League Bowling Night

Today I am going to talk about something different other then poker. After a few years off I have started league bowling again. As most of you know, I have been a bowler all my life and have worked as a manager and then owner of bowling center for over 25 years. When deciding where I was going to bowl league this season I had many choices. I could bowl at Granite Bowl downtown, Great River Bowl or bowl at a center out of town and have to drive a considerable amount. Granite Bowl is a bowling center where the lane condition changes each week and you have to bring a wide variety of bowling equipment because you never know what you are going to get. Great River has a high scoring easy lane condition where I would probably average 230 and not be that challenged. I could drive to one of several centers in the area that are 30 minutes or more away and then bowl with people that I don't know. In the end I chose bowling at the Granite Bowl and bowl with people that I know and accept that it will be a different condition each week and I have not been disappointed. LOL! The first week I bowled with my spare ball. For those of you that don't bowl, this a ball the basically goes straight and you use it to throw when you don't get a strike on the first ball. Week two I was able to move way inside and use some of my new equipment and managed a good night. Last night was a whole new lane condition with the shot changing about every 3-4 frames. I used every bowling ball that I brought to the center and had a poor night of bowling. Now I enjoy a challenge when I bowl, but when people bowl in a league they expect the conditions to be somewhat the same each week. I understand that weather can change a condition especially in a center like Granite Bowl. I believe that I have a lot of past knowledge about lane conditions and how to oil a center such as Granite Bowl. The first key is to not make drastic changes from one week to another. The average once a week bowler can't bowl on second arrow one week and then move to fourth the next. The second is to find an oil that doesn't break down every few frames. I chose the Granite Bowl for the challenge and am getting it and I can live with my decision, but what about the average Joe bowler that was averaging 180 last year and is now averaging 160. They just get frustrated and quit bowling. Now how is that good for the future of your business. OK, back to poker next post!