Ask Belmo: Episode 2 (STRING PIN BOWLING???) | Jason Belmonte

[@fowcc]

Good point on the string-pin scenario of winning on tangled strings. Bowling has enough "slop" (made shots/strikes that weren't optimal throws) already, this would put that over the top, even with an event having a lot of qualifying games and h2h's to even out the luck factor. Great stuff otherwise- it's very nice to hear from people like yourself that have excelled to the peak of their sport outside of a post-game quick interview where you have to jam in sponsors and thanks for the majority of the time.

[@billstrange7401]

Agreed-string bowling pins have no place in competition play.

[@franc8339]

Love the comeback story from your junior days! Just the best, even back then! 😁

[@batdan9243]

BATMO all the way!

[@deist3r]

My first 300 my legs stopped working the same way. I balked and still had jelly legs the 2nd shot and threw jersey. My 2nd I told my self no matter what, just keep walking forward and it went WAY better.

[@brigham2250]

One of the two bowling centers near my home is changing to string pin bowling. I am very disappointed. I think they are just planning to have kids parties and no leagues (would league players even want to play string-pin?) and people who don't really take bowling seriously but just want to mess around with friends or family for an hour or two. The other bowling center, well, it isn't such a great place, mostly because of the owner. The best place to bowl around here is about a 40-minute drive with no traffic. Back in the 70s and 80s we had a lot of bowling centers around where I live. All gone. Oh, yes, string-pin bowling... why oh why oh why?

[@henryborja538]

Had the pleasure of watching you and Timmy Mack bowl in-person. Belmo in Hong Kong and Timmy Mack in the Philippines. Keep doing you, Belmo!

[@batl_born702]

I recently bowled on string pins for the first time. These were USBC certified. It was a tournament on Chameleon. I did notice a few spares with the guys I was crossing with that should’ve been misses. I also saw the strings stop messengers that would have taken out a pin on a free fall setter. It seems to balance out from my limited experience with them. I do agree on the title part. I wouldn’t want a title that I wouldn’t have won were it not for the strings. Aside from that, I’m pretty indifferent on the matter. There’s really no noticeable difference between the two except for the instances I already mentioned.

[@fiddlefaddle1]

Oh My God! I finally heard what a professional bowler thinks of string pin bowling! I see no problem if the bowling alley is leaning toward entertainment bowling but, I'm nearing 70 and I've been bowing since I was 12. If bowling goes to string pin , I will quit bowling.

[@TheEasy10pins]

Thank you for answering my question.

[@brianmallon1772]

Love listening the q and a. Please keep it up. Thank you. I hope to see you again at North Brunswick, NJ in 2024

[@storygroove]

If they ever make a movie of your life, they should try to get Joel McHale should play you. You guys have a very similar look :)

[@MarkDavidBlack]

Thank you Belmo. I spoke with the manager of our local bowling alley a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised to hear him say that "bowling with string pins has gotten better over the years and the house may at some point switch to string pins". I'm not a fan of string pins. But I also don't like that our lanes break down more often than they should and I would assume there would be less break downs with string pins. Guess I'm on the fence about it.

[@jwehrli6]

maybe they should go back to pin boys.

[@joellee2748]

I've always wanted to know the strike songs you have used over the years. Are you able to give us a playlist of it?

[@alanbrown4445]

I quit bowling when our local center went to strings it turned the sport that i,ve loved playing since 1999 including several leagues and tournaments with a passion and turned it into a holiday camp kiddies game , i,ve now taken up golf wich i absolutly love , bowlings dead to me now !

[@ainelawlor5755]

Agreed about the string bowling I hate it

[@Susan-t6i4l]

Our alley just converted over to String Pins late last month, and their leagues were invited to bowl last Wednesday before the alley reopened to the public on Saturday. Except for the flap/curtain or whatever you want to call it coming down and hiding the string pins, one would be hard pressed to know the difference. We bowled that Wednesday plus yesterday, and it wasn't arcade like at all. It sounded the same, especially when making strikes. We all bowled the same as our usual scores before the pin strings, and some weird pin action we saw would also be seen using free fall pin setting machines.

[@marksilvia6739]

When you have been in the USA competing in New England, have you ever tried Candlepin Bowling??

[@rafikkocharians8290]

wow an honest opinion on string pins. I don't like them too

[@wpgdiorama]

Let's go Batmo!!! :D

[@thomasleonard9685]

String pins - if you win in strings, why think less of it? Your opponent is on the same lane. You won THAT game on THAT lane so take the check to the bank

[@Nailv]

Yea I will do for fun. But not for tournaments

[@EricSmyth4Christ]

I like string pins because the scoring is 7 pins a game lower 300s would be more impressive

[@brage218]

I understand why you think it’s an unfair win in string pin bowling, but you’re overlooking that your opponent can also use this advantage, so it’s not truly unfair since both players have access to it.

[@jerryvanzant]

Have you ever bowled in a tournament where you had to play along the edge of the lanes?

[@bobmendenhall6357]

Always be Batman! 🦇

[@SimmieOost-tj3tj]

Maybe you ask dude perfect for bowling trick shot 3

[@loo_montano]

BELMOOOO WHATS UP

[@average_user340]

Have you ever went to Hong Kong to bowl?

[@ACommentFromYouTube]

Batman is the correct answer you pass

[@OttoByOgraffey]

I promise on my life I will never ever bowl at a string pin center, ever.

[@cindymaree1]

Hi

[@jamesbeavers1765]

Hey Jason I heard about your grandfather I'm sorry for your lost

[@steveperry1344]

i agree string pins have their place for the casual bowler but as a league bowler for many years i don't like them for myself or the league. it's not real bowling, more like an arcade game.

[@PinoyBowlerGS92]

I'd take the Brunswick GS-NXT Pinsetter over StringPin garbage

[@IamTwoSpoons]

YOOOOO HOWS IT GOING LADS

[@rogercarlson2330]

honestly though, there should be no comment from someone like this about anything that changes the face of bowling.....

[@notonyourlife7939]

Puppet pins are an abomination, and will eventually reduce competitive bowling to little more than a carnival game.... but hey, that's what humans do... on a long enough timeline everything we touch is ruined in service to the Almighty Dollar. Here endeth the rant...

[@michaelmclaughlin1958]

Not familiar with string pin bowling

[@maximusm5393]

I volunteered to test it at the USBC training center near me and let me tell you , it was terrible, the strings severely limit the physics of the bowling pin, it is essentially a large arcade game on a full size bowling lane. I left leaves I haven't left in my 35 years of bowling. I hate it, and think it is a terrible idea, and the bowling establishments that change to these, will be losing a lot of business.

[@Philycheeze222]

Here’s a question for you, did you go to college? We’re you a college bowler when you were younger? If so, what is the process of becoming a professional bowler on the PBA from a college bowler? And what is a good major to have if you are a college student who wants to become a professional bowler?

[@notonyourlife7939]

Testing testing... don't ask me why, but if I don't begin with something useless and benign, my posts get deleted. So here goes... this is your process: 1) Practice. 2) Don't be terrible. 3) Practice. 4) Average 200 or better in a USBC sanctioned league, and/or win one or more PBA regionals as a non-member. 5) If you have a qualifying sanctioned average, then just pay the PBA membership fee and start bowling regional tournaments. 6) Practice. 7) Don't be terrible. 8) Lather, rinse, repeat... You can major in anything from basket weaving to astrophysics... nobody cares. If you knock down more pins than everybody else, then you win. No one will be asking for your college transcripts on the tour....

[@billmartin1663]

String pins . . . it's a little like counting the pins knocked down by a gutter ball bouncing back into play. Cheapens the sport. It's not fair play.

[@barotraumabruce4245]

But, did you foul? :-)))

[@insidespin2698]

I would quit bowling if all that was available was string pin bowling. It’s idiotic.

[@notonyourlife7939]

Might as well get fitted for golf clubs, then... the writing is on the wall. Eventually puppet pins will be all anybody gets. It might take a few years, but it's coming whether we like it or not. The powers that be will wean us all over little by little. Bowlero basically owns the industry at this point...first there will be one or two PBA events played on strings, then one by one, centers will convert. There will be a handful of holdouts of course, just like there are still some old wood lane centers scattered around... but it won't take long before free-fall pins are basically nonexistent. Old timers and purists will abandon the game in droves initially, but soon enough they will be replaced by an entire generation of bowlers who will never have known anything but string pins, and having no frame of reference, they won't care. Welcome to "progre$$".

[@critterdude311]

@@notonyourlife7939 agreed. It IS coming whether you want it to or not. Bowlero/Bowlmor owns half the centers in the country and they are already beginning to convert some of their centers over to string. This is an operating cost issue for the centers. As the older free-fall machines need to be replaced / maintained the centers are going to convert. I hate it, but it's the reality of the situation. The question comes down to, do you hate it enough to perm quit the sport?

[@notonyourlife7939]

@@critterdude311 I won't be quitting bowling.... bowling is quitting on me, and you, and everyone else who's enjoyed it their whole lives. Instead of burning a few calories finding a viable solution that preserves the integrity of the game AND enables the proprietors to keep the lights on, our corporate overlords have opted to just grab at the first cheap alternative that presented itself...with complete and utter disregard for the consequences. There's nothing our species won't ruin in the name of the Almighty Dollar... So I'll just be giving up the pathetic imitation of bowling that they're offering as a replacement.

[@critterdude311]

@@notonyourlife7939 I hear you, it is disappointing for sure

[@EricSmyth4Christ]

@@notonyourlife7939there will always be at least one house that holds out