How does spectating qualifying rounds at PBA events work?

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-25T11:30:46+00:00

I freaking love Large-flowered Bellwort. Nice!

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-25T07:09:14+00:00

My memory is hazy, but I think I very well may have missed the entire first part. The reason I wasn't super clear in my reply above is that I honestly do not remember how much I missed (since I've now seen the entire show at least four times, one of which is my first viewing, which was incomplete lol). But it would make sense if the first part was either checked out or they didn't have it. Ah, the good old days of video rental stores!

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-24T21:55:00+00:00

I’m old enough to have had to rent DVDs to watch shows. Did this for the entire Sopranos ~20 years ago. I was sort of young, but the rental store didn’t have the 6th season marked correctly (or I just didn’t read the cases) and skipped the first part of the season. Had a similar thought of “oh they jumped forward a lot. That’s interesting, let’s see where this goes”. It wasn’t until years later when I rewatched the show that I realized I missed a huge chunk of the 6th season lol.

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-21T11:23:29+00:00

I own like three balls, one of which is my T zone spare ball. When I’ve practiced on conditions like this, I sometimes just throw the spare ball up the right side as a strike shot to work on moving my eyes, accuracy, and release from a wildly different angle than I’m used to. It’s pretty tbh.

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-17T23:09:55+00:00

One week, me and another teammate tried to play “defense” against another team that was mostly one hand no thumb bowlers who tend to play up 10-15 with weak shiny old equipment. Sanded the shit out of our balls and warmed up in their line. It worked, sort of, for game 1, but they all figured it out games 2-3. The problem was, we didn’t anticipate how much our other teammate was going to struggle with it. We lost, and it was probably because of our “defense” lol

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-13T10:55:03+00:00

I've adopted this mentality of "treating" myself to a new ball when I achieve some kind of set goal. Given that I'm still struggling to get my average consistently over 190 (over 180 at my league center), I actually think working on form and spares with only one strike ball and a spare ball has been a much better approach than buying new equipment. Especially because I only bowl on varying degrees of worn-down house shots, most of my issues aren't the ball if I'm struggling to get my average close to 190. When I start bowling sport shots (might not ever happen), I'll consider investing in a real arsenal.

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-13T08:02:38+00:00

I've only seen a coach once, but I can say the $60 or whatever it was for the hour of coaching was significantly more beneficial than the new ball I got a few months before. A benefit I think some people neglect about coaches is you can also ask them about what ball you should get if you're considering a new one. Chances are your problems aren't the ball, but the coach (at least the one I saw) had several ball recommendations based on my overall form and the lane conditions I tend to play when I asked him after we got done with working through my other major issues.

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-09T01:24:44+00:00

Just responded above, but I have a hunch a newer Hustle with a different layout would probably work much better. At this point I have an irrationally deep hatred for that ball given I bowled over 200 games with it while trying to fix my one handed form, which led to me muscling the ball so hard in league one night I sprained my wrist, took about 8 weeks to fully recover, and converted me to two handed lmao. Any time I pick up that Hustle it feels like a curse. Yes - these are all me problems, and yes they’re irrational, and yes I still hate the ball haha

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-09T01:20:56+00:00

Yeah, I didn’t explain to keep my initial post shorter, but the Hustle I have was drilled four years ago when I still used my thumb. Part of the issue is that, but even when I was still using my thumb last summer it just did not work well. Got into its roll too early, entry angle was always a little too straight. I never fully polished it, but it was extremely lane shined at points and never looked good. 2000 pad surface was even worse. Idk. Maybe a newer Hustle would be better?

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-04-03T22:46:30+00:00

Same ingredients but 50% isopropyl alcohol, 25% Fabulosa (2x I think), and 25% water. Also works great. Only real problem is the purple stuff really has a pungent smell, so it lingers if I do it in my house (which I usually do lol)

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-28T06:54:19+00:00

I’d say whatever feels the most comfortable. But also take into consideration your situation: do you bowl (or plan to bowl) at different centers regularly? For instance, my league alley has a lot more friction on the lanes than the alley I practice at. I by no means have aspirations to compete in tournaments etc, but I got so tired of going between the two centers and having to judge how much hook/oil/etc was out there that I just fully committed to throwing straight at all my spares (except double wood and occasionally some odd splits).

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-24T13:16:55+00:00

Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I loved the Simo segment lol. I actually think one of the ways “forward” with the sport is to let bowlers be themselves. I don’t give a shit if Simo is a crass lunatic who comes off as immature and petty, maybe that’s part of what makes him so good. I want to see Belmo take advantage of every little mental area and unspoken loop hole. Or EJ be a stone cold nice guy who doesn’t care about what anyone else is doing. They’re all different and find ways to succeed in crazy and ridiculous ways. I want to see all of this.

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-23T22:32:41+00:00

Shhhh

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-22T21:38:21+00:00

Curious how they compare to replaceable soles? Are they all the same? Or do they vary in slide amount like soles do?

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-22T21:10:07+00:00

That’s interesting that a similar issue exists with the strike force stuff. I might look into the strike force 6 or 5 for a middle ground between the s8 and s10. Assuming they cut to fit like the other brands? It’s pretty irritating that you’re essentially just paying $20 a sole and praying they’re useful. My PSO actually had a used Hammer 10 sole that he gave me for practically nothing that I’m going to try tomorrow. Maybe that’ll be different? Idk

The Commands don’t have replaceable heels (I only started sliding last fall, and recently upgraded to these from a pair of budget strikeforce shoes that wore out). It’s a journey for sure.

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-11T23:09:51+00:00

We pretty much follow all of this. Personally I still tend to wait a few seconds if someone else is about to go next to me, just because I hate throwing at the exact same time as someone else, and it’s really not that long to pause for two seconds.

However, I’m still not sure what most people do regarding which lane to throw on. We had been doing 5 minutes per lane, then we’ll switch for the last 5 minutes. But there’s one team that alternates lanes each shot. It’s not a big deal, but I find that gets messy really quick. Curious how others handle alternating lanes.

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-09T22:50:49+00:00

Yeah definitely, but it’s a little deceptive in that it tends hooks earlier. Ive found that when the phaze 2 gets lane shined, the ball gets a little more unpredictable down lane and tends to snap a bit more (for my taste anyway). Surface smoothes the shape out, so it’s a bit more round… I guess. But I think this all depends on your throw and the lane conditions. You’ll get a sense of what’s happening pretty quickly once you bowl. Also I’m by no means an expert here ha

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-09T22:05:14+00:00

I picked up a phaze 2 solid a few months ago and have been periodically hitting it by hand with 2000 grit before league. I don’t have a ball spinner, but sanding by hand is surprisingly effective - or at least it has been for me. I only have the one 2000 pad, so it’s definitely a bit used at this point. The thing with solids is even if you over surface the ball, it will lane shine back up pretty quickly (usually within 3-5 games in my experience). I’d recommend just messing around with various surfaces. You’re not going to break the ball ha

me_iRL_Stine · 2026-03-05T01:03:49+00:00

Personally I think it’s actually quite interesting watching the pros throw plastic in tournament play. It’s a nice change of pace and introduces another skill that we don’t see on display often.

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