Looks like another ballreviews member is giving it a shot.  Good luck to my friend Gene surely he is on the way up with his scores after first game.  

62  Gene Kanak*  Bonfield, Ill.  1  168  168.00  168
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There is only one Lane#1. Know it, Live it, Throw it or Get Beat by IT!
Leader & Founder of Fellowship of the Saws! 03/04/05 Respect us or get left in our Saw Dust!
There is but One Power, One Order, One Ball. There is only the F.O.S. and there is only the Lane#1 Buzzsaw!

The entry is $300.... You only pay the additional $200 if you make the field of 64 (with a $2000 payday).

purduepaul:

I know it's hard out there. I've talked to friends who
bowl regionals. I wasn't making fun of Jeff because he
shot 98, i was just surprised. I've never seen anyone
do that before when watching the scores game by game.
I've bowl on different surfaces with various patterns
and even sport patterns. I agree it ain't easy. Just going
out there and getting the experience is the most important
part. I've been ask by a buddy who is a regional player to go
out and try just to see how it is. I am planning one day to do so.

Thanks for the well wishes JPR. Yep, I gave the PTQ a try. I'm glad I did. I didn't bowl well, but I learned a lot and had a great deal of fun.

I crossed with the amateur who advanced, Jason Wojnar. I used to bowl against him in ABT action this way. He's got a seriously solid game. I would not be at all surprised to see him make it into match play. He really doesn't have any noticeable weaknesses. He used The One from start to finish and blasted the pocket with more consistency than anybody that I saw. I wish I would've followed his moves sooner. After starting 168, 150 something trying to play between 2nd and 3rd with my XXXcel, I pulled out my One and started following him in to 3rd and 4th. I had a much better look. I still didn't hit it nearly as well as he did, but it kept me much more in play.

I tell you this, for one of the "easier" patterns, the scoring really wasn't that great. I saw five or six pros around me go the entire set without cracking 200 once! Of course, I only shot one deuce, but it was a 244 (my new high game in PBA competition)

My advice to any of you who have thought about trying one is, if you can afford it, do it. I went in knowing that I would have to be at my very best in order to seriously compete for a check. Unfortunately, I was not at my best. I also realized, however, that my best is still not in the league with some of these guys. You have to have remarkable control of speed, lift and accuracy to put up the numbers needed to be in the hunt. Hitting your mark is not enough. It makes things very tough, but, on the other hand, it also makes things very rewarding. When I executed good shots, I struck. When I did not execute good shots, which happened much more often than I care to recall, I paid.

In summary, again, I had a blast and I have zero regrets. I learned where my biggest weakness are. Now I have a whole year to work on them before I sign up to do this one again next year. Again, if the Tour is coming your way, and you have the money to do so, sign up and give it a shot. It's a remarkable wake-up call. I am averaging 212, 214 on the middle-of-the-road THS in my area. I didn't bowl my best, but I didn't bowl my worst and I still only managed something like 182 for seven games out there. If you really think you have game, bowling one of these will help to show you whether you're right or if you're fooling yourself. My assessment is that, right now, I am a very solid house bowler, but I am nowhere near Tour material.....not yet : )

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I can't bowl 300, but I can bench 345 : )
 I provide the muscle for the Fellowship of the Saws  

Great job, Gene! Great feedback,too.

I agree - if you haven't bowled under those kind of conditions, there's nothing like it!!!
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Ram,

Thanks for the kind words and the encouragement. Sorry for not responding sooner, but I didn't realize that this post was still active.

Anyhow, I didn't really pay much attention to layouts, but I can tell you that The One, the Vapor Zone and the Action were the three balls that I saw being thrown the most. Of course, we were using 40 lanes, so I didn't get to see everyone.

The Viper pattern really lived up to its reputation. I saw people throwing everywhere from 6th arrow to piping the ball straight at the head pin off the corner. There really wasn't a particular style or angle of approach that seemed to dominate. I saw more people trying to crank the ball, but I think that's just the nature of today's players more than what the condition dictated. Brass tacks, if you threw it just right, you could get to the hole from anywhere on the lane. If you were just a bit off, however, you were in deep trouble.

I think one of the common misconceptions is that some of the Tour patterns are "easy". The truth is, some are easier than others, but none of them are easy, not even Cheetah. They all require remarkable precision in terms of speed, angle, accuracy and revs. If any one of those elements changes, so does your ball reaction. The exempt guys make some of these patterns look like cake because they can repeat identical shots frame after frame. There aren't many house hacks, myself included, who can.
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I can't bowl 300, but I can bench 345 : )
 I provide the muscle for the Fellowship of the Saws