Differences between California and Iowa

[Aslan]

Just as a sidenote....atropos of nothing...another thread got me thinking about this:

The biggest differences between bowling in California and Iowa:

1: Seasons
California isn't like most Midwestern states where there is a long bowling season and a short "summer off". Because there are no "seasons" in California...in most leagues you essentially bowl two 26-week seasons: Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer.

2: Sweeps
Because California is so close to Vegas (I'd "say" 3.5 hour drive...but you'll NEVER make it there in 3.5 hours...unless you drive in the middle of the night on a Tuesday or something)...almost all the leagues tend to "sweep" in Vegas. So, the last week of bowling...you go to Vegas and compete for prize money. It makes league bowling a little more expensive...especially if you tend to blow money when you go to Vegas...but it's a lot of fun and you can win serious money. I took home over $1,400 once...most money I ever won in athletic competition and more money than I've ever won playing poker. In the Midwest, virtually no leagues "sweep" because the cost would be too high. You'd have to cover airfare...so the weekly prize pool would be that much more.

3: Population
It's not hard finding a league....because there are SOOOO many people. Interesting fact...more people voted for Trump in California than in Texas in 2020. Yet, he lost in a landslide in California. And...there are a TON of peolple in Texas...most of whom voted Trump! The population of California is just insane...so every center has leagues pretty much every night...leagues of almost every level...it's not like Iowa where I have to struggle to find a center that has a sanctioned league or a league with an opening, etc...

4: Size of Centers
In Des Moines, most centers are 12 lanes. One is 20, one is 24. The largest is 36...and it seems ENORMOUS when you're used to 12-lane centers. In California, the largest center I bowled in was where I got monthly lessons and it had 60 lanes. The two centers I bowled leagues in both had 40 lanes. I think the other center I bowled league in had 36. If you went in a center that only had 24...it felt tiny.

5: # of Centers
In Des Moines, there are 8. Actually 7...because the one inside the Bass Pro Shop doesn't count in my book. There used to be another one, but it burnt down. In California...the issue wasn't "how many"...it was "how far of a drive". I think at one point I had 25 centers within 25 miles of me in California. The "issue" was...how long would it take me to drive to those centers to get to leagues? Traffic in California is absurdly nonsensical. There was a center in Chino Hills that was closer to me than Fullerton...but I'd never be able to get to it driving East in rush hour in the evening in under 2.5 hours...but I could get to Fullerton in 30-45 minutes. Same thing with Anaheim. It was easier going South than East. There's other people that live near bigger cities, like class granny, that probably have similar issues.

[RobLV1]

You have my sincere condolences!

[classygranny]

Not sure if your condolences were for Aslan living in no man's land or myself for living in the hot desert of Phoenix. There are many reasons for living in a smaller area, but yes bowling alleys do suffer. But you may have more choices than us in the big cities due to the reasons you listed. It works both ways.



5: # of Centers
In Des Moines, there are 8. Actually 7...because the one inside the Bass Pro Shop doesn't count in my book. There used to be another one, but it burnt down. In California...the issue wasn't "how many"...it was "how far of a drive". I think at one point I had 25 centers within 25 miles of me in California. The "issue" was...how long would it take me to drive to those centers to get to leagues? Traffic in California is absurdly nonsensical. There was a center in Chino Hills that was closer to me than Fullerton...but I'd never be able to get to it driving East in rush hour in the evening in under 2.5 hours...but I could get to Fullerton in 30-45 minutes. Same thing with Anaheim. It was easier going South than East. There's other people that live near bigger cities, like class granny, that probably have similar issues.

That is an issue around here due to traffic - and roadwork all over. I bowl two morning leagues that are farther away from me, but I like the lanes, and the people in the league. It takes me about 40 minutes one way at 8 am. The other league is evening so we bowl about 10-15 minute drive away. Problem is the seating is horrible and we don't finish until 9:30pm typically.

The real problem in the Phoenix area is that almost ALL of the lanes are corporate owned Bowlero centers...some run better than others.

[boomer]

I will say that there is a HUGE misconception about California. We're closer to three or four states than just one. Really common misconception - honestly similar one to Texas. We're so big and varied.

Aslan's generalizations really fit for the urban areas - but his generalizations of Iowa really fit for the rural areas. My stepson lives in Sonora, which is in the foothills quite SE of Sacramento - maybe 120 miles. He has one center anywhere near him, at a casino. COMPLETELY different from Sac-town. We live in Riverside (Inland Empire) - and we're much more like the urban generalization.

[Aslan]

You have my sincere condolences!

I don't know why.

If I could live anywhere (for bowling)...it would probably be Vegas.

Granted...most of the centers are in hotels...and I admit there are big downsides to that.

BUT...there are also huge upsides.

1) There are ALWAYS bowlers in Vegas. Bowling tournaments, bowling coaches, etc... I have a magazine cover that I want to get signed by Tommy Jones and Chris Barnes...if I lived in Vegas...it woulda been signed in less than a year.

2) The USBC holds the Open and Masters here what??? 2 out of 3 years?? While ever other schmuck has to fly to Vegas to participate...those in Vegas just have to take a leisurely drive.

3) Covered parking. No more dragging my equipment through snow banks or rain. Drive in the hotel parking ramp...you're inside the air conditioned casino...

4) Pro Shops. Gotta have em if the tournaments are gonna be there. And ya gotta have guys staffing them that at least 'sort of' know what they're doing.

5) Clinics. Wanna go to the ITRC...cheap flights to Vegas or you can drive. Wanna go to Camp Bakes? They hold it in Vegas. Almost all the ball manufacturers hold at least one event/clinic in Vegas.

Vegas is like...the center of the bowling universe...no matter how much Rob complains about it.

Now, downsides...yeah...

Casinos make money off gambling...so bowling is an afterthought.

You have to be able to resist becoming a gambling addict and/or alcoholic in Sin City...not easy if you're prone to vices.

Not to mention it's about 120 degrees there most of the time...and that "dry heat" thing kinda wears on ya once it hits about 108. Once it's over 108....heat is heat.

And...you have to trip over tourists everyday...who could give two spits about bowling...most don't even know Vegas has a bowling alley. So, they're annoying.

[Aslan]

I will say that there is a HUGE misconception about California. We're closer to three or four states than just one. Really common misconception - honestly similar one to Texas. We're so big and varied.

Aslan's generalizations really fit for the urban areas - but his generalizations of Iowa really fit for the rural areas. My stepson lives in Sonora, which is in the foothills quite SE of Sacramento - maybe 120 miles. He has one center anywhere near him, at a casino. COMPLETELY different from Sac-town. We live in Riverside (Inland Empire) - and we're much more like the urban generalization.

This is true.

People don't realize that California has some very rural and remote areas. But, the bulk of the population is going to be in the population centers.

Even if you're in Temecula...which was the site of one of the famous Aslan vs. Mike White Invitationals...it had a longer acronym that I can't remember...there were a decent number of bowling centers within "range" to choose from...despite Temecula being a fairly remote city. For those that don't know, Temecula is kind've a city in the center of the desert...between San Diego and northern Orange County. When I was putting that together...I think there were about 6-7 centers...all with 32-40 lanes...and I narrowed it down to 4 choices.

Well, to put that in perspective; Des Moines has double the population of Temecula...is NOT in the center of the desert...is in the largest USBC association in Iowa (versus Temecula which is in one of the marginal USBCs of California)...and we only have 7 centers TOTAL...and only ONE has more than 24 lanes! The biggest city in Iowa and you have two centers with 20-24 lanes and one center with 36...the rest have 10-12.

It's too bad I suck at shuffling cards. I need to live in Vegas!

[RobLV1]

Aslan:

Please note that I do not complain about bowling in Vegas. I complain about bowling in general, specifically the USBC and their refusal to advance the sport side of bowling. You are right in that Vegas is the center of bowling. It's one of the reasons that I chose to move here.

[Ryster]

Here in PA, there are plenty of bowling centers "around" with very ample league availability. Easily 12+ centers. 24-lanes is the average center size. My "home" center is 48 lanes which is very nice and a fortunate circumstance.

However, if my "home" center (6 miles from home) were to close the odds are very high that I am quitting bowling year 'round. The next closest center would be 13 miles away, and then the next closest after that 17 miles. As much as I love bowling, and it is my primary outside of work activity, there is no way I am driving that far to bowl. Summer leagues? Maybe. Occasional tournaments, no problem. When I retire and can bowl morning leagues? Absolutely. Fall/winter when it gets darker earlier, colder, and snowy? No way at all.

Not to mention on bowling nights I have to go directly from work to bowling. I drive 25 miles to work, then currently drive 25 miles from work to bowling, then 6 miles home. The 13 mile away center is actually 24 miles from work, so that day it would be 25 to work, then 24 to bowling, then 13 miles home. The center that is 17 miles from home is 33 miles from work, so that day I would be doing 25 to work, 33 to bowling, then 17 back home. That's simply too much to deal with.

[Aslan]

I still struggle sometimes when someone calls from California about a job...because there were parts about living there that I LOVED!

It only rained 7 days a year...and I literally lived next door to a bowling alley...1.5 minute walk.

The problem is...I could fill a notebook on the "Con list" for moving back to California. I just find myself always ending the internal argument with, "Why don't you just find a job in a different state and move next door to a bowling alley in THAT state!?"

[J Anderson]

I still struggle sometimes when someone calls from California about a job...because there were parts about living there that I LOVED!

It only rained 7 days a year...and I literally lived next door to a bowling alley...1.5 minute walk.

The problem is...I could fill a notebook on the "Con list" for moving back to California. I just find myself always ending the internal argument with, "Why don't you just find a job in a different state and move next door to a bowling alley in THAT state!?"

With your luck you would move and a month later the bowling alley would be sold and turned into a big box store.

[Aslan]

With your luck you would move and a month later the bowling alley would be sold and turned into a big box store.

With my luck, I'd find a place next door, join 3 leagues...start subbing in 2 others...then the center would get bought by Bowlmor and they'd implement a daily lane oiling policy and stop oiling prior to leagues. And, of course, the next nicest center would be 45 minutes away so I'd have to get permission from the USBC to drop 3 leagues and then start packing up my place while I wait to honor my lease before paying to move again.

The cool thing about the USBC is...they WOULD respond to my request. They actually respond to members. Last time I wrote them about the Motiv scandal they actually did respond. It was a sort of 'form letter" response...but still...I give them credit for responding to members. Many organizations their size would just toss complaints/requests from members in the trash.

[Ryster]

With my luck, I'd find a place next door, join 3 leagues...start subbing in 2 others...then the center would get bought by Bowlmor and they'd implement a daily lane oiling policy and stop oiling prior to leagues. And, of course, the next nicest center would be 45 minutes away so I'd have to get permission from the USBC to drop 3 leagues and then start packing up my place while I wait to honor my lease before paying to move again.

The cool thing about the USBC is...they WOULD respond to my request. They actually respond to members. Last time I wrote them about the Motiv scandal they actually did respond. It was a sort of 'form letter" response...but still...I give them credit for responding to members. Many organizations their size would just toss complaints/requests from members in the trash.


Nobody needs permission to drop leagues. Give 2 weeks notice to each league and pay the 2 weeks for each one, and you are done. Potentially expensive, yes, but no permission required.

We are going through the Bowlero thing right now. It is "interesting" to say the least. Lots of unhappy league bowlers. The center swears up and down that the shot hasn't changed, but the bowlers and current league scores tell a whole different story. The new lane machine is due to arrive this month and is going to be set-up by Kegel themselves. We anticipate a whole new shot once that happens.

I agree that the USBC is responsive to inquiries. They have always responded any time I have reached out to them with questions or comments. Some responses were more useful than others, but they did respond.

[Phonetek]

Nobody needs permission to drop leagues. Give 2 weeks notice to each league and pay the 2 weeks for each one, and you are done. Potentially expensive, yes, but no permission required.

We are going through the Bowlero thing right now. It is "interesting" to say the least. Lots of unhappy league bowlers. The center swears up and down that the shot hasn't changed, but the bowlers and current league scores tell a whole different story. The new lane machine is due to arrive this month and is going to be set-up by Kegel themselves. We anticipate a whole new shot once that happens.

I agree that the USBC is responsive to inquiries. They have always responded any time I have reached out to them with questions or comments. Some responses were more useful than others, but they did respond.


Simply changing the squeegee or brushes on the oiler can change the shot actually pretty significantly. The pattern may be exactly the same but changing worn parts or NOT changing worn parts can make a big difference.

The scores falling could also be part of the extended time off with Covid. There are a ton of factors to consider before assuming they changed the shot. If they did there would be no reason to deny it honestly. It would be kinda silly on their part.

[J Anderson]

Simply changing the squeegee or brushes on the oiler can change the shot actually pretty significantly. The pattern may be exactly the same but changing worn parts or NOT changing worn parts can make a big difference.

The scores falling could also be part of the extended time off with Covid. There are a ton of factors to consider before assuming they changed the shot. If they did there would be no reason to deny it honestly. It would be kinda silly on their part.

“But wait, it can’t be my fault that my scores are lower. I throw it just like I’ve been doing it for the last ( insert number >10 here ) years. I’ve bought a new ball and that should have made my average go up ten pins. I don’t need to practice, I have naturally great muscle memory. There must be something wrong with the oil machine.”

[Ryster]

Simply changing the squeegee or brushes on the oiler can change the shot actually pretty significantly. The pattern may be exactly the same but changing worn parts or NOT changing worn parts can make a big difference.

The scores falling could also be part of the extended time off with Covid. There are a ton of factors to consider before assuming they changed the shot. If they did there would be no reason to deny it honestly. It would be kinda silly on their part.

We have been back to bowling full-time since July 2020. We were shut down from March 2020-July 2020, then reopened and never closed again even when the state tried to shut everything back down again in November 2020.

Bowlers on both the senior leagues and the evening leagues have been approaching the center management and asking what happened to the shot. Bowlers are getting frustrated and contemplating leaving the center because they are noticing something different and do not like it. I agree with them that something did change. My usual arsenal stopped working and I had to switch everything out to find a mix that works. A ball that I could never use previously as my benchmark is now my go-to ball.

The center management has never been forthcoming about the lane condition. They always treat it like a state secret and refuse to say anything other than "we use a normal, medium house shot". There was a point last year where the management let us know they were "experimenting" with different shots at the time, but never said what kind of changes were being made.

The new lane machine has arrived, but it is not being used because no one has yet been trained how to actually use it. A $45,000 machine just sitting. Bowlero does some very interesting things to say the least.

[Phonetek]

Using the new oil machine probably has a bit of a learning curve. Since it recently arrived it's going to have to be properly calibrated. That's not something most mechanics are going to know how to do. It's a very complex process literally done with test tubes and other lab measuring equipment.

They have to be taught on how to program the oil patterns. I'm not making excuses for them but it's not an easy process. You can't just flip a switch and it knows to lay down the "Scorpion" oil pattern. It may be different on a brand new machine but the ones I know you have to have a special cable, thumb drive, laptop and specific software to do this.

Each pattern has to be calibrated as well. They are also limited on how many preset patterns they hold. There are a ton of patterns. Ours was only 5 patterns. To switch from those 5 you have to type in a code to do it. Once you know how to do it it's easy but it's not just a matter of looking in the owner's manual.

So yeah as you can see some training is involved. You don't just open the box, fill with fluids, press a button and go. If the people aren't trained then it's a recipe for disaster. The people who come out to teach this aren't exactly at your beacon call either. They handle many centers.

I won't argue that your center may suck, I don't know but realize there is a process and it's not exactly quick.

[Ryster]

Using the new oil machine probably has a bit of a learning curve. Since it recently arrived it's going to have to be properly calibrated. That's not something most mechanics are going to know how to do. It's a very complex process literally done with test tubes and other lab measuring equipment.

They have to be taught on how to program the oil patterns. I'm not making excuses for them but it's not an easy process. You can't just flip a switch and it knows to lay down the "Scorpion" oil pattern. It may be different on a brand new machine but the ones I know you have to have a special cable, thumb drive, laptop and specific software to do this.

Each pattern has to be calibrated as well. They are also limited on how many preset patterns they hold. There are a ton of patterns. Ours was only 5 patterns. To switch from those 5 you have to type in a code to do it. Once you know how to do it it's easy but it's not just a matter of looking in the owner's manual.

So yeah as you can see some training is involved. You don't just open the box, fill with fluids, press a button and go. If the people aren't trained then it's a recipe for disaster. The people who come out to teach this aren't exactly at your beacon call either. They handle many centers.

I won't argue that your center may suck, I don't know but realize there is a process and it's not exactly quick.

I get all of that. But they are going from a Flex to a Flex Walker. Bowlero wanted them to have the Flex Walker so the mechanic doesn't have to move the lane machine manually from lane to lane. They want the mechanic to be able to just put it on Lane 1 and let the machine do its thing on all 48 lanes. They were told that a rep from Kegel would come in to set it up and train them, but there has been no word on that at all.

Bowlero has pretty much told our center that tournaments are no longer "allowed" because they reduce the number of lanes available for open bowling, so having to store multiple patterns in the machine is no longer an issue.

One would think that would all be coordinated. The machine gets delivered and then the rep comes out to do the training. Given the financial investment these machines require, it would just make good business sense to make sure the customer is able to start using the machine shortly after delivery. Otherwise it would be like buying a new car and having it dropped off at your house without the keys. Then having to wait several weeks for a rep to show up, give you your keys, and go over all of the features.

The more I personally see of Bowlero centers, I have no idea how they stay in business or continue to have money to keep buying up bowling centers.

[Phonetek]

I get all of that. But they are going from a Flex to a Flex Walker. Bowlero wanted them to have the Flex Walker so the mechanic doesn't have to move the lane machine manually from lane to lane. They want the mechanic to be able to just put it on Lane 1 and let the machine do its thing on all 48 lanes. They were told that a rep from Kegel would come in to set it up and train them, but there has been no word on that at all.

Bowlero has pretty much told our center that tournaments are no longer "allowed" because they reduce the number of lanes available for open bowling, so having to store multiple patterns in the machine is no longer an issue.

One would think that would all be coordinated. The machine gets delivered and then the rep comes out to do the training. Given the financial investment these machines require, it would just make good business sense to make sure the customer is able to start using the machine shortly after delivery. Otherwise it would be like buying a new car and having it dropped off at your house without the keys. Then having to wait several weeks for a rep to show up, give you your keys, and go over all of the features.

The more I personally see of Bowlero centers, I have no idea how they stay in business or continue to have money to keep buying up bowling centers.

Yeah their way of thinking sounds a bit backwards for sure. Those walking machines are great as long as there are no gaps between lanes. Like the previous center there were gaps every 4 lanes for supporting stanchion poles. Those machines would be trying to walk over to of the gutter caps.

[J Anderson]

Yeah their way of thinking sounds a bit backwards for sure. Those walking machines are great as long as there are no gaps between lanes. Like the previous center there were gaps every 4 lanes for supporting stanchion poles. Those machines would be trying to walk over to of the gutter caps.

Our center also has a pillar every fourth lane. I haven’t really noticed if the mechanic has to manually guide it around the extra wide gutter cap but I think they can just let it run from lane one through lane forty. There’s a V shaped gap between 40 and 41 and the higher number lanes are set at an angle to 1-40. So they have to stop it and ‘walk’ it over to finish up.

[Phonetek]

A walker would work where I'm at now, 84 consecutive lanes, no poles, no gaps. The have 2 identical machines to three last place only no cords. Battery operated. Still... those walkers have to be programmed exactly perfect. One little variable in distance between lanes could lead to disaster.

I have watched them oil daily and it's pretty cool how they do it. Machine 1 does lanes 1&2, machine 2 does 3&4 and so on. Now if they did one pair at a time using both machines then that guys argument would actually stand up but they don't so it don't. They are very particular how they do things.