Joe, have you bowled in any Pro Events or is this your first one?

Also, do you know if they have released the pattern yet for the 2013 Masters? I have not been able to find it anywhere.

While the PBA considers the USBC Masters a "major" event, technically, it is an invitational tournament open to "any USBC league member who has averaged 190 or higher for 21 games during the past two seasons, any non-USBC league member who is classified by the PBA as a Full Member, any bowler who has averaged 190 or higher in his/her past five USBC Tournaments and any state/provincial representatives who have placed first or second in the all-events category of their association tournament."

Personally, I have bowled in other national events, like the USBC Open, but I have never been a PBA member, and I have never bowled a PBA event, except a few Pro-Ams. Still, it is not unusual for me to see regional pros, or occasionally former national pros or up-and-coming national pros at some of the tournaments I bowl. But, nothing I have ever bowled has come close to the 2013 USBC Masters field of international superstars.

Concerning the pattern, the rules say that it will be Sport compliant, with the details to be posted at the tournament venue, no later than the start of the official practice session.

Besides wearing pants and a collared shirt the other thing to get use to is the two pair lane curtosey. It was weird the first time I did it and actually had to wait for a bowler that was three lanes over to go before I could but I got use to it quickly and it flows a lot better then I thought.

Good Luck!

Best of luck Joe! Be sure to give us all a shoutout when we're all watching you on TV.

I had the chance to go see the US Open two years ago at Carolier, but unfortunately other priorities prevailed. So you'd better take pictures for us!

Thanks guys for your support. I found the following lane courtesy guidelines on PBA's website. Since there will be so many pros there, they will probably follow the same practice automatically. It's good to know ahead of time. Thanks for the tip, spillup24.

"The PBA employs a one (1) pair lane courtesy at all times and is referred to as the “Double Jump” rule. A “Double Jump” occurs when, following another player’s delivery on your pair, you step onto the approach before one (1) competitor on the pair to your left and one (1) competitor on the pair to the right have thrown a shot. When you master this rule, you will find that the pace of play is much smoother and faster than when using the ordinary two (2) lane courtesy rule."

The way I envision that working is both bowlers on every other pair, for example, lanes 1/2, 5/6, 9/10, etc. would bowl. Then, the bowlers on alternate pairs, for example, lanes 3/4, 7/8, 11/12, etc. would bowl. Then, repeat. As long as everybody bowls at the same approximate pace, that should work just fine.

My mindset was always like this when it came to the lane curtosey:

I bowl
they bowl (meaning the pair to your left and right)
he bowls ( meaning the other person on your pair)
they bowl (the pair to your left and right)
then I bowl.

That is how it works...Good luck!

Hey Joe, I'm about 45-50 minutes south of the Carolier Lanes. Maybe I'll stop up sometime that week and see what's going on. I've always wanted to check out the events they host there. I was only there once for a tournament I bowled in a fews ago it's a nice center. Also, if you have some downtime from the tournament maybe we can roll a few practice games...

That would be great, VFF. With only 5 games to bowl each day of qualifying, I expect there will be quite a bit of downtime those first few days. I will have my laptop with me, so send me a PM when you plan to stop by.

Sounds good I'll send you a PM.

I think it's great you can get together, Joe and VFF. I bowled w/ MikeHL from the forums a couple of times and enjoyed his visits. I hope you find your meet a similar experience. Just post a photo here if you can.