Bowling in the US

[Stuart Little]

Why is it that everytime i look at a bowling website, i see 12 year olds bowling 800 series, is it that the US is showing kids how to really bowl or is it that they ditch there lanes up so they can get telephone numbers? Has anyone compared (actually bowled on) Australia and US lanes?

 

[krdavis]

Bowling in the US is completely different to bowling in Aus. For a start, there are approx 3 million people who bowl in leagues there. There is High School Bowling, Youth Bowling, Collegiate Bowling, Sport Bowling, Pro Bowling - They have numerous scholarships available to juniors and huge support for the sport. As far as their lane conditions, maybe they score a bit higher on average than ours, but this is not due to 'ditch' conditions, it is more likely to be due to frequency that the lanes are replaced and general condition - there aren't too many centers with old wood lanes and DOA pin decks. I bowled Vegas in Dec last year and am back in June this year - far too much fun to be had there !

 

[jase_mate]

i have heard from people going to the US to bowl that there lane conditions are much more easier for us as Australians to play on.

 

[terry penguin]

i wonder if any yanks who come to australia find our lane conditions hard to bowl on

 

[AaronT]

When Jason Couch was out here in would have been 97 for the launch of the seawolf they had too oil Capalaba 3 or 4 times just so he could hit the head pin

 

[tonx]

i have heard from people going to the US to bowl that there lane conditions are much more easier for us as Australians to play on.

There are some centres, where I dont think it possible to get any easier in Australia, so I don't think there is as much a difference anymore. We do have hard centres, as im sure the US does, no-one brags about a 150 average, so we don't hear about it.

I think its a case of more bowlers/more chances to score. There are more 'family' bowlers in the US, where the first sport that a 5 year old plays is bowling, as opposed to cricket/football/soccer etc etc. The more bowlers learning at an early age, the more chance of making superstars. Just look at the likes of Brando and Belmo.....

There are quite a few juniors in Australia's ranks, that have the natural ability to shoot high scores, its only a matter of time before they actually do it. I wish them the best of luck!

Cheers!

p.s. Great topic!

 

[Tiger]

I remember one time a couple of American tourists who were league bowlers back home wandered in to Moonah one day to have some games on our lanes.
They were averaging around 215+ at their home centre, but were battling to average 130 on the wood here, with the lacquer peeling up all over the place.

I recall back in 1996 there were a group of US sailors off the USS Carl Vinson that was moored out in the Derwent for some R&R, that actually had their PBA pro ticket, that played in a sort of unofficial Australia vs USA challenge match against a team from Moonah (Rachuig players were away bowling), and they found our conditions very challenging at the time.
They were a great bunch of fellas, and spent up big in the pro-shop and bar during their visits. Even gave PBA patches and shirts to some of the younger players from memory.

Probably just one of those things you'd have to experience for yourself to be able to guage I guess.

 

[Bandaid]

I am a 62 yr old male and I think the last 10-12 years the USA bowling has gotten alot easier. I quit bowling about 15yrs ago, and just recently last year started again. When I quit I had a 191 Avg.and was one of the higher avgs in the house. When I started back I got to 206 avg. right away. I don't think I am a 200 avg bowler, but there is my avg. I think the equipment and lane dreesing they have now makes it alot easier.

 

[Jase]

i wonder if any yanks who come to australia find our lane conditions hard to bowl on

Purvis Granger went ok when he was out here quite a few years ago.

 

[The Iron Man]

If you go to the USBC in Corpus Christi, try out "The BTM" tournament in Aransas Pass (15 min. away). It is the toughest, fairest shot around. In 3 yrs, we haven't had a clean 4-game block. $10 will get you over $15,000 if you can shoot one.

 

[Brenton_Davy]

The House Shot (THS) in the USA is one of the easiest shots in bowling. With ANY sort of game it is nearly impossible to miss the pocket. At the opposite end of the scale, you should see the pattern for the US Open! 1:1 ratio 2 board to 2 board. That is a seriously difficult shot. I know, I played it at the US Open in 2003. It gave you 2 boards area at 45 feet! Was 39th after day one out of 349 on a 209 ave. I figured it out that I would have average over 245 in any Australian event as well as I threw it the first day. Days 2 and 3 reality set in tho and finished 149th. Missed 1st cut by about 100 pins (87th). It really did give an indication tho how easy THS really is though because there were several 235 league players who couldn't break 165 average because they couldn't square up.

The pro-am was on THS and I shot 852 (no tap I know, but it was about 810 in real terms). I had 3 boards area at 45 feet (just each board had an arrow on it!!!!!!!!!)

 

[boybrowny]

Having just returned from almost 7 weeks in the USA (not bowling related - but of course I bowled while I was over there!) I can tell you....

There are MANY ditches !

WHY - Because if bowlers (even wanna-be chuckers) can't average 200 and swing the ball a mile, they go to a bowling alley where they can.

One bowl I went to in Miami, Florida, I saw a junior bowling league where the mean average was over 200...

I had a practice on a set of lanes next to the league, and thought I was going to see some tallented bowlers.

While I practiced (trying to play down the boards at about 6 or 7 board) I thought the lanes weren't that easy...

Then I saw the kids bowl. Stand left, throw right - no control, no accuracy just soft, soft balls and maximum revs (several no-thumb bowlers - no offence Belmo )...

They had almost 10 boards at the break-point...

I moved inside, cranked the ball and couldn't miss the pocket...

went back to the 'down the boards' shot for a challange.


This was not uncommon in many of the centers I went into. Hardest one was the Kegel Training Center - but I can assure you, it was easier to carry there on a sport condition than in many centers in Australia I have bowled in laying sport conditions!

Wanna challange - come to Darwin...

he he he...