My Bowling Events Calendar

Paul's Bowling Place - Bowling Home

Paul's Lifetime Bowling Passion

Bowling has been a life passion for me. I have been bowling in one form or another for most of my life. It is a great competitive outlet, stress reliever and also a way of making new friends and socializing with existing ones ("a night out with the boys").

What's New?

The 2010 Greater Baltimore USBC Association Tournament

I bowled in this tournament on Feburary 27, 2010, bowling nine games (Team, Singles, and Doubles) all in one day. The tournament was held at AMF Southdale this year and this was the first time I had ever bowled at this house. I shot 2077 scratch for 9 games, which is more than a 230 average.

My high set was in singles, a 726. I added a 666 set in doubles and 685 set in team. My high game came in singles, a 268 game and my low came in doubles, a 194 game. I shot very consistently for most of the day, with only 4 opens, all splits.

I am happy with my performance, but I am not sure how I fared in the tournament yet. I will report on the results when I get them.

It's 2010 Tournament Season!

Yes, it is tournament season once again, when all the local associations hold their annual tournaments. I have been gearing up for them by putting in extra practice when I can and tuning up my equipment (new finger grips along with oil extraction and resurfacing).

I will be bowling in the Greater Baltimore USBC Association Tournament, the Central Maryland USBC Association Tournament and the Maryland State USBC Association Tournament this year. Finally, I am bowling in the USBC National Tournament in June. The National Tournament is being held in Reno, Nevada this year.

First Sanctioned 300 Game Since 2006!

My Latest 300 Game!

My Latest 300 Game!

On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, I bowled a 300 game as part of my league night.

This time, it will be sanctioned by the USBC, making this my third sanctioned 300 game. I used my Lane #1 G-Force solid for the 300 game.

The only questionable strike came as the first ball in the tenth when the 9 pin stood for a second before the head pin came off the wall and took it out, man what a rush that was! It loosened me up for the final two balls and they were packed in the pocket just like the first nine!

This is the first 300 game at Greenmount Bowl this league season, making it extra special for me.


2009 USBC Tournament Report

See my tournament page for a full report on my trip to Las Vegas for the USBC Nationals.

Maryland State Tournament Final Results

I bowled in the Maryland State USBC Association tournament on May 16 and 17, 2009 at Terrace Lanes in Frederick, MD. I finished with a 2243 scratch total for all events (this is just under a 250 average for 9 games). This is my best showing ever in any tournament.

MD state awards dinner

The Team Receiving their Awards

MD state awards dinner 2

The MD State Tournament Awards Ceremony

The tournament is complete and it is now official, we are the champions! Our team finished first in the handicap division and third in the scratch division. Our team bowled extremely well and I am very proud of them!!

The 2009 Maryland State Tournament Championship Team:
Rick Johnson, Tom Haifely, Mike Stevens, Paul Saunders, and Guy Johnson.

As noted above, I had my best tournament ever, finishing in 3rd place in scratch all events, 14th in scratch singles, and 22nd in scratch doubles. In team, I had a 753 set (287, 242, 224). I had the first ten strikes in the first game before throwing a bad shot and finishing with a 287. I had a singles score of 758 (235, 266, 257) and a doubles scores of 732 (258, 258 216).

On top of all this, a good friend of mine, Guy Johnson, shot his first ever 800 set (801) and a 299 game in the team event.


My Daughter's Pepsi Tournament Run

Pepsi Award Plaque Presentation!

Pepsi Award Plaque Presentation!

My six year old daughter recently competed in the Maryland State Pepsi Tournament and placed 5th overall!!

This was her first year bowling and she kept very composed during the competition, although I was nervous enough for the both of us.

She bowled a total of 70 pins over her average for the three games and received a very nice plaque for 5th place. She was very surprised and happy with her results.


Central Maryland Tournament Update

I recently bowled in the Central Maryland Association tournament on March 28, 2009 at Dual Lanes in Hagerstown, MD. I finished with a respectable score of 1977 scratch for all events (this is just under a 220 average for 9 games). Our team bowled very well and may have a chance to cash, but I doubt I will get anything else. The lanes were fairly dry and somewhat tricky to play properly, especially as the day went on. I used my pearl Buzzbomb/R and my dry lanes ball (Lane #1 Chainsaw) the whole time and had a pretty good look. I had one game under 200 - a 155 in the second game of my singles set, but I followed that up with my high game of the day, a 269.

New Bowling Calendar of Events!

At the top right on this page, I have added a Bowling Calendar of Events! Dates with activities are highlighted. Click on a date to find out what is going on that day.

I threw another 300 game recently!

The bad part about this is it doesn't count as a "sanctioned" 300 game since I bowled it while bowling as a pacer with my middle son on his Saturday afternoon youth league. All of the youth bowlers stopped and gathered around my lanes to watch me...it was a blast, like the old days when someone would throw a 300 and the whole house would stop to watch. I did not get nervous (like I do when it is for "real") and had the pleasure of three out of four of my children watching me accomplish this. The ball I used is my new Lane #1 Chainsaw, it is a great ball on dry lanes.

My Record Setting Son!

My oldest son has been on a tear this year and his bowling average is up by 20 pins or more from last year. He recently shot his very first 700 set, a 743 with games of 230, 236, and 277. This was this first 700 set by a youth bowler in this house in more than 2 years. He just missed setting the youth house record by 22 pins. I am very proud of him to say the least!!


Tenpin Bowling

Paul's recent honor scores

Some Recent Honor Scores!

Paul's Bowling Balls

My InSite Bowling Balls

I have been bowling tenpins since my mid-twenties. I dabbled with it a little as a teen after I stopped duckpin bowling, but never took it seriously and mostly just bowled recreationally. My wife and I were looking for something that we could do together, we both enjoyed bowling and decided to start bowling on mixed leagues together. It was a fun time and we really enjoyed it. After a few years, I realized that I was getting pretty good and had a desire to get even better. I bowled on several men's teams, tried "scratch" leagues and received some coaching to improve my game and before you know it, here I am a competitive bowler!

If you really want to learn the game properly and improve yourself, professional coaching is the best way to go. It took me years to learn some things that I could have learned in weeks if only I had gotten lessons from a coach.

Being analytically inclined, I love the technology that goes into bowling balls and cannot get enough information about ball dynamics and movement and the general physics of how and why a bowling ball hooks like it does.

The last three years I have been the youth coordinator and coach of a local bowling center's youth program. This has proven to be a "full-time" part-time job, as we have three leagues on Saturday.

I have been certified at the "Bronze level" by the USBC. Even though I am certified and could charge for lessons I do not get paid to coach youth bowlers, I volunteer my time because I want to share my knowledge and love of the sport, especially with children - they are the future of this sport!



Duckpin Bowling

I bowled duck pins as a youth...it is still pretty popular in the Baltimore / DC area, but not as much as when I was young.

The best averages in the game are in the 140-150 range, so that will give you an idea as to how much harder it is than tenpins, where the best averages can be 240 or even better.

As far as I know, there has never been a perfect game in duck pins either. The balls are 3 to 4 pounds and so small that they will fit in between the 2 and 3 pins, in other words, you can chop out the 1-5 and leave everything else standing...this is more common than you would think.

You get three balls per turn and everything is manually controlled by the bowler - clearing deadwood and resetting the rack.