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It is time to turn to the last page in my Bowling Blog. I just want to thank all of my readers for their interest and support, but unfortunately it is time to bid farewell. The demands of my work and family life are calling to me louder than ever before. So I must answer and and turn my full attention to my vocations and set aside my blogging for now.
I hope you have enjoyed it and learned a lot from what I have written here in my blog for the past year. It has always been my intention to share what knowledge I have learned in my 45+ years of bowling with you, and others like you who love the sport as much as I do. Hopefully I've helped you add more pins to your average and more smiles to your bowling outlook. If I have succeeded at this, then my Blog has been a success. Check out my Bowling Book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZSMB99G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=P3PQWHFB1WYS&keywords=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores&qid=1652035291&sprefix=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2 Once again, thank you for being a part of my Blog Family and one last time, as always, I wish you GOOD LUCK and HIGH SCORING!!
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The answer is YES, you can become a professional Bowler!! It will take lots of work, effort, money, and real dedication. But if there’s a will, there’s a way. The PBA is divided up into seven regions and depending on where you live will determine the region you'll be in. Pro bowlers can make anywhere from $100,000-$300,000+, and tournaments are where most of them make their big money. The richest bowler currently is Walter Ray Williams Jr.with almost 5 million dollars in winnings and 47 titles under his belt! There are specific guidelines and rules that must be followed according to the Pro Bowlers Association (PBA), and you must fulfill at least ONE of the following and be at least 18 years of age:
****A STANDARD MEMBERSHIP: * There is an Initiation Fee and a cost per year of $145+ (or a monthly fee if you don’t want to pay in one lump sum). * Allows you to bowl in THREE Regional Tournaments. * Allows you to bowl in THREE PBA Tour Qualifying Rounds (TQR-This is a tournament in which all NON-EXEMPT bowlers compete prior to a PBA Tour Event). * Includes a subscription to “Bowlers Journal International Magazine” * Letsyou receive a PBA Newsletter. * Gets you bowling discounts-$0-$2.00 games at official PBA Practice Centers. * Includes a free 14K Gold PBA Ring if you bowl your first 300 game during a PBA competition, and a diamond added for each 300 game bowled thereafter! ****A FULL MEMBERSHIP: * There is an Initiation Fee and a cost per year ($300+or a monthly fee if you don’t want to pay in one lump sum). * Gives you the same benefits as a Standard Membership. * Allows you to bowl in an UNLIMITED number of Regional Tournaments. * Allows you to bowl in an UNLIMITED number of PBA Tour Qualifying Rounds (TQR’s). * Allows you to bowl in ALL Senior Tour Events. * Allows you to have free advertising on a T-Shirt during competitions (if you have a business for example). * Gets you a free listing on www.PBA.com if you own a pro Shop. One of your goals as a Professional Bowler is to earn “EXEMPTIONS which will allow you to choose any PBA Tour Event that you want to compete in without having to play in the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR) and you’ll be guaranteed a spot for the season, or for the length of your Exemption which is 1-3 years. Tour Qualifying Round (TQR)- The PBA Tour Events have only a certain number of spots available to bowl, so the Exempt Bowlers will have first dibs on these, and the only spots still available will go to the WINNERS of the TQR. This TQR is a tournament before the real tournament. There are several ways to earn EXEMPTIONS on a PBA Tour:
*TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS- worth 2 years of exemptions *USBC MASTERS- worth 2 years of Exemptions *PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP- worth 2 years of Exemptions. 2. Win a “PBA TOUR STANDARD TITLE”- worth 1 year of exemptions. 3. Place in the previous seasons “WORLD POINT RANKING LIST” (minus those who already earned an exemption, up to a maximum of 42 bowlers)-worth 1 year of exemptions. 4. LEAD in the Non-Exempt members on the “WORLD POINT RANKING LIST” (among the bowlers who regularly bowl in the TQR)- worth 1 year of exemptions. 5. Finish in the top seven of the previous seasons “PBA REGIONAL PLAYERS INVITATIONAL”- worth 1 year of exemptions. 6. Resume a previous exemption after a medical or hardship deferment- the length is determined by the specific exemption you are resuming. 7. Receive a GOLDEN PARACHUTE EXEMPTION from the PBA which is awarded to the NON-EXEMPT player by PBA leadership-worth 1 year of exemptions. Each of the PBA Tour Events have entrance fees and you can go online to see exactly what these are since they change, and you can check out the schedules as well. They also award COMPETITION POINTS, depending on what place you finish in and which event it is. The major tournaments will earn you more points than some of the other events (Non-members cannot earn competition points). Prior to 2010, the player who racked up the most points became the PBA PLAYER OF THE YEAR. Today, this position is cast by voting. Your best shot is to win enough “TQR’s” to get into the tournament (to get an exemption), or to rack up the points depending on what place you finish in. Becoming a Professional Bowler will take a lot of work, concentration, perseverance, and practice. Most pros bowl at least 35-40 games before tournaments and have an average of at least 220. If you bowl exceptionally well (especially under pressure) and can really stay focused, then you can become a champ! If money is an issue, you can try finding yourself a SPONSOR that can pay entry fees for the tournaments that you can reimburse when you win. Or maybe a family member, good friend, or co-worker that has some extra cash lying around, may be willing to be your sponsor. If this is a dream of yours, I say GO FOR IT! You’ll never know unless you try and if you don’t try, you’ll never know if you could have been a great professional! If this has been one of your goals, I wish you GOOD LUCK & GREAT BOWLING! Join me back here again next week for my LAST BLOG POST. Good Luck and High Scoring!! Here are the good tips throughout my blog that I'm summing up for you to add into your notebook and to check on from time to time:
* Use a slightly weaker release---don’t use a lot of turn and lift which will cause to much hook. * If you can, increase your speed on the approach which will increase the ball speed and lessen the hook. 3. To help you READ the lanes more accurately: * Always start in your normal spot when league practice begins. I usually start on the 20th board which is the center of the lane, and adjust from there, to the right or left, but only by a few boards at a time. 4. Make sure you have a good GRIP on the ball. the thumb hole should be snug but not too tight so you can release the ball smoothly. Check tape in the thumb hole often since fingers can swell occasionally. 5. Have a relaxed swing, and one smooth movement. Let the ball go out (on the push away) and down naturally into a nice pendulum swing. Don't use a muscled swing. 6. Have a smooth Release like landing a plane on a runway. Don't let the ball crash down on the lane hard. It isn't good for the lane, your ball, and the ball will lose some of it's power by the time it hits the pins! 7. Have good balance on the release, don't be all over the place. Touch your back to insure good loft and hold the position until the ball hits the pins. Observe the ball and determine where it breaks. If you slow down, the breakpoint will begin sooner. Each lane is slightly different, so pay attention. I’ve been on pairs of lanes that had a 5 or more board difference where my stance and target were. When I was a beginner, it was confusing trying to remember everything and where to stand and what arrow to release the ball over, so I started writing it down on a piece of paper so I wouldn’t forget. I would make sure I glanced at that piece of paper just before it was my turn to bowl so I wouldn’t get confused about which lane I was bowling on, especially if I was talking to someone about something unrelated to the game. A beginner can get easily sidetracked and forget. 8. As the golfer makes the mistake of “looking up” before hitting the ball, don’t make the mistake of looking up at the pins immediately after the ball is released. Instead, keep your eyes fixed on the ball and the target so you know if it went over the correct board or arrow. After the ball passes the target, follow it's path though the pins to make sure that is correct. There will be plenty of time to watch the pins fall afterwards. 9.Learn to bowl each frame separately! Try and focus on good execution and do not get caught up on a frame if you had a poor shot. Just realize what you did wrong and move on. Remember when you’re worried or angry, you can’t focus on the frame coming up! 10. When you are bowling your first ball, aim from the foul line to the arrows, and when you’re going for spares, aim from the arrows to the pins. Spotting farther down the lane helps with accuracy. Join me back here next week when I'll be discussing "Can You Become A Professional Bowler"? Check out my book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZSMB99G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=P3PQWHFB1WYS&keywords=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores&qid=1652035291&sprefix=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2 Good Luck and High Scoring! There are basically four types of BALL TRACKS. Before you start your next practice game, wipe your ball off really well with your towel and then bowl your first shot. When the ball returns, pick it up and observe the “Oil Track” on the ball to determine what kind you have.
 Semi Roller Oil Track 2. FULL ROLLER- The oil track on this ball runs around the center of the ball and falls between the thumb and finger holes meaning it rolls over its' entire or FULL circumference. The bowler with this track gets a lot of mix on the pins. The hook isn’t as large as the person with the semi roller, and they don't use as much wrist turn or axis tilt when the ball is released as the bowler who has the semi roller track. With the newer resin balls, the full roller track isn't seen as much anymore.  Full Roller Oil Track 3. SPINNER- You’ll notice the "LOW" track of the oil here is way down on the ball and only covers a small portion of the balls’ circumference. A bowler with this track doesn’t have as much pin mix or power as the previous two tracks, but is rolled with a lot of wrist turn when the ball is released. There isn’t much hook and the ball deflects more when it hits the pins. Instead of the fingers normally finishing on the right side of the ball (left side for the left handed bowlers), they finish more at the top of the ball.  Spinner Oil Track 4. FLARE- This type of ball track is newer since the more modern balls have been made. The ball moves off it’s initial track and ends up making a new track with each rotation of the ball as it travels down the lane. This means more of the cleaner surface of the ball is touching the lane which will equal a larger hook. (As you recall, oil cuts down on the hook). There are High Flare Balls and Low Flare Balls. High flare balls will hook more because a clean surface is happening with each rotation of the ball. Since less oil is actually getting on the ball, the hook will be larger. A Low Flare ball will hook less. If you'd like to know more about this, you can go online and research more of the technical aspects of Flare. The ball track will be able to show you how consistent you have been on releasing the ball, as long as the oil track is very close to the previous ones. If these oil rings are more than an inch apart, then you will need to work more on your consistency. After all, that is the name of the game! Join me back here next week when I'll be discussing "Can You Become A Professional Bowler"? Good Luck and High Scoring! |
AuthorHello!! My name is Joanie. Although I'm not a professional bowler, I have loved the sport for more than 45 years, averaged over 200 for several seasons, and learned quite a bit with research and experience. Archives
February 2023
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