Whats your take on regional tournaments?

[The KingPin]

Justr wondering if you think that the regional bowling tournaments are good or bad? Do they actually help with preparing the bowler for the tour?

Just looking for your ideas on it.

[onefrombills]

well from an outsider looking in ...I dont think so!

If so the National tour would have the new guys staying more than the 1 year. The regional shots are not the same as what the guys see on the national level. Speaking only about the West Region Jim Pratt was exempt for 2 years but he went to tour trials than was on tour than didn't stay and won his job back from Tour trials. Ben Laughlin won his exemption from winning the West region, but didnt make it to the next year and just last year Dave Leverage did the same ....won his region and nothing for next year

[stc17]

See now i definitly thinkit does compared to league bowling especially since last year they did add the pba paterns to the regionals ive shot in a couple and its great competition for good bowlers trying to step

for example myself no matter how good the league is or the bowlers are in leagues i get really bored either its an easy shot that makes me bored or its a sport shot and the bowlers just dont score good enough to keep me interested im at the point were all i do is try to beat my own scores unless im in a tournament or a regional

so all in all i think the regionals are a great thing for bowlers that leagues just dont do it for them anymore because if i had the money i would just do every regional and forget about leagues but just cant afford it and my game is really hurting lately because i will have a good or decent game sweep the jackpots for that game and get bored and fall apart the next game

[onefrombills]

See now i definitly thinkit does compared to league bowling especially since last year they did add the pba paterns to the regionals ive shot in a couple and its great competition for good bowlers trying to step

for example myself no matter how good the league is or the bowlers are in leagues i get really bored either its an easy shot that makes me bored or its a sport shot and the bowlers just dont score good enough to keep me interested im at the point were all i do is try to beat my own scores unless im in a tournament or a regional

so all in all i think the regionals are a great thing for bowlers that leagues just dont do it for them anymore because if i had the money i would just do every regional and forget about leagues but just cant afford it and my game is really hurting lately because i will have a good or decent game sweep the jackpots for that game and get bored and fall apart the next game

You have a lot of great points here ....thank you

[bowlr721]

i have to agree with stc in his above statement i believe it does help. Ive only had the pleasure of bowling in one Regional but the experience was amazing! bowled good enough to make second day and cash but i think for the average bowler its a big thing to be able to get out there and bowl these tourneys!

[djbigsmooth]

i have to agree with stc in his above statement i believe it does help. Ive only had the pleasure of bowling in one Regional but the experience was amazing! bowled good enough to make second day and cash but i think for the average bowler its a big thing to be able to get out there and bowl these tourneys!



i agree here, these tournys can prepare you for the national tour, learning where and how to play the lanes according to your style. learning about surface preparations, and the other intangibles, i.e., the mental game are all essential to get you in the proper frame of mind to bowl on a high level. granted, regionals are not the national tour, but the steady regional pros are just as good as the guys on the big tour.

some might argue,"why don' t these guys make it on the big tour?" a lot of them have. here is the major reason that most of theses bowlers don't make it on the big tour, THE SATURATION OF TALENT IS SO DEEP, THAT ANYONE CAN WIN AT ANY GIVEN TIME. IT IS JUST A MATTER OF WHO HAS THE EXPERIENCE AND WHO IS ON THAT WEEK. PERIOD. THAT BEING SAID, DON' T BE SUPRISED TO SEE DJBIGSMOOTH AS A REGIONAL OR NATIONAL CHAMPION. i can compete with anyone in the world and beat them at any given time, that is my mental makeup when i enter pba regional or national tournaments.

[BubbaRay]

i agree here, these tournys can prepare you for the national tour, learning where and how to play the lanes according to your style. learning about surface preparations, and the other intangibles, i.e., the mental game are all essential to get you in the proper frame of mind to bowl on a high level. granted, regionals are not the national tour, but the steady regional pros are just as good as the guys on the big tour.

some might argue,"why don' t these guys make it on the big tour?" a lot of them have. here is the major reason that most of theses bowlers don't make it on the big tour, THE SATURATION OF TALENT IS SO DEEP, THAT ANYONE CAN WIN AT ANY GIVEN TIME. IT IS JUST A MATTER OF WHO HAS THE EXPERIENCE AND WHO IS ON THAT WEEK. PERIOD. THAT BEING SAID, DON' T BE SUPRISED TO SEE DJBIGSMOOTH AS A REGIONAL OR NATIONAL CHAMPION. i can compete with anyone in the world and beat them at any given time, that is my mental makeup when i enter pba regional or national tournaments.

I have to agree also. Back in the 80's I joined the Tour after do some Regional tournaments, Ok the patterns bacdk then were not the same as today, but may have been equally tough for those days. But the Regionals prepared me for the National tour when I got out there. The first year was a learning experience. After that everything thin I learned and took note of the first year, I utilized to my benefit for the regular tour. I has some sucess but nothing extravegant. I personal friend of mine just got his exemption ( Jason Lundquist ) after coming out of the regionals. Made his first top 16 and is seeing success

[JAnderson]

Some points I'd like to make that haven't been mentioned:

I've been fortunate to be able to speak one-on-one with a few of the guys that earned their exemption through the regional program or through tour trials. I don't think any of them will be upset with me if I name them, so specifically Ben Laughlin, Richie Allen, (An)Drew Cain, and Jim Pratt.

One thing they've all shared with me is this: it's a different world out there. The travel is different, the down time is different, the way the lanes are broken down is different.

The travel during regionals revolves around the weekend while the national tour is definitely a full-time deal if you're going to have any success. These guys often give up the family and job to be able to get out there and compete. For some, it's worth it and others find it wasn't what they hoped it would be.

Down time can be a big challenge. When you don't make the first cut, you're done for the week excepting Pro-Ams. Your friends aren't around, you don't have the comforts of home. You can stay and practice (after having a bad tournament), drive to the next stop, or sit in a hotel room and be bored out of your skull. You'd think these guys would be practicing after a bad showing, but not everyone is made that way.

The lane break down is different. Ben Laughlin shared with me this (paraphrasing): The field starts with the most aggressive, sanded thing they have and blow up the pattern, then ball-down and adjust. If you're a top-notch regional bowler, your bread-and-butter is often made from grinding on tough conditions against a field that generally doesn't know how to break down a pattern. You won't get that on the national tour except maybe the U.S. Open., but then you're up against some of the best in the world.

[Big_Stroke82]

There are alot of good points. I believe bowling regionals does give u some experience to bowling on tour, like lane courtesy, the pace, the golf course style silence..lol. I am al regional pro, and I'm doing it for fun, so if I cash good, if not oh well. The big difference between the two is, regional bowlers usually have other jobs mon-fri, bowling on tour IS their job, bowling is their way of life. Would u expect to work somewhere "part-time" and not know the trade and expect to become CEO over night? To me if your gonna bowl on tour, then bowl on tour, go out there and bowl TQR's every week, but becoming exempt through regionals is a good accomplishment, but your only on tour by default. Touring pro< regional pro< house bowler< novice.

[onefrombills]

There are alot of good points. I believe bowling regionals does give u some experience to bowling on tour, like lane courtesy, the pace, the golf course style silence..lol. I am al regional pro, and I'm doing it for fun, so if I cash good, if not oh well. The big difference between the two is, regional bowlers usually have other jobs mon-fri, bowling on tour IS their job, bowling is their way of life. Would u expect to work somewhere "part-time" and not know the trade and expect to become CEO over night? To me if your gonna bowl on tour, then bowl on tour, go out there and bowl TQR's every week, but becoming exempt through regionals is a good accomplishment, but your only on tour by default. Touring pro< regional pro< house bowler< novice.

Jason make me a ceo overnight !!!!
Hey by the way you and / or your bro gonna be in Vegas during the ToC stop ?

[kev3inp]

There's nothing wrong with making it through the regionals, or through the yearly qualifier. But the life has to be really hard, especially if you would like to have any social life, and aren't independently wealthy enough to bring friends, family, and girlfriends along. It's expensive. Andres Gomez lives down here and made 46K on the tour in his year. But he had to spend 30K to be out there. It's no way to live for most. Like it's been said, the talent pool is very deep.

[Big_Stroke82]

not sure..ill ask him 2 day..

[onefrombills]

not sure..ill ask him 2 day..

Ok sounds good ....let me know

[JAnderson]

Touring pro< regional pro< house bowler< novice

That's tricky. I don't disagree completely, but there are too many regional card holders out there that hold a card that have never bowled a tournament. Yes it's against the PBA membership rules. No the PBA doesn't enforce those rules because it is a revenue source.

There's some overlap between the top amateurs and the regional pros. The gap between the top regional pros and the top-40 touring pros is much larger than the gap between the top house bowlers and the top-40 regional pros.


like lane courtesy, the pace, the golf course style silence

Good points. I've had some experience with regionals bowling as a guest. You also learn the rules, the pressure of the environment (if you choose to acknowledge it), and how a tournament generally operates. Off the lanes, you learn the cliques, idiosyncrasies, good/bad habits, and personal tendencies of your competitors.