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Miscellaneous Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [41-60] [61-80] [81-100] [101-120] [141-160]
[161-180] [181-200] [201-220] Karen November 16, 2005 Altamonte Springs FL Before I get started, let me say my father LOVES you. It's the same love he only shares with my mother, his wife of 54 years. Bowling is his life and you are a large portion of that. Now, having informed you of his adoration, please see if you can help. I've searched the Internet extensively and haven't been able to find the answer. We all know three strikes is a turkey. What we'd like to know is, why is it so called? Any assistance you may provide will be appreciated. Sincerely, Bob Fruik and Karen Herman Hi Bob and Karen, I don't know why three strikes in a row is called a turkey. Sorry. Ron November 14, 2005 As you close in on Earl Anthony's all-time record, I was sort of thinking back about your career and had a couple of questions. There seem to be so many "one-tournament wonders" out there who win one tournament and then never win again. (A good example is Brian Davis. I guess he was in his very first tournament when he defeated you, throwing 299 in the championship match of the Greater Harrisburg Open which was on ESPN Classic. He looked so impressive, but basically never was heard from again as he never won another Tour event. Or a talent like Jimmy Keeth or Kelly Coffman-one victory between them. Or I look through the list on the PBA web site of how many Tour wins guys have and there are even elite players who have only a couple of wins over a very long career of 15 or 20 years. That is to say, that it's very difficult to win on Tour and success seems very fleeting for most where it's only the one good tournament or the one good year. 1. When you started out on the Tour, did you have big goals ("I'm going to win 10 majors!") or were you like a lot of guys dancing on tables as they are happy just to cash or to at least make enough money not to have to work a boring 9-5 job? Did you even begin to envision the success you would have? 2. At what point did you think you would have a chance to go down as one of the best bowlers ever? When you won the 1986 Player of the Year in your breakout year? In 1993 when you won all those tournaments? At what point did you realize you weren't just one of the masses happy just to cash in 50th place? 3. What do you attribute your success to? I think particularly your longevity is extremely impressive. It seems like a lot of players-Mark Roth and Marshall Holman come to mind-really seemed to be only a shadow of themselves by about age 35. Good hand-eye coordination? Emotional maturity? Work ethic? (I know that I'm always somewhat surprised when I hear that many of the top pros just play golf all the time and NEVER practice.) Confidence? Mental game? What do you think your greatest assets are? Hope you get 41 soon. I'll be watching!! Ron Hi Ron, 1. When I started on tour my goals weren't really that high. I thought that I should be able to make a living bowling, but I didn't dream of winning 40 titles. 2. I guess it was in around 1996-7 when I had my 3rd and 4th player of the year awards and then took over the career money lead when I thought that I might be one of the top bowlers. After a couple of years on tour I wasn't as satisfied with cashing or just making the top 24. I guess that I have whatever makes a good player good; talent and determination. But I also like to figure things out. Fortunately I have mostly been able to play on the lane conditions that we bowl on out on the tour. There were also many times that my game gave me an advantage. I can play pretty much any part of the lane, but I seem to have a bit more trouble on a lot of oil. Sometimes I would go through a dry spell, but I would then figure out what I needed to do to be competitive on those conditions. I think that my underhand armswing developed from horseshoe pitching helped me to be a better player without as much practice. I normally don't do a lot of practicing except when I am struggling, such as right now. Eric September 17, 2005 Redding CA Dear, Walter Ray I have been bowling for about 2 years now and am just about to turn 18. My ave. is around 218 and I was thinking about joining a pba event as a non-member just to try and get my foot in the door, do you think 18 is to young to start bowling in the pba. Also i was wondering if you can give me some info on how to go about getting a sponsorship. If you can give me some info it would be great. Thank You ERIC HIBBARD Hi Eric, I don't believe that 18 is too young to bowl in PBA events. Bowling as a non-member would be a great way to see how good you really are. There is a big difference between bowling in league, bowling regional tournaments and bowling tour events. The competition gets better and the lane conditions are normally much more demanding as you step up to the bigger events. Ron September 17, 2005 Manhattan KS Hi Walter Ray, 1. I've been reading various postings on the PBA web site's message boards regarding who the best power player of all time was. I know there was even a survey done. Since you've been on the tour for some 25 years and you've had everybody take their best shot at you, who would you rate as the very best power players of all time? I mean, you've seen them all, Mark Roth, Steve Cook, Robert Smith, "Rudy Revs," Jason Hurd, Steve Hoskins, Jimmy Keeth, etc. I've never seen Kelly Coffman, but the stories about that guy are legendary. Not necessarily who was the most consistent or successful, but who was the most impressive in putting a hurt on the pins? 2. Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable if you feel you are going to end up in a high-scoring environment? You know, that you have to outstrike a Robert Smith to win? I know I've heard that even highly successful stroker pros have tried to change their styles because they didn't feel they could compete in a high-scoring environment. One thing that I always felt that separated you from a lot of other bowlers with a lot of ability as well was that I always felt you never, ever were intimidated by the power players putting up big numbers or if you were bowling a HOF'er like Mark Roth or Marshall Holman. You know, you always seemed to have a lot of confidence and sort of a "The bigger they are, the harder they fall..." mentality. Thanks. Ron Hi Ron, As far as revs and speed, Robert Smith probably has the most power in a top pro. But revs and speed aren't always enough. You also need to have accuracy. If the pins just barely fall down, they still count. Every style has their advantages and disadvantages. I may not like high scoring events, but I have done my fair share of striking. There are some conditions that a Robert Smith will outscore me on and there are others that he will have trouble keeping up with me. The trick is to stay as close to those other guys when you can and then put them away when the advantage is yours. TERESA September 15, 2005 Jacksonville FL Hi Walter Ray, I am a 47 year old league bowler bowling for about 22 years now. (Is it true that it's never too late?)I average 171 - 178. I would like to improve my average. Could you suggest a clinic in Florida that I might be able to attend that might help me. I've tried different persons giving me advice but it hasn't seem to help my consistency. I had the experience of bowling a 300 in March of 2001(avg of 173) even then my series was only 632. I am not even sure I have a properly drilled ball for my hand. (I am a righty)If I had to describe my bowling in general it would be " spastic". I feel that even on a bad day I should not be bowling 40 or more pins under average and specially after bowling a 200 or up game. Sometimes it just seems to " disappear so quick. I forget what to do or it stops working. Anyway I would like some professional assistance and I am willing to travel anywhere in Florida. Thank you for your help, Teresa Martin Hi Teresa, I am sure that there are some good bowling coaches in your area. I do know that Kendra Gaines down near Orlando gives lessons and should be a great coach. Then there is the Kegel facility down near Lake Wales. After 22 years it may be a bit difficult to change some of your habits which aren't working for you, but with a lot of work improvement can happen! Good luck and have fun! Ray September 25, 2005 Monterey MA I know you are a very busy person but we are starting a high school bowling league. The first one in the state of MA. We hope to eventually get it so that the schools will pay for it but now we have to raise money. I was wondering if when the tour comes to Conn. could you schedule a time to come to my house? Most of the bowlers thta are joining the high school team have never bowled and I though it would be a good thing to have a Pro like you come and talk to them. I think my sat league would enjoy it too. Thank you for your time Ray Hi Ray, As you can imagine I get a lot of requests like yours. It is impossible for me to honor all of them and I have not been able to come up with a fair way to say "Yes" to some and "No" to others. Because of that, I am forced to decline all such invitations. I hope you understand. However, if you want to bring some of your team members to the tournament in CT...I would suggest that you try to bowl in the pro-ams and talk to myself and other top pros at that time. The pro-ams are designed for fan interaction and all of the guys are more that willing to talk to the amateurs! Hope to see you there! Ron October 17, 2005 State College PA I recently saw the movie, "A League of Ordinary Gentlemen." While I generally enjoyed the movie, I was not at all impressed with former PBA CEO, Steve Miller. He came across as condescending to the players, and I took great exception to him openly rooting for Pete Weber when Pete faced you in the '03 World Championship. I wondered how you felt about Miller's reactions. It looked like, if anything, you just used it for motivation. I did not shed any tears when I heard that Miller was stepping down. I think he was originally a poor choice, despite his marketing prowess, because he knew nothing about bowling. The "in-your-face" attitude he seemed to favor did not represent what I expect or want to see from pro bowlers. Perhaps he was right, though, that the 18-25 male demographic that he was pursuing wants to see more of this. In any case, I enjoyed your parts of the movie, and appreciate the good sportsmanship you always show. I would be interested in any comments ! you had relative to that aspect of the movie. Thanks, Ron Hi Ron, I didn't always agree with Steve Miller as the movie showed, but he did do a lot of good things for the PBA. I am not an in your face kind of guy. I would like to think that knocking down pins is the best way to beat your opponent. Jacob September 22, 2005 Chatham NY Hey Walter Ray, my name is jacob bersch and i need help with my senior exhibition. My senior Exhibition is on "can you live off being a professional bowler", if you can help me with that, it would be awesome. thank you if you can help. Jacob Hi Jacob, I don't know how I can help you with your senior exhibition, but I can tell you that it is possible to make a living as a professional bowler. Most do it by operating a pro shop, but a few of us do it by throwing a bowling ball. I have been very fortunate to make a comfortable living in my 23 years on tour. Justin September 20, 2005 East Setauket NY Hello Walter Ray i have only one question if your ever have to come to long island,new york can you please bowl at port jeff bowl in port jefferson new york and if you ever think about it can you post it.Thank you Hi Justin, I do come to Long Island to bowl, but about the only way I will be bowling at Port Jeff Bowl is if they have a special event in which I participate. There are over 6000 bowling centers in the US and I can't go to each and every one of them. Baho August 28, 2005 Nashville TN Dear Walter Ray, How are you? I hope that you are well! This is my third letter that I have wrote to you and I very hope to get your respond for it. My name is Bakhodir from Uzbekistan (it was part of USSR) and I am 29 years old. I start to bowl here about 2,5 years and I love to do it everyday at our Uzbolwing center. My average is about 203, but sometimes it gets worse when I do different things. A couple days ago I had a big chance to win invitation to the AMF World Cup 2005 as a participant from Uzbekistan. But I became in 3 place so couldn't make it because here is NO any teacher or persons who can give useful lessons. So I'm writing you to ask to practice with you while you are doing it there in United States. I want you to be my teacher or coach so I can learn strategy and secret of perfect bowling. I know that my country is very far from US but anyway I will be able to visit you as soon as you say OK. I have been in US twice so I can speak and understand English well. And I think that my bowling style is very closer to yours. However, I want to visit Germany (10th to 18th September) to participate on the 1st Viernheim Open 2005 Tournament soon. I am trying to visit all big bowling international tournaments to learn and to see how other bowlers bowl. Last month I participated at Moscow Summer Open 2005 where I have played 10 games with average 201. So have to get to improve myself with professional bowler like you. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your great concern. Sincerely Yours, Bakhodir Arifov p.s. I have house in Nashville, TN Hi Bakhodir, I don't normally give lessons. If you want lessons you need to let me know when you are available as I have a very limited time since I do a lot of traveling. If we can't get together I can give you names of good coaches. Michael August 16, 2005 Roachdale IN Hello is there anyplace that i can get some free info on bowling . General info.such as equiment drilling throwing a great game . any info you can give me Hi Michael, There are books that you could borrow from the library. Ask the librarian for help. You might be able to find some information on the internet. There are many "discussion boards" and a good amount of technical information readily available. Ravi August 15, 2005 Dubai UAE Dear Walter Ray, I would appreciate if you could help with me the following: I am an 170 average bowler who started playing regularly of lately and hooking the ball just 8 months ago and now I am looking for a good coach or bowling school with one to one instruction in the United states. I live in Dubai which is in the Middle East and wouldn't mind travelling half the world away for a week of coaching as the best schools and coaches are in USA.I have shorlisted three coaches/schools for this purpose after doing a bit of a research. 1. Bill Hall's Next Level Bowling (individual coaching) 2. Kegel Training Centre (group coaching) 3. Dick Ritger's Bowling Clinic ( individual coaching) Could you advise which one of the above coach/school will be suitable and worthwile for me to attend and obtain good results? I understand you have a lot of mail to answer and expect a reply from you at your convenience. Thanks very much Ravi. Hi Ravi, Any of those 3 coaches/facilities should be good for anybody. I would also add Kendra Gaines who works out of the Orlando area or Mark Baker out of Southern California. Mark helped me a couple of years ago to regain my form when it was a bit off. I can't personally speak on how good the others are. I am sure they all have something that they can offer you. There are also many other coaches in the U.S. You might want to go to Web sites and post a message that you are looking for a good coach. Best wishes. Chris July 28, 2005 Greenville SC Hi, my name is Chris Hamblin and I have watched you bowl for over ten years. You are by far one of the most consistent bowlers I have ever seen. I bowled in about 5 or 6 Junior Pro Ams, but never had the chance to bowl with you. I stopped bowling when i was about 14 with a 230 average. I bowled as a junior for about 6 years and one day I just kinda walked away from it and never turned back until now. I'm 24 years old and I have recently been bowling here and there with my friends. I now have the passion for it again. My main question is should I follow my feling and trying to go pro with it, or have I just waited too long to get back into it. I don't have alot of money to put in to it, but its something I really feel that would bring me joy in life. I would love to have it as a career, but I dont want to live in poverty to enjoy what I do. Is it hard to get sponsored? Is it possible to maintain a normal day job until you earn some winnings? Thank you so much for taking time to read this, I really hope you read this and to hear back from you. Thanks-Chris Hamblin Hi Chris, Being a professional bowler doesn't guarantee that you will make good money. But if you are pretty good you should be able to make more than you spend. It is normally tough to get sponsors, but if you meet the right people that can help. You have a couple of talented young players who live in your area, so it would be good to see if you can bowl in leagues with them to compare yourself. You can also bowl regional tournaments as a non-member to see how you compare to them. Stephanie July 19, 2005 Factoryville PA Hi! I was 11 years old on Valentines Day and My Average is 141, my high game is 211 (that was in practice, unfortunately), and my high series is 504. But when I bowled my 211 I thought I could do it again soon and I began trying almost too hard and I started to go downhill from there. I asked one of the people that work at my bowling lanes to help me and he did. I got better and better and better. I haven't had a 200 game since though. The closest was a 193. I keep wondering when I will get my other one. What do I have to do to get another one, other than try? And as my average goes up do you think it will get a little harder to keep it up? I only have 2 more questions. How do you ajust to the lane conditions? I'm going to the Keystone State Games on July 28th(i think!) and personally the only thing I worried about is the lane conditions, competition is the leat thing I'm worried about. Can you give me advice on how to ajust to the Lane Conditions? Thanks for your help. Your Fan, Stephanie Sheridan Hi Stephanie, I hope you did well at the Keystone Games. Bowling high games is always exciting, but it isn't something that you are going to do all the time. I would worry more about keeping your scores at or above your average as that would mean that you are improving and that makes competing more fun. Remember that you aren't always going to bowl as well as you want to. Adjusting to lane conditions can be very complicated, but a simple thing that works most of the time is to move your feet and target in the direction that your ball ends up in relation to the pocket. In other words if you throw the ball well and the ball ends up right of the pocket, then you should move your feet and target right. Normally you will want to move your feet more than your target. The biggest key is to pay attention to your deliveries and know when you throw a good shot. Shirley(Sammy)July 16, 2005 Westville IL We enjoyed seeing you in Danville.Illinois but did not want to bother you,but we do want to know when your movie is out and do you know where close to us we can see it. We follow the tour every year and was in Indianapolis in March to watch.We were sorry you weren't there the day we were. I don't understand what they mean when they say you are exempt? Anyway your movie is what we are interested in. Will it eventually be shown on ESPN if we can't find us close to us. Kuddos to Paige for being your secretary. Sammy Hi Sammy, Here is a website for dates and locations for the documentary movie, A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, http://www.magpictures.com/distribution/playdates4.php . I don't know if the movie will be shown on ESPN or any other cable network. But I would imagine that someday it probably will. At a 'normal' PBA tour event there are 64 players in the tournament. 58 players are exempt which means that they are seeded into each of the regular tournaments. The other 6 spots given out as follows: 4 are earned each week by PBA players in a qualifying tournament, 1 is also earned each week by a non PBA player in that same qualifying tournament, and the last one is given to a bowler by the PBA commissioner. If a player isn't exempt, it is very difficult to make money on the PBA tour. Exemptions are gained by winning a major in previous years, winning a tour tournament in the previous season, being one of the top point leaders at the end of the previous season totaling 40 players. 7 exemptions are given to each of the point leaders from each of the 7 regions. 11 exemptions are given to the high finishers in the tour trials. There are special exemptions for injuries or other special circumstances. Ravi July 10, 2005 Dubai UAE Hi Walter Ray, My name is Ravi. I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East. I was browsing through the web looking for bowling schools or coaches for myself and saw your website. I am looking for a good professional bowling school to improve my game. I am an intermdiate player averaging 160-170 and want to improve my game as in August 2005 I am playing at the World Airlines Bowling Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand. I wouldn't mind going to USA for a 5 to 7 day coaching programme by the end of July 2005. There are quite a few schools that I found on the Internet and also a few coaches who do personalised coaching. But I have no idea who is the best and where i could really improve my skills of the game. Would you be able to advise me where I should go to improve my bowling. Which School?Which Coach? Please note that as there is no such facility here in Dubai I have to travel 14 hours and 10,000 miles away for this purpose and I want to make the best use of it. Please advise. Thanks very much, Ravi Chandran Hi Ravi, I am sorry that this didn't get answered in a timely fashion for you. There are many good coaches here in the states. Down here in Florida, there are also many good coaches. I haven't worked with them, but I am sure that most of them would be good. I have heard that one of the best places is the Kegel training center. I know that Kendra Gaines out of Orlando gives lessons. You might want to post a message on a bowling website. I don't normally give lessons. Quentin June 14, 2005 Chicago IL Hi I was wondering would you happen to know when your movie "A League of ordinary Gentlmen is due to show here in Chicago? Thanks much Quentin B. Hi Quentin, According to the info on Magnolia's website, http://www.magpictures.com/distribution/playdates4.php the dates for Chicago are August 24th. Steven May 23, 2005 Norrristown PA Dear Walter Ray, For the past six months I have carried a 208 average and shot a 300 game. Coaches in my Saturday morning league feel they have to keep giving me advice about game and style. Instead of improving I have hit an all time low, shooting games in the 150's. Obviously, I didn't need advice, but I have allowed their thoughts to creep in. How can I regain my confidence and love for the game? Secondly, do you give lessons? Judging that your a busy person, I doubt you would have time, plus I probably could not afford them. Lastly, would going back to the "basics" help me to find my style again? I have been bowling for 13 years, I started when I was three years old. Anything you can recommend,(i.e. style, form, mental ect.) will certainly be appreciated. I look to you as a role model for sportsmanship and as a champion of the game. Thank you for reading this e-mail. Sincerely, Steven C. Iacovino Hi Steven, You need to determine if your scores due to performance or lane conditions. Most junior coaches are trying to help you. Some of them aren't qualified to instruct a top bowler but that doesn't mean that your coaches aren't. Basics are usually a very good thing to go to at all times. Depending on your style, some basics might not work so well. But something normally works well for everybody is having a good follow through. I don't normally give lessons as even during the summer when I am off tour I am still pretty busy. If your average is 208 and you have a high game of around 270, according to statistics, you should have a low game of 146! Without the poor games the good games wouldn't seem so good. Keep working on it and try to filter all of the tips that you get. Geri May 14, 2005 Milton WA Why do bowlers where two different shoes? Was watching bowling this AM and he had a black shoe and a white shoe. Something to do with sticking or sliding? Hi Geri, The different color shoes has more to do with finding a shoe which slides for the surface that he is bowling on and not worrying about the push off shoe. That is one of the reason that some shoes, Dexter for example, have different soles and heels to deal with that. Kimberlee April 17, 2005 Hope MI Got any pets? I have two parrots, they both talk and my African Gray can say Walter Ray! I think I've been watching bowling too long. Hi Kimberlee, I don't have any pets. I'm so proud! How many other pros can say they are even popular outside their species? Thanks for the support (both species)…smile. Miscellaneous Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [41-60] [61-80] [81-100] [81-100] [101-120] [141-160] [161-180] [181-200] [201-220] | ||