PBA Surfside Beach Open 2010

This past weekend, I had my gas pedal down driving southeast to Surfside Beach, SC for the PBA bowling tournament. Of course I had many aspirations of this trip being the first time I cashed, but 125 of the 128 bowlers there had other ideas (yes that means I almost finished in last place). However, the experience was still one that I will never forget.

For starters, it was quite a stacked field. With bowlers such as Tom Baker, Ritchie Allen, Tommy Jones, Brian Kretzer, and Jason Couch there, it was going to be tough. In fact, at one point, I think I counted around 10 bowlers that were, or had been at one time, exempt on Tour. Also, there were around 20 flags hanging above the pin decks. It was quite a star-studded cast, and I had a tough time fighting through my nerves and inner-demons. The 109 and 119 did not help either.

In the end, though, I had a great time with a bunch of great people, and cannot wait until next year.

Bowling On the Chettah Pattern This Weekend

This weekend is one of my favorite weekend's of the year for two reasons. One, of course, is the celebration of our nation's Independence Day. I can already smell those hot dogs and hamburgers sizzling on the grill. The next reason is that there is a PBA tournament right in my very backyard.

That's right, the PBA Gastonia Open is this weekend at Liberty Lanes, and I am looking forward to it. This will be the 10th tournament I have bowled in, and hopefully will be the first one I manage to cash in. To prepare for this event, I have drilled up all new equipment (I also broke my thumb and my layout changed anyway), and I got myself a lesson from a local PBA bowler who is much better than me and has much more knowledge.

The first thing I learned is that there are a few myths out there about the Chettah pattern I need to forget. The first is that you do not necessarily need a polished surface bowling ball. Despite the Chettah pattern being the shortest pattern, it still has a high volume of oil in the front, and with a polished surface, it will go too far down the lane in most cases. WHen thiss occurs, the ball retains too much energy and the result is a skid flip reaction that often times overhooks. In order to tone out that reaction and get more of smooth, arcing reaction, you must sand the surface of your bowling ball, for me a 1000 grit abralon pad seemed to work the best.

The second thing I learned is that the myth about having to play outside of the 5 board is true. I am not saying you cannot strike if your ball is inside that, but the most consistent way to find the pocket is to be as outside as possible, and yes, that could mean the dreaded 1 board. The board that scares most amateur bowlers to death. If you can stay behind the bowling ball with a rough surface and stay outside of 5, you have a very good chance of cashing.

Wish me luck!

Kelly Kulick Wins the PBA Bowling Tournament of Champions

In dramatic fashion, Kelly Kulick has won the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions. This marks a historic day for Kelly, as well as women's sports everywhere. She has proven that you do not have to be male to compete in a male dominated sport.

Kelly won this tournament against all odds, playing against a field consisting of only previous tournament winners as well as multiple hall of fame bowlers. In her last game against Chris Barnes, it seemed as though she could not miss. Pending better carry with her pocket 7 ten split, she could have bowled a 300.

This year, the PBA Tour has been full of feel-good stories and is a marketing's dream. At first, Tom Smallwood, having been laid off from GM, focused on his bowling career and win his first PBA tournament, and a major at that. Then, Anthony LaCaze became a first time PBA tournament winner at the Earl Anthony Classic, and under the hard conditions they bowled in made this victory quite amazing. Now we have the first woman to win a PBA Tour victory and I have never been so emotional and yelled so loud every time she struck!

Many critics out there have been fairly hard on the PBA Tour for all they are doing to promote the sport, and many have been hard on the women, saying they are part of the reason tv ratings have went down. Well Kelly has officially shut them up winning this tournament and shown that women have a place in the PBA Tour, and in my opinion, shown that they belong and can compete in other sports as well. Congratulations Kelly on this great victory and this historic day!

The 2009-2010 PBA Tour Season is Underway

So it is official. Walter Ray Williams has won yet another title. I guess 45 times was not enough. It my have not been a live show, but was it awesome to watch. Armed with his brand new 900 Global Bounty Hunter bowling ball, he defeated Chris Barnes 238-230 for his first Tour win after turning 50 years old. He is now eligible to compete in the Senior Tour, but why would he if he can still be a champion on the regular tour? There is certainly more money to be made on the regular tour, and as long as he feels good and keeps making shows, then he is in the right spot.

I must say that I am very disappointed that Bill O’neill did not get his victory, but after making seven television shows last season with two runner-up finishes, I fell pretty confident that he will taste victory this year on the PBA tour.

Many people this time of year are excited about football, but I am just as excited about bowling on Sundays. This is a great opportunity to see how the pros bowl on those difficult lane conditions, and what adjustments they make. I am hoping to one day have the knowledge they have on bowling ball layouts, surface, and how to play different lane conditions.

Now to the most exciting part about bowling being back on tv. Next week for the Scorpion Championship, they are going to show coverage of the entire tournament from start to finish, including the qualifying round and the match play events. It is basically a way of seeing how a PBA Tour event is like. My guess is that it is more of an advertisement to get people to sign up for their service called XTRA FRAME which shows this type of coverage for every event, and for only 7.99 per month or 64.99 per year.

Now that the shows are starting, I cannot wait to see how this year’s tour turns out, from who will win, rookie of the year, player of the year, etc. I love to watch bowling and can only wish that maybe sometime they will bowl a tour even in the Southeast so I can go watch one!

Changes in PBA Product Registration: Don't Bring MoRich or Elite Bowling Balls

Just when I thought I had it all straightened out, there hs been a major change in product registration. For those of you who throw MoRich or Elite Bowling Balls, they are now illegal for use on the Lumber Liquidator's PBA Tour. You can continue to use them until October 1st on the PBA regional tour, but if I were you, I would start shopping around for the next bowling ball manufacturer you are going to use. This annoucement was made at the first of September, and somehow I missed it.

This brings up two interesting questions. What manufacturer will Robert Smith and Walter Ray Williams use? Walter throws MoRich bowling balls, if you have never heard anyone say, red ball at five, they are referring to is 'Nsane LevRG' is a red bowling ball that he finds a way to throw on the five board and strike a lot. Robert Smith this past year was sponsored by Elite, so I assume he may go back to Storm Bowling. In any event, there are some changes coming this year, and be sure before you bowl in a tournament that all equipment you are bowling with is product registered with the PBA to avoid a costly mistake, like losing your entry fee.

To see all the products fully registered for use in competition with the PBA Tour, check here.

Professional Bowling and What it Means to Me

Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed bowling. Let’s be honest, who does not enjoy going out every now and then, putting on those musty bowling shoes, and grabbing the lightest bowling ball that your fingers can fit in so you can see how fast you can throw it and how loud a noise it makes to crash into the pins? Bowling may not be America’s favorite pastime, but it sure is fun.

Then one day, I realized that I was a pretty decent bowler. I made a good portion of my spares, and I could consistently hit the pocket. Then I started watching the PBA Tour bowl on Sunday on ESPN, and it did not take me long to get hooked and try to keep up with the qualifying rounds and regional tournaments on a weekly basis. Then, in a non-sanctioned bowling league, I shot my first 300. Unfortunately I did say a non-sanctioned league, but oh well. It would have been cool to have a ring, but my wife and Father-in-law made me a really cool trophy for the occasion. To my credit today, I have bowled two sanctioned 300 games and hope to one day look like the Godfather my hands are so filled with rings.

Finally, after practicing a lot, working on spares, bowling in three leagues a week, I finally reached a pinnacle goal and managed to have a yearbook average over 200. This may seem like a petty accomplishment, but it meant a lot to me. It meant that I could join the PBA. I have now been a PBA member for three years, but have only bowled in 8 tournaments, with my best finish coming in Surfside Beach, SC. This was the first PBA tournament I ever bowled in, and I only missed the cut by 21 pins. This was quite unfortunate since I threw two balls in the gutter that day, one being after a double. In any event, I had a great time and threw the ball great.

Now I have learned that in order to be a successful member and cash regularly in PBA events, you need a couple of things. One, it takes a great deal of knowledge to know the lane conditions, how they break down, what ball you should throw, layout, surface of the ball, etc. You also need a strong mental game. I am slowly learning all these things, but not as quickly as I hoped. Having a newborn child is the best thing that has ever happened to me, but it has cut into my practice budget.

Now I guess it is time for the moral of my story. Everyone out there has dreams they would love to accomplish. Everyone has goals they want to achieve. It may sound silly, but my dream is honestly to become a successful PBA bowler. I can only imagine how awesome it must be to make a living doing what you love. I know it is going to take a lot of hard work, but one day, you may be clicking through the channels, come across ESPN, and see me stringing strikes towards my first PBA Tour victory!

Product Registration for the PBA: Don't Wear Dynaroo Bowling Shoes!

Before you go into your first PBA tournament, keep one thing in mind. The PBA has a Product Registration Program now in effect that may or may not make your bowling shoes, bowling balls, or other bowling accessories illegal for use in competition. If you plan on bowling in your first PBA tournament, you better check out this webpage before you show up to bowl:

Product Registration for the PBA

Now before you start your panicking, most everything that you have is probably ok. If you have an older bowling ball you may want to use that was made before 1982, it can be used whether or not it is specifically listed on this page if the bowling manufacturer is currently product registered. One of the biggest issues I have seen in PBA tournaments is people trying to wear DynaRoo bowling shoes. These bowling shoes are not product registered for use in PBA competition. Also, you cannot tape over the logo and think this makes them ok to wear. If the tournament director finds out you are using no registered equipment, you will be asked to leave without a reimbursement of your entry fee, so make sure you check this site out and everything you want to use is ok.

How to Become a Professional Bowler

Have you ever watched ESPN on a Sunday afternoon and thought you could be a professional bowler as well? Well I have good news. You can be a professional bowler. Read on to learn more.

To start, this article is not going to teach you how to average 220+ on PBA Experience oil patterns, or get you on television making thousands of dollars. That requires lots of practice, and knowledge that I have not yet obtained, but am trying. This article can tell you how to become a professional bowler at the regional level and maybe even make a few bucks with hard work and determination.

There are two types of professional bowling tournaments. They are PBA Tour events and PBA Regional events. Regional events are competed on at a more local level. Tour events are for the best of the best at a National level. You can become a professional bowler one of two ways. The first way is to cash in two regional events. Cashing means you bowled in the top one-third of all competitors in the qualifying round of the tournament. At the regional level, the minimum to cash is 400 dollars. Not bad for a weekend of bowling in my opinion. The second way to join is to average a 200 in a league with at least 36 games bowled or a 190 average in a USBC Sport Bowling or PBA Experience League.

Now that you have accomplished the requirements, you can go to the link below to download the application. You can either join under standard membership, full membership, or even junior membership if you are a young, aspiring bowler.

There are many advantages professionals can take advantage of as a member. For one thing, you get 75 dollars off tournament entry fees at the regional level. Your membership pays for itself if you bowl in multiple tournaments a year. Also, as bowling ball companies release new equipment, you can in many cases purchase direct from the company for a greatly reduced rate. Having the latest and greatest equipment can really help you out on the challenging lane conditions you will be competing on.

For tips on how to accomplish this feat, check out these articles:

Bowling Tips

How to Enter and Qualify in a PBA Tournament

If you are like me, you watch the bowlers on the PBA Tour bowling on Sunday afternoon on ESPN. While watching, you picture yourself on the big screen, bowling for the big dollars. Would you like to know more about the PBA and how you can qualify to bowl in a PBA tournament? Well, here is your answer.

There are a two main types of PBA bowlers. There are exempt bowlers that bowl on the PBA tour, and there are regular PBA members, that can bowl in Regional PBA events, as well as try to qualify for events on the PBA tour. Regional PBA tournaments are much smaller venues, typically paying around 2500 dollars for winning the event, with 425 the minimum cash if you qualify. To qualify in either event, you must bowl well in what is called the qualifying round. To sign up, visit the PBA's website and it will tell you how to sign up for tournaments as a member or non-member. The link is listed at the bottom of this article.

If you have no PBA experience, your first step should be to learn more about the conditions that you will face in PBA tournaments. The oil patterns they bowl on are much more difficult than the conditions you typically bowl on in a house shot. The lanes are much less forgiving, and spare shooting becomes a critical part of your game. In Regional events, to qualify, you must bowl better than roughly two-thirds of all competitors in the event. This will typically take at least a 200 average over the span of 8 games. If you qualify, you will get to bowl the next day in a second qualifying round in an attempt to make match play.

To qualify for a PBA tour event, you must bowl in a PBA qualifier. There are 64 spots available in the actual tournament, with roughly 55-58 exempt bowlers that automatically qualify for the tournament. This can vary if an exempt bowler chooses to defer his exemption or cannot bowl in the tournament. For example, if there are 7 open spots to qualify, you must bowl and finish in the top seven (with the exception that the highest amateur automatically qualifies). This gets you into the round of 64 and you again qualify to make the top 32 for match play. Some events have different formats, but this is the most common.

Now the big question, how do you bowl well enough to qualify? Well this is the difficult part. When bowling in a PBA event, you will be bowling with some of the best bowlers in the world. You need to do your homework. You can visit websites listed below to find information on sport bowling, and PBA conditions. They even have some videos that discuss how some of the touring pros tackle the tough lane conditions. Now you just need to choose the right bowling ball with the right layout and surface, and have yourself a game plan on how you are going to play the lanes. I have had most success with Hammer bowling balls, but this may not be your best option. Speak with your local pro shop operator on your game and what is right for you. Also, remember, spare shooting is a must if you want to score well. I can promise you that you will not strike as much as you do in your league. Good luck!

Official Website of the PBA

Bowling's Official Website