i was at the tournament all day thursday and really enjoyed myself. as many of you have seen the scores were very high----259 average lead the qualifying. thunderbowl has brand new amf synthetic lanes( only several weeks old i was told )and the center looked great. i am familiar with most of the players on the exempt tour but spent most of my time watching walter ray williams, jr., norm duke, and chris barnes.
walter ray williams, jr. started out throwing the ball straight down the lane---outside the first arrow. after several games he'd move in slightly and swing the ball from 8 to 4. he didn't really carry all that well( for him ). he was using track equipment, either dull or smooth sanded. he's really a lot thinner when you see him in person. mark this down on your calenders so you don't forget: i saw walter ry actually miss a 10 pin !!!
norm duke threw the ball down the 4th board seemingly all day. not sure what equipment he was using but again they looked dull or smooth sanded. he's really
very personable and down to earth. chuck gardner, the ball rep for columbia/track, told me he wished he could sign both of these players to a contract but admitted he couldn't afford either let alone both of them.
chris barnes threw dull or smooth sanded equipment most of the time with a little more hook than williams or duke. chuck gardner told me chris barnes is a real "company man" for columbia. he'll do anything to promote them.
not surprisingly i spent much of my time talking to rick benoit of brunswick. he is their ball rep on the pba tour. he has a world of information on the technical side of bowling and bowling balls but puts it out so you can easily understand it( hint, hint mo pinel ). rick doesn't just help players who have contracts with brunswick( mika, parker bohn III, brad angelo, tom baker, michael fagan )or independents using brunswick equipment( eugene mccune, mike devaney, rick steelsmith, chris loschetter, etc.). he'll gladly offer his assistance to anyone who needs it.
the owner of thunderbowl, dick stevens, is from my hometown of st. joseph, missouri. at different times he managed and/or owned 3 centers in st. joseph before buying thunderbowl in the late 1980's or early 1990's.
