League Bowler Disgruntled!!!

[Aslan]

So I go to practice today…I always bowl 9-12 games on Monday because it's $2 games and the lights stay on. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I can get unlimited games after 9:30PM…but they turn the lights out and I usually only get 8-9 games in before midnight when they close.

So I get there today, a little earlier than usual, and I quickly noticed ALL THE KIDS!!! I thought, "WOW! This "Kids Bowl Free" USBC promotion has really taken hold!! Bad news for a guy wanting to quietly work on his game…but good news for the sport (I hope).

So as I get to the counter, I noticed the sign says "$3 games". ???? So I ask the guy and he says, "Yeah, they switched it for summer hours….actually I think they are planning on keeping it at that price going forward,"

I asked, "Well, is there a league bowler rate?" He replied, "No, sorry, there is not."

I mean…first off…Letting kids bowl free while jacking up the prices on the adults seems like it's not what the USBC had in mind. And second, this is the ONLY center I've come across that doesn't give discounted practice time to bowlers.

I mean, I'm kinda stuck there because of California traffic. If I want an evening league during the week…but also one close to home of weekends and days off…there's really only two. I guess I need to call that center and inquire about sanctioned leagues next fall and what their practice game policy is for league bowlers. I hate to leave…and I have teammates and other teams that I was sort of getting friendly with…but if I want to raise my average to 193…I NEED to practice. And it's stupid to practice in a place other than where your league is.

Just really irritates me when centers ***t on their league bowlers that bring them 60-75% of their income. I KNOW there are other centers that offer $1.50 and $2 games during certain hours

rant over…

[got_a_300]

Yeah I hear you that just doesn't seem quite right to
do their league bowlers like that I mean league bowlers
are pretty much their bread and butter and what keeps
the doors open.

Our center just sold out to new owners and they are already
jacking up the prices on everything and doing away with all
of the hourly specials also.

We used to be able to rent the lane(s) for 2 hrs. on Tuesday
evenings and bowl all you could in the 2 hrs. for only $5 bucks
and in that length of time I could practice a lot of 10 pin spares
but now it is $1.00 per game which still isn't a bad price.

But even at that price I'll have to cut down on my practice time
to a few games per week now as it would probably cost me close
to $20 or more to practice like that now.

[fortheloveofbowling]

You guys should approach the manager of your centers and propose a 20 game card that costs 20.00. The manager at one of the centers in town here does that and has great success with it.

[Jaescrub]

Let's just hope all the kids get into the sport

[Hampe]

Lol....cry me a river. The "reduced" league bowler price here is 4.50-5$ a game.

[austin]

Here in Australia, about $5.50 per game or 4 for $18, but only if a league bowler or TBA (National Association) member. General public starts at about $12 and goes up depending on location and ownership.

[tccstudent]

I practice for free cause I got it like that.

[Shaneshu87]

i hear ya there, what i did in a situation like that, since my home league offers no discount either, mostly due the fact that no one but me seems to practice lol. but what i did was i just talked to the owner and offered him $40 for a pass for unlimited practiced games for the entire season according to his specified hours, works perfect for me since due to leagues i basically get the weekend to myself to bowl. this rolls through the summer also. at another house i did something similar and i get 1 unlimited hour per day in accordance with league times and rules, but it beats dollar games since i usually bowl 10+ games and around 40+ games a week in practice.

[rv driver]

It's still cheaper than drinking...
All things considered, bowling's about the cheapest sport/entertainment/hobby that you'll find.

[mike_thomas93]

In my local alley, they have a special on Sundays from 9am-1pm for dollar games and shoes. Sundays seem slow days though. Rarely any condition at those times ;p