What type of bowler are you?

[ArtVandelay]

Sometimes I read posts that make me realize I dont take bowling very seriously... Perhaps its odd Im on this forum. But I enjoy bowling, i like reading most of what everyone has to say about bowling, and I DO want to get better at bowling, I just never want it to lose its fun.

If a time comes when I become to serious to have fun, I think I will quit. I dont see that happening, but Im interested to know:

Are you a serious bowler, or purely recreational?

I tried to submit a poll, but couldnt get it to work...

[Zothen]

I leagues i'm a serious bowler and always want to win,but,I have learned to try and have some fun as well.

Zothen

[SouthpawTRK]

I feel that I'm a mixture of a serious bowler and a recreational bowler.

Part of me is a serious bowler in the sense that I want to have some type of foundation to become a better bowler. I want to know what type of ball will work for me and the lanes that I'm bowling on.

The other part of me wants to have fun; whether it's bowling in a social league, winning small bets against my friends and shooting high numbers.

I feel that it would be difficult just to be either a serious bowler or just a recreational bowler; to me there has to be a balance between the two.

[billf]

I always have fun. At work I even sing, crack jokes, etc.
I'm serious about being a better bowler and coach. One thing I stress though is, ALWAYS HAVE FUN. I enjoy this forum. For me it is fun. Practice is fun. Analyzing video is fun. Maybe it's because I like the challenges or I'm just too stupid to know any better. I've been that way with any sport I've participated in. If it seems like too much work, then it's time for a break.
I can also be caught singing to myself on the approach. Life is too short to not enjoy as much of it as you can.

[Rdmonster]

I gotta say I do it for fun but I like to be the best I can be.....I take that part kinda seriously....the learning and reading about technique. At league or with friends I am having fun.

[Hammer]

I am both. I am a serious bowler to the point that I try to do the best I can that night. I practice to try and improve myself on any weak points in my game. I don't go nuts though and practice every day of the week. If I have a bad night, which happens to all of us now and then, I don't start throwing my ball on the floor and get mad and stop talking to people. If I do bowl bad I usually make jokes about it which relaxes me. I talk to members of the team we bowl against and sometimes we talk about our games if we are bowling good or bad. I have seen people on our league get mad and throw their ball on the floor or swear. This makes the people on the team you are bowling against and your team members plus the folks bowling on either side of you uncomfortable. HELLO! You are not doing this for a living so lighten up. Just to keep things light if I am bowling lousy my team member Trish will tell me hey Stan, you suck. You have to know Trish. She is a nice lady and funny. When she tells me this I laugh and say I sure do. So I like to be a serious bowler but I also want to have fun on league night even if I can't bowl worth a darn. Sometimes you have it and sometimes you don't. That's life. Every day in our life is not a good one but we get over it. So it should be in our bowling.

[MisterSinister]

I am serious enough to try to improve every week, but don;t take it so serious that it drives me nuts. I want to have fun, but I want to win. In the end, I would have to say more fun, recreational, than serious. If your not a pro, it should be more fun than serious.

[striker12]

im a serious bowler but to my self but im friendly and stay happy all the time when on the lanes.

[e-tank]

Im like you Art, i play to have fun but also still want to get better

[noeymc]

i am always serious cuz i am so competitive

[J Anderson]

Are you a serious bowler, or purely recreational?


I don't know any more. Just like I don't know if I'm right or left handed. I used to be strictly recreational, only one league, only one ball for thirty years, no tournaments, occasionally bowling with friends. Then I tried the sport league. Now I'm at the alley at least 3 days a week, have four balls for each hand, and actually dragged my wife to the alley Saturday to shoot some video of my practice before it started snowing.

I really enjoy the bowling more in the sport league.

The recreational league I enjoy for the company of friends that I've made over the last 37 years.

[ssclary]

I am quickly becoming serious, been bowling regularly for just over a year. I find myself working at trying to get better and better and raising my average. I am an extremist in everything I do, can never just invest a little, sometimes to a fault. I have to tell myself to take a couple days off every other week or so. I could go everyday and bowl, but that usually just makes me more crazy and as the wife says " your doing it again" meaning I am trying too hard and I end up pressing too much. I want to bowl every morning and every night each day. I am starting to think I should leave the handicap league behind and go scratch. Seems like all the better bowlers are there, the averages are 200 +/- 15. I think it would help my game improve as I would be the low guy and wouldn't be able to survive without getting better. I am capable of beating the majority of the bowlers in the handicap league straight up. In the end I want to be consistent and know when I show up that I can hang with the high rollers.

I enjoy bowling and really love the challenge of figuring out the lanes, balls, oil patterns and how to perform under pressure...

[75lockwood]

Am i a serious bowler? Yup i like to be competitive and constantly improve, but i never have a bad time bowling, if i'm doing poorly i try something crazy to try and get strikes, sometimes it works sometimes not but its always fun (and funny to watch)

[austin]

For myself, definitely both. When in the players area very much the fun sort of bowler laughing and joking with the other bowlers, but as soon as my foot hits the approach, it is all about business.

[Keithalw]

consider my self a little of both

[Brother_jd]

I love to have fun, but I am as serious as it comes.

[J Anderson]

I am quickly becoming serious, been bowling regularly for just over a year. I find myself working at trying to get better and better and raising my average. I am an extremist in everything I do, can never just invest a little, sometimes to a fault. I have to tell myself to take a couple days off every other week or so. I could go everyday and bowl, but that usually just makes me more crazy and as the wife says " your doing it again" meaning I am trying too hard and I end up pressing too much. I want to bowl every morning and every night each day. I am starting to think I should leave the handicap league behind and go scratch. Seems like all the better bowlers are there, the averages are 200 +/- 15. I think it would help my game improve as I would be the low guy and wouldn't be able to survive without getting better. I am capable of beating the majority of the bowlers in the handicap league straight up. In the end I want to be consistent and know when I show up that I can hang with the high rollers.

I enjoy bowling and really love the challenge of figuring out the lanes, balls, oil patterns and how to perform under pressure...

Sounds like you have the right attitude to enjoy bowling scratch.

Our scratch league loses a lot of bowlers to the other Monday night league in the fall. Some just can't take the shock of finding out they're not as good as they think they are. Others see that there's a much bigger potential payout in the other league.

[swingset]

I'm a very serious recreational bowler. :D

I take my own game serious and try to always improve but I generally don't care very much about my standings or even my team's standings. I'm a poor team-mate if that matters to you, I'll bowl my best but what everyone else does doesn't really factor in to my game. Even if I feel competitive towards someone else, I don't tend to let it show.

I can just as easily bowl with friends and completely screw off and enjoy it...but internally I want every shot to be a strike.

[billf]

In my opinion, the best teammates don't let the others game affect theirs. They just bowl their best while having a good time.

[crimsoneyes]

I find I'm too serious when i bowl league. I bowl way better on random days with friends even on awful conditions. If im bowling poorly i make even worse shots and get angrier. I'm slowly learning to breath after a bad shot and then go get another drink. My brother-in-law bowls a slightly higher average than me and as such feels that its his duty to correct any mistake I might make. He also tends to criticize me for bringing 3 balls to league since he only needs one. That is, until his taboo starts hooking uncontrollably and i do better than him. Im doing my best to remember that when bowling is no longer enjoyable for me I need to either quit bowling with certain people or quit all together. More likely the former.

[Flyer41]

I am a serious bowler when league comes around, but when it's purely recreational I just have fun. I shoot consistent 220's during competition/practicing, but when I'm messing around with friends I have to really struggle to get 200. I guess my mindsets are just that different in the two situations.

[remix]

I consider myself a serious bowler but not necessarily a competitive bowler. I am somewhat obsessed with having the right equipment. Always trying to add balls or try drillings that will up my performance under different conditions. I've taken lessons from Pros to correct problems, bought the videos and read as many things I can to add to my game when if fits. When I bowl it's always for fun. Whether it's League or a Tournament if I bowl great it's rewarding, if I bowl poorly I try to adjust and correct the problems. I still enjoy it no matter the outcome.

[The German Shepherd]

I thought that the answer to this question was pretty simple, and then I sat down and thought about it. What would you call a recreational bowler who really really really wants to beat you, really wants to be continually improving, feels completely committed to his team mates and is now addicted to keeping up with the bowling tech?

Jay

[GeoLes]

Serious and fun are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to have both. Serious simply means paying attention to details and taking the time the master the art. That can be lots of fun once you understand the inner working of the game. Try it.

[swingset]

I thought that the answer to this question was pretty simple, and then I sat down and thought about it. What would you call a recreational bowler who really really really wants to beat you, really wants to be continually improving, feels completely committed to his team mates and is now addicted to keeping up with the bowling tech?

Jay

You're like a tiger in a petting zoo. :D

[backlasher]

This is a more complex question than I thought at first. I bowl in a senior league and , once in a while, someone begins to experience dementia, has a stroke or diminished physical capabilities. Even if that person is on another team, we all pull for them to do well. I guess that makes the social aspect more important.

[billf]

Can't one be serious abouth their game, have fun and want their opponent to do well too?

[jbeck]

I'm serious when I bowl by myself or if I'm competing...but I always have fun with friends and family.

[Bizwan65]

For the most part I'm serious when I bowl, but that's mostly cause I'm trying to get better. That being said, I try to keep that confined to when I'm on the approach. Otherwise I socialize/joke around. That could change if I join a serious league.