What do you enjoy most. Open bowling or leagues?

[stargell1]

What do you prefer?

Discuss.

[LyalC52]

open bowl is practice time for league and tourneys

[foreverincamo]

That's a tough call. I enjoy practicing, always have. But my league is where I see some friends I never see in any other way and enjoy the evening trying to knock some pins down whilst enjoying a beverage. It's a tie for me

[fordman1]

When I stop bowling in leagues I doubt I will bowl twice a year.

[mc_runner]

Prefer leagues. Open bowling nowadays I just use for practice, league is where it "counts". I enjoy the camaraderie and competitiveness of league bowling.

[LOUVIT]

As a guy who's coming back I am still in the open bowling and practice league mode. I like the league better because of the slower pace, meeting people and some competition.

[RobLV1]

Here in Vegas there is a third option: pot games. Several times a week a bunch of seniors get together. We get special rates from certain centers and can enjoy a very competitive atmosphere for very little money. For example, on Fridays we bowl six games for $12. We only pay 50 cents for lineage, so we are usually able to pay five or six places. Any day that I can win my $12 back and bowl for free, I consider a success.

[LOUVIT]

Here in Vegas there is a third option: pot games. Several times a week a bunch of seniors get together. We get special rates from certain centers and can enjoy a very competitive atmosphere for very little money. For example, on Fridays we bowl six games for $12. We only pay 50 cents for lineage, so we are usually able to pay five or six places. Any day that I can win my $12 back and bowl for free, I consider a success.


In the 70's and 80's I wouldn't put a ball in my hand unless there was cash involved....lol..pot games, action one on one

[stargell1]

I much prefer open bowling. League bowling irritates me to no end. People on my team are rude. Some people have a date with their smart phones and act like they have little interest in being there. They make people wait their turn by not being ready when its their turn to bowl. When my summer league is over with in 4 weeks, I am done with leagues!! I always do the open bowling specials, so me and my wife can bowl for as many games as we want and we don't have to spend a lot of money.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

Here in Vegas there is a third option: pot games. Several times a week a bunch of seniors get together. We get special rates from certain centers and can enjoy a very competitive atmosphere for very little money. For example, on Fridays we bowl six games for $12. We only pay 50 cents for lineage, so we are usually able to pay five or six places. Any day that I can win my $12 back and bowl for free, I consider a success.

We do that every Sunday morning. $1 a game and usually 6 or so games. Usually have a group of 16-20 people at $2 a person paying top 2. The real money is in the side bets though. Probably over half get into side pots for $10-20 a head and do either doubles or singles

[LOUVIT]

I much prefer open bowling. League bowling irritates me to no end. People on my team are rude. Some people have a date with their smart phones and act like they have little interest in being there. They make people wait their turn by not being ready when its their turn to bowl. When my summer league is over with in 4 weeks, I am done with leagues!! I always do the open bowling specials, so me and my wife can bowl for as many games as we want and we don't have to spend a lot of money.


get your own team together with friends

[billf]

I much prefer open bowling. League bowling irritates me to no end. People on my team are rude. Some people have a date with their smart phones and act like they have little interest in being there. They make people wait their turn by not being ready when its their turn to bowl. When my summer league is over with in 4 weeks, I am done with leagues!! I always do the open bowling specials, so me and my wife can bowl for as many games as we want and we don't have to spend a lot of money.

Most summer leagues are laid back social leagues. What you really need is a league that is more serious. The employees at the center can tell you which leagues are more serious and even rank them in order. Most of the top leagues have a minimum average to get in (and stay in) but the only way to establish that average is through a certified (sanctioned) league.

[ep1977]

As someone who enjoys competition I prefer league bowling. Also I like that for league the conditions are somewhat consistent while for open bowling the lanes are usually similar to the Sahara desert.

[Aslan]

As someone who enjoys competition I prefer league bowling. Also I like that for league the conditions are somewhat consistent while for open bowling the lanes are usually similar to the Sahara desert.

This.

It's like asking, "What do you prefer? To have a job or to live in an imaginary storybook world you've created for yourself?"

League is real. Open bowling is for fun. League bowling is a 'sport'. Open bowling is an "activity". Nobody is a "bowler" if they don't bowl leagues. They are just a drunk that likes to hurl heavy objects while drinking.

[Jessiewoodard57]

The thing I like most about leagues in lane courtesy. Open bowling good luck. Lately more then once I have been just at the release when I hear the bang of a ball bouncing within 4 ft ....hate that. I do get to laugh as they throw the ball and hit the fence

[SAbowler]

League bowling is where it's at. I love the competition!

[Tampabaybob]

Not every person/bowler has the competitive gene. There are plenty that may have had bad experiences as Stargill has had, so you can understand the hesitation to bowl in another league. Someday he may decide to try it again, as as Louvit wrote, get on a team with friends.

[ytlas]

I think I liked them equally. I liked the competition of the league, even the sniveling of other teams on occasion. For three seasons we named ourselves "The Snivelers" and won the league each time.
Over 23 years I would practice first thing on Sunday morning when I didn't have to work. The four houses I bowled at during this time always had freshly oiled lanes when the house opened on Sunday morning. The first dozen years I'd practice by myself but as the years went by more friends joined in and sometimes we'd have as many as 8 show up to practice.

In the 70's, I watched Ann Marie Duggan (Pike) grow up bowling Rent A Lane every Sunday with her dad at Valley View Bowl in Garden Grove.

[Jconner91]

League bowling for sure

The competition, the people, and lane courtesy. I go bowling with my wife and it is only practice. Even if I play games with myself its not like striking 3 times in the 10th against another team to win by 3 pins. I am in 2 leagues (one social and one serious) and I wish I could be in 3-4 haha

[JasonNJ]

Definitely league bowling. I enjoy the competition and it's something I look forward to every week and I miss it when we are in the off season. Open bowling, I don't miss but I just enjoy bowling so I will bowl every chance I get.

[JJKinGA]

I like the competition. But even if that were not the case, leagues are a community of bowlers. If you don't thrive on competition you can find a league where many are there just to be together and bowl.