It will increase my bowler turnout.  I want to try it and get better at it.  Why not?

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Proud owner of the Parker Bohn III Plastic Cup

What I think a lot of people will miss in  challenge is that they will be bowling on the same oil patterns, but they will be using the same lane surface every week.  Also, they will typically bowl 3 games on the same pair.  In PBA competition, the pros bowl a 5 or 8 game block, switching pairs after each game. Next week it is on to a new center with a different lane surface.  Huge difference from 35 weeks of 5 different patterns.  A great opportunity none the less.

First let me say that i think that the PBA Experience concept is a great idea. Its about time that the PBA decided to do something good for the sport and enable leagues to use their patterns by joining forces with Sport Bowling. Also, kudos to Sport Bowling for recognizing that the 2:1 patterns were just way to tough for the general population. You cant expect people to go from 12:1 ratios to 2:1 and not lose interest. The only issues that i see are 1: getting people to actually swallow their pride and bowl in these types of leagues, 2: Bowling Centers are going to have to dedicate themselves to the concept. Keep in mind that you will need a lane machine that has the capability to duplicate these patterns, and you will have to at least double strip afterwards to get the pattern totally off of the lane. 3: marketing will be an issue. If not enough people know about this, it will never grow. This will need to be a joint effort by the PBA, USBC and the BPAA as well as scratch bowlers and pro shop operators. The health of the sport of bowling depends on how many people embrace ideas like these. As far as the sanctions fees go, i think they should be raised to at least $25.00 per year anyway if not more. Keep in mind that this sport is dying and something needs to be done to revive it. You cant join any other sport membership organization for as little money as the USBC charges. Check into joining the USGA and you will see what i mean. If bowling wants to make a comeback, the credibility needs to be restored and the best way to do that is to invest money in marketing and creative ideas to bring interest back to the sport. There has been a lot of talk lately about the PBA prize fund cuts and how this affects the sport. We had player meetings on Wens and i'll assure you that the PBA isnt going away, but is certainly in need of a financial boost to get things heading north again. More sponsors could be on the way, but the PBA is just now getting close to breaking even. An influx of money brought in from membership dollars through the PBA and the USBC could be enough to help boost the PBA and revive the PWBA. Without the professional levels of our sport, there will eventually be no competitive bowling. The amateur scene is already drying up, the Generations Tour that was supposed to go over big is already failing miserably and the PWBA still is non-existent. The entire sport needs a makeover and the only way to fix problems like these are with money.

Too address some posts here :
Jimsey - i hope that the marketing is good enough to entice bowlers to want to join the PBA experience leagues with the end goal of joining the PBA. Hopefully these leagues will be stepping stones for our future professionals. I can see these leagues starting out as summer leagues, then expanding to full seasons

Kmanestor22 - Yes, PBA patterns are much easier than the actual Sport Patterns, but if you havent bowled on the patterns you may not think they are so easy. I've seen numerous bowlers that come out after averaging 240 in league and average 170-180 in regionals. Its the same as anything else, it takes experience to get better. As far as the lane machine issue, every machine is capable of putting these patterns out. Its easier for some machined than others, but i would think that there needs to be some sort of requirements for the centers to be able to get sanctioning for these leagues

Se7en - Wow, thanks for throwing me under the bus with the candy comment ! I realize that i havent won or even made a show but since i joined the PBA in 1999 ( at 30 years old mind you ) ive:
had a 72 % cash rate on the national tour
had a 82 % cash rate on the regional tour
made over $240,000.00 in earnings ( with only 4 1/2 years of that on Tour )
garnered two 5th place finishes and a few other top 10s
won 11 PBA regional titles ( which is the second most to Steve Jaros in the Midwest region since 1999 )

I came out here with ZERO experience on the PBA patterns, let alone the formats and life on the road. The last 8 years have been a work in progress and a huge learning experience. I'm constantly working hard on getting to the next level. I'd have to say that if i had the opportunity to bowl in leagues like these when i was younger, i would certainly have progressed farther than i have now. I also went the family business route for 10 years, which knocked a considerable chunk off of my career. I put no weight into what happens on a THS. I really dont even recognize the average record anymore and the only 300s that are meaningful to me are the ones that come in PBA competition. I'm pretty sure that if you were in my shoes you would understand.

T-God - this is kind of a touchy subject. For the most part, when pros go home and bowl in leagues or local tournaments on a THS we get our butts kicked. I know that my numbers when i go home are not as good as some of the other guys in town, partly because we just dont see conditions that allow you that much mistake room. Besides, most of the guys out here have devoloped games that match up better to tougher conditions now. Slower ball speeds and more roll match up better to the PBA patterns, while that might not work as well on a THS. I'm not saying that we shouldnt bowl well, its just tougher to match up. I guess the worst part about it is when i bowl in league while im home, i develop so many bad habits that i have to get back out here to fix them ( and thats pretty sad in my opinion )

Jimsey - again great comment. I would hope that the individul leagues would recognize these things and allow the players to move pairs after every game. If they would follow some of the same procedures and rules that we do, it would be a great stepping stone for preparing people for the future


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Bowl up a Storm,
Jeff Carter
www.stormbowling.com
www.jeffcarterbowling.com

Edited on 11/3/2006 9:39 AM

Edited on 11/3/2006 9:39 AM

Jeff thanks for the response.

While the idea is good it just will not be wide spread for the same reasons that sport shot leagues are not. It is too much work for the centers with little or no payback.

They must have a high dollar lane machine capable of being programmed.

Like Jeff said they would need to double strip lanes before laying down the pattern to get rid of the THS and then afterwards to get rid of the PBA pattern.

The whole house probably would not being willing to bowl on the PBA patterns that shift so you are treating only a section of the lanes differently having to reprogram the machine during the run.

If the PBA league was on first shift then second shift leagues probably wouldn’t want to bowl on it.

If the PBA league was second shift the first shift wouldn’t want to play on it nor would the PBA league want the random breakdown from an early league.

That being said what needs to be done is to simply run the PBA patterns all the time on all the leagues. Then everyone would understand better where they stood in the pecking order since everyone is bowling on the same conditions.

Houses wouldn’t have to switch back and forth all the time and you could set up virtually any machine to put out a compliant pattern. But we know the integrity of proprietors on putting out legal patterns so that would never work, someone would cheat to try and get bowlers.

On a side note I would agree in that the USBC needs to fund some of the prize money on the tour. Even a couple of extra bucks per sanction fee could double the prize money currently being offered.