take your first two steps and a ball wielding 3 year old screams past you and chucks their ball onto their bumper assisted lane and your shot goes all to hell.

Playing devil's advocate on my own thoughts, one could argue that having the 3 year old next to you is good practice to get you used to bowling with distractions. Or maybe to improve your control. If you see the kid run up, stop mid-swing, walk back, reset (the parents usually see this and hopefully tell their kid to calm down.) I used to have a coach who'd scare me mid-swing and helped me develop the ability to stop anywhere during my swing (for the most part) if needed, which has been helpful.

But at this point, the way things are evolving with bowling, we, as league bowlers, might have no other choice but adapt to the change. As stated earlier, as least we have a league to bowl in. I think we need to learn to adapt...as much as we don't want to...but at this point, I don't think we really have a choice.

I used to be in the camp that would complain about the open bowlers, get all wound up and let it affect my bowling.  Today I say let them bowl and I just enjoy myself amazing my scores have went up aa I have learned not to let things bother me.  In one Baker format tournament we bowl in they have a challenge that puts all of the bowlers on the lanes at the same time, really makes you focus on making your shot.

Mark

I agree with this.  I was the same way, but eventually realized that this is just an excuse.  Bowling next to a 2 year old or a league team doesn't change your score.  The more accommodating you are the better you are mentally. 

Your talking two completely different animals now, but if it was the same for everyone and there were an equal chance for everyone to draw the end pair I wouldn't have a problem with it.  And it would never factor into the decision if I was going to bowl or not. 

You're putting way too much into league being anything more than a social activity. 

None of the add ons to your league have any significance to the proprietor of the bowling center.  The proprietor doesn't care if you are bowling a league that cost $15 or $50 a week.  More than likely they are getting the same amount.  You are a customer of the bowling center just as the open bowler is.  The goal of the proprietor is to service all of his customers.

All bowling is for fun.  Some people are just fortunate enough to be able to earn a living doing it or being involved in it.