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Tour Information Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [41-60] [61-80] [101-120] [121-140] [141-160] [161-180] Nathan November 16, 2004 Bad Axe MI Hey Walter Ray, I was wondering about sponsorships. You see i am a decent bowler and i know there is improvements, but i don't have the money or know how to fix them. I would love to make the Pba Tour but i don't have the money on my own because i am a freshmen in college, but know with a little help i could make the PBA. So what i am asking is how to get info on sponsors for rookies and coaches/trainer. Thanks Ray i know u get a lot and are probably tired of answering questions but please take the time and answer mine it would mean a lot to me. Thanks again your fan(maybe your opponent some day) Hi Nathan, Since you are a freshman in college, it might be best to get a part time job at a bowling center so that it is less expensive to bowl. It would be nearly impossible to get a sponsor until you have bowled very well somewhere. For good inexpensive coaching it might be best to try and get on a bowling team at a college. If your university doesn't have a bowling team, then you could look into transferring to another college that does if you really want to become a professional bowler. Good luck. Hartwyn November 7, 2004 Kingston OH hey walter what do you think of the pba's new format of a 64 man bracket Hi Hartwyn, I am not crazy about elimination formats. I would rather bowl in formats that use total pins to make the cuts. Matt November 1, 2004 Milbank SD Hi my name is Matt Wellnitz and i am currently bowling in a small town in SD and i carry a 200avg and i am wondering how you went at going to the PBA and how hard was it for you. I am wondering if you could give a description of how you would go about helping a young bowler acheive a self goal at tryin to be on the tour sometime. Do you pay for each of your tournament out of your own pocket or how did you afford getting in the tournaments before you had sponsors and were not as great as you are now. How much does a avg PBA tour tournament cost and how do you get into one of them. Thank You for your time and i would greatly appreciate a response. Thank You again Matt Hi Matt, The tour has changed quite a bit since I joined 25 years ago. But I started by bowling local tournaments with handicap. When I got better I started to bowl mainly scratch tournaments and eventually the local professional tournaments. It helped that I lived in southern California at the time and there were many tournaments to bowl that a good bowler could make some money at. After a couple of years of bowling regional tournaments and finishing college, I went out on tour. Your best route for getting on tour is to bowl regional tournaments. If you are the top bowler in your region at the end of the season you will get an exemption on tour. The only other way to get an exemption is to either win a national tournament (tough to get into those) or be one of the top players at the qualifying school. Both ways are very difficult. But if you bowl regional tournaments and aren't being competitive in them, you maybe aren't ready for tour. Good luck! Matt June 12, 2004 London England Hi Walter Ray I would just like to know a bit more about you. I am 15 i live in London and my average is 215 i am 15 years old. My dream is to be able to play on the pro tour and acheive everything that you have done. My highest series is 806 and i have had 1 300 game. I would like to know when u started bowling and how good u were when you were younger. Thank you very much for your time Matt Look forward to recieving a reply from you. Hi Matt, I bowled one year when I was 11-12. I didn't bowl much until I was a senior in high school when I was 17. I averaged around 170 at that time. I didn't bowl for about 9 months before I turned 19 and haven't been away from bowling much since then. I first averaged over 200 that summer when I was 19 when I averaged 224 and 216 in two different leagues after averaging 188 for the previous winter season. Jerry May 30, 2004 Milton FL Good day. My name is Jerry Bohlman I just recently started bowling the PBA Regionals in hopes of being able to move on to the National level. As you already know sponsorships for bowling is very hard to come by. Do you have any ideas that would help me find a sponsor so I can compete at all the Regionals? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will be bowling in Phenix City at the Mega money Tournament so if you will be there I hope to be able to talk with you a bit if you have the time, if not I will not be bowling in any tournaments until the Masters in Milwaukee. Once again thank you for your time. Jerry Bohlman Fellow PBA Bowler Hi Jerry, To get a sponsor or more realistically sponsors, you would need to go out and ask the local bowlers in your area who might have some extra money to invest in you. This is a very difficult thing to do, but I know guys who have done it. I noticed that you did get a check at the regional in Phenix City which is a good thing. Unfortunately you struggled the 2nd round. Best wishes in your upcoming events and the Masters. Paul May 29, 2004 St. Charles MO Walter, miss seeing you on tour are you enjoying your new home??? Also, would you explain bowling sidepots and brackets using a PBA format. I understand you draw names from a hat and pay around $10 for the right to draw several times.But, when do you bowl sidepots and brackets??? After you bowl the qualifing squad. Is the tournament director responsible for getting people to bowl sidepots and brakets? Hi Paul, The PBA doesn't have sidepots or brackets in PBA tournaments. These 'gambling' events take place during league or non-PBA tournaments using the games bowled. You could go to a local top scratch league and I am sure that they will have sidepots and brackets. Then you would have first hand knowledge of how these work. Kurt May 26, 2004 Pearl River NY Hi Walter Ray, With all the changes the tour has seen, do you feel that the Player of the Year honor is as prestigious as it once was? I believe that the reduced number of tournaments, elimination match play and top 8 seedings leave at lot to chance as to who wins the honor. Starting next season with the exempt tour and the elimination of qualifying rounds, I think the honor will be diminished even more. Obviously you are still out to win each tournament, but do you feel that the changes make it hard to compare the level of success you are having now to the 90's? Hi Kurt, I don't believe that the PBA Player of the Year award is diminished by the new formats and shorter season. But I do agree that a lot more luck goes into a player being voted PoY. I will continue to do the best that I can, but sometimes a player needs some good breaks. Tyler May 15, 2004 Columbus GA Walter Ray, Are you bowling in the Phenix City Open at Bama Lanes on June 11-13? Hi Tyler, Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Yes, I will be competing at Bama Lanes this weekend. I am scheduled to be on “C” squad, that is supposed to start at 6:30 pm. However, 3 squad tournaments often run late. Carlos May 14, 2004 San Antonio TX One time after somebody bowled on the wrong lane of the two lane pair in league play, I wondered to myself what would happen in a PBA tournament if that happened, so I figured who better to ask than one of the greatest bowlers from the PBA. So what is the rule on bowling on the wrong lane of the pair in a PBA tournament, and have you ever seen it happen. Any reply would be appreciated. P.S. I wish you all the best. Hi Carlos, I believe that the ABC rule is that the shot doesn’t count if bowled on the wrong lane and would be thrown over. That is what the PBA used to follow. It has happened a fair amount of times since players would move lanes or a player would not pay attention. It was then noticed that since players are not allowed practice shots when they moved from pair to pair that a dishonest player might bowl on the wrong lane to gain an unfair advantage. So the PBA instituted a rule whereby a bowler who bowls on the incorrect lane would get the score for that shot if it wasn’t a strike and would have to throw the shot over if it was a strike. Ryan Kerman CA Hi Walter Ray, My question is : Do you like the new or old match play format more? Good luck next season. Hi Ryan, I prefer the old style of qualifying and round robin match play as opposed to elimination matches as I feel that the more games a bowler bowls, the better the odds are that the better players will come to the top. It turns out that so far, I have done better in the elimination match play format than I originally thought I would, but I still don't think it is the best way to find the best bowler. Mike April 10, 2004 Hi Walter Ray, When you are on tour, do you prefer to eat at chain restaurants or to try local places? Hi Mike, We are more likely to eat at chain restaurants as we are semi familiar with their menus. But we have found many great local places in our travels. Rita April 9, 2004 Council Bluffs IA When will they decide the player of the year? I am still hoping that it is you. My husband and I think you are definitely the best bowler in the PBA. We enjoy watching all the players but feel that you stand out above the rest. Thanks, and Good Luck Hi Rita, As of this date, I haven't received a ballot from the PBA for voting on the Player of the Year. All PBA members are allowed to vote for the Player of the Year awards. I don't know if I am the best candidate for Player of the Year this season. I feel like I would be the #2 player for that award. Since Mika Koivuniemi has more money, more points and a higher average than I do, he might be the favorite. The only things that I have going for me is that I have more match play appearances, cashes and I managed to win a major tournament. The other interesting thing is that I did beat Mika twice on TV this year, which happen to be the only TV finals in which he didn't make it to the title match. Steve Jaros managed to be the only player to win 3 titles, but was well down the lists on money (6th), points (9th), and average (13th). Brad Angelo led the point list, but was unable to win a tournament. He was also 5th in average, and 9th in earnings. Pete Weber, who won the US Open, finished 3rd in money, 4th in points and 12th in average. I was 2nd in money, 3rd in points, and 3rd in average. Based on this information I would probably vote for Mika. But I am very happy with my year, especially considering my results in the first 10 tournaments. . Unknown April 24, 2004 Will non exempt bowlers be able to bowl in the ABC Masters, US Open and World Championship next year(2004-05)? Hi Unknown, The ABC Masters, US Open and PBA World Championships are open to all bowlers who meet the minimum requirements such as a 200 average and memberships in the either the ABC for the Masters or PBA for the PBA World Championships. Bill April 2, 2004 Decatur IL Taking personality out of the question.....what is the feeling about a 49 year old professional recieving a 5 year exemption? Does that mean he will have an automatic into PBA events and still be able to part-time the Senior PBA events? With such limited spots available on tour it seems as if the 5 year exemption makes it tougher on potential young players to get a shot at the tour. Many of us are unhappy about men who have been faithful to the PBA for years being put on the sidelines!!!!!! Is the all-exempt tour going to last? Thanks, Bill Hi Bill, Tom Baker is a great guy and all of us “oldies” were happy to see him get there. But, Tom was one tournament away from not being exempt next year and now he has a 5 year exemption. As you mentioned in your 3rd paragraph, he is one of those career players who would have been put on the sidelines had he not won! It is definitely going to be tougher for young players coming out on tour and for players to stay on tour. But it should never have been as easy as it was. I believe that the PBA has already changed the exemption for next year and it will only be a 4 year exemption, which might still be a bit long. The PBA Player of the Year has only a 1 year exemption along with all of the other top point players! I can’t say if the all exempt tour will last, only the people in the PBA office can tell you that. Stanley April 1, 2004 Taylor MI When are you coming to michgan Hi Stanley, I was just in Michigan (March 15-22) for the PBA World Championships in the Detroit area. I don’t know the PBA’s schedule for next year, but I am pretty sure that we are again going to Taylor. This last season we also had a tournament near Grand Rapids and I would expect to go there again this next season. Ryan March 29, 2004 Kerman CA Will the PBA World Championship, ABC Masters and US Open be exempt players only? Oh, bowl as good in the 04-05 season as you did in the 02-03 season. Hi Ryan, The PBA World Championships are open to all PBA members I believe. And the ABC Masters is open to all bowlers with over a 200 average (maybe 190). The US Open is open to all male bowlers with an average of 200 or higher. I may have some of the exact facts incorrect on some of these, but basically I should be pretty close. You might want to email the PBA office to make sure I’m correct Kimmy March 24, 2004 Wixom Lake MI Hello. Just watched the tape of Sunday's telecast and to my surprise you weren't on. Got beat by a rookie hah? Wanted to be there cheering on the great one, but had to work unexpectedly. It was wonderful to watch Tom Baker win. I was so scared he was going to leave that 7-10 split in the 10th. After 28 years, the bowling Gods were with him. I guess the only question I have is if you were bowling T.Baker for the title would it have been hard to beat him knowing he's 49 and this might be his last shot at a title? Congrats on being the comeback kid this year. Hope you come out swinging in the fall and don't wait so long to get on tv. K N Hi Kimmy, Wes Malott is a very good bowler and it is surprising that he hadn't made a TV finals before. It was nice to see Tom win. Considering that he was so close to being non-exempt and now he has a 5 year exemption, it was quite a fairy tale finish for him. It would have been interesting to bowl Tom for the title. Maybe next year we can bowl for a title and I can get him back for his 9th title! Ray March 24, 2004 Honey Brook PA Hi it is Ray Huffman again i just have a couple of questions to ask you about the your job as a Pro Bowler 1. What are some working conditons. 2. The hours you put into in proving your game. 3. The how much money would you say if i started off becomeing a pro bowler in the first year. 4. The benefits that you get out of the job/career. 5. The education or training that you would need to become a pro bowler. 6. How is the pba organized in getting the tourments togather. 7. Your personal qualifications for the job/career. 8. The employment outlook meaning is there a good chance that i could become a pro bowler. 9. The advancements in the job/career. 10. The application process in becoming a pro bowler. The cons and pros about Pro bowling. I doing a school project in how to become a pro bowler and if there is anyother additional information please feel free to give it to me thank you. Hi Ray, Being a professional bowler is unlike most typical jobs in that you only are paid if you perform well. Also there are entry fees involved and other expense, so most professional bowlers actually don't really earn money when compared to their expenses. Also, it is possible to have another 'real' job and be a professional bowler. That is actually the case for most PBA members. 1. Working conditions - they are varied, but are normally in a bowling center. 2. Time in improving - It depends on the player. But I would say that most pros probably average about 50 games a week which is about 25 hours of bowling if in competition or 8 if in practice. But that is probably a low number, especially if a player wants to improve. 3. First year pros normally don't make much money. In fact most will spend more than they will make. 4. There aren't too many benefits from being a professional bowler unless you are successful and then you will get satisfaction from doing well and some good money (if you are good enough). 5. You don't need any real school education to be a successful bowler. The training that you get is from all of the experience that you get from bowling other tournaments and practice. 6. The PBA has a staff that takes care of getting host bowling centers, sponsors and TV contracts. You might want to contact them regarding this question. 7. My personal qualifications for being a professional bowler are that I am the all time money leader. 8. Being a professional bowler is fairly simple, average 200 for years. Making money at it is not so easy. Out of 4,000 PBA members, probably less than 75 actually make any decent amount of money doing it. 9. The advancements in bowling are limited to how good you are. 10. Contact the PBA about joining. The bare minimum is averaging 200. I hope this helps. Robert March 16, 2004 HI I have some more questions for you. How much does the avg. person make $ a year. And what made you think and become a pro bowler when you were a kid. Because I have thinking for the last few years I want to become a pro and I have been bowling in a High School league for 3 years and in a morning league for abut 8 to 10 years. The highest avg. I had was 212 I kept it for about 3 weeks now I have a 190 avg. and its been there for about 1 1/2 years. But please try to come here to bowl it would be realy cool to talk to you so here is my phone # 1-507-xxx-xxxx Thank - You Robert Schroepfer Hi Robert, The average professional bowler makes less than $10,000 per year bowling. When you consider that there are over 4,000 professional bowlers and only about 50 are making enough money to live off of, the odds are pretty tough. Averaging 212 for 3 weeks is good, but to be a top professional, you would need to be able to average 240 on an easy condition like that at most bowling centers for up to 20 games. Keep working at it and don't forget your studies! Good luck. Zackary March 12, 2004 Canton IL Hi, my name is Zack Lane and I'm a big fan of yours. I seen your loss to Scroggins and I was hoping for you to win. I was wondering how I could get on the circuit somehow? I carry averages from 202 to 222 and would like to explore my options (and a dream of mine) to go pro. I would like to know how I can get my foot in the door? Thank you for your time. Good luck on your next tournament. Best of Luck, Zackary Lane Hi Zackary, Since the PBA tour is going to be all exempt next year your options are limited. Your average is high enough to join the PBA, but you will only be able to bowl in regional tournaments or one of the three majors, ABC Masters, US Open, and PBA World Championships. To become exempt you would have to be in the top 50 on the current point list. Since you aren't on tour this year, that isn't going to happen. There will be a PBA tour trials in early June where 8 spots will be given to players. But you need to bowl in 5 PBA tournaments before then. There will be 4 spots at each tournament next year if a player wants to travel the tour to get into events. Then after next season the top point earners from each region will receive an exemption and the Tour Trials will have around 10 spots. But to be able to go to the Tour Trials starting next year you will have to be in the top 10 - 20 % of your region for the year. I would contact the PBA and your regional director to see about entering tournaments so that you can get started! Good luck. Tour Information Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [41-60] [61-80] [101-120] [121-140] [141-160] [161-180] | ||