By 1990, Wolfe felt his game was headed in the right direction, and he was ready to give the national tour full-time attention. Others thought he was ready, too: In Bowlers Digest, 1980s Bowler of the Decade Mike Aulby chose Wolfe when asked to predict the one left-hander who would win a million dollars in the 1990s.

Two days before leaving for Indianapolis, Wolfe sat down with BOWL Magazine Editor Bob Cosgrove at nearby Bowl America Falls Church and talked about life as a touring pro, how he's dealt with the high expectations thrust upon him, and other topics.

At this point, no.

I would have definitely seen myself financially much more successful, not necessarily having those 10 or 20 titles but having a couple of titles under my belt. Being in a different stage of my life. I would have never thought in 1990, Wow, I'll be 28 and up on the roof and grinding away to round up sponsors for the tour. I would have never imagined that.

Talk about your job as a roofer.

I've been working for Jack Rowles and Rowles Roofing for the last month or so. It's actually worked out pretty good. I didn't know how it was going to work at first because all I've heard about the roofing work was how brutal it was. And it's tough work.

But Jack has been really understanding, and he's at a point where he's been doing this for 30-some-odd years and he wants somebody to kinda talk to every once in a while—he's tired of doing it by himself. I could use the work while I'm at home, and the hours are pretty good for me—we're in and out most of the time by one or two in the afternoon.

Yes, there is. I told Jack a couple of times, "I wonder what the other guys are doing about right now. You know, the guy who won last week and made about 80 grand—he's sitting at home or he's playing golf. That's what he's doing!"

The other side makes me think: Well, this is the situation that I've created. I don't have to do this. But why not? I need some income, and this offers me some pretty good hours. The pay is not too bad, and actually I enjoy it a little bit.

That's what seems strange, but it gets me out of an environment where, as a general rule, I don't have to deal with bowlers. I can go out there and nobody knows who I am—they don't care. We're on the roof and we're working.

But yes, there's definitely some frustration that goes along with the line. I've thought that many times near the end of the day when I am pretty tired and it's 100-and-whatever degrees out for however many number of days it was, and I'm going, This is terrible!

It makes me appreciate bowling.

Right now, I've been selling shares. They range from anywhere to $500 to $1,000 a piece. I've gone around and been very fortunate with friends, a few people close to the family, and a few people I've never even met before. Other people have gotten me sponsors. It's worked out pretty well. I've got anywhere from eight to 12 people.

It is and it isn't. I enjoy the fact that it makes me work harder than it has in the past. In the past, I had Sports Plus [Sports Plus/Carmen Don Pro Shop in Alexandria as a sponsor], and sometimes when things are taken for granted and you think some things will never end, then you realize that all things will end, and that was one of 'em.

On both sides, it was fortunate, and they were absolutely professional, and I owe them a great deal of gratitude for helping me out. It was a situation where I wasn't doing well, and we agreed—it was a mutual agreement—that it would be best if we split or go our separate ways.

It just got to the point where I had gotten so comfortable with the situation. And then, once I had to go out and search for other money, I realized it's not that easy.

But I feel better now the way it's worked out. It makes me feel good to know that at least there are some people who'll give me an opportunity to go bowl. I take that personally. I want to make them some money, and I want to do well for myself.

No, because if I know it's not my money, it's pressure—no matter whose it is, I know it's not mine.

Then you might ask how would it be different if you sponsored yourself. I don't know since I've never sponsored myself, but I do know that it is a lot different when people who you don't know and have no background with are taking the chance on you doing something. Most of the time, it's not an investment to turn over a big cash flow because they see the numbers and they know that, Wow, even if he bowls well, it's not like I'm going to be able to retire off of this check.

So a lot of them are involved because they enjoy bowling and they want to be involved with a potential—potential—successful bowler. That gives me an opportunity to go try for those goals.

I don't know what that means. I don't know how he interprets that or why he says this. Once again, it's a compliment on paper where there are no comparisons. So I don't know how to take it other than to say, "Thank you."

Obviously, it's an honor that anybody would think this way, but John Jowdy has been around the best bowlers in the world for quite a long time. For him to make that observation or opinion, it's nice—it's a nice gesture. But that's all it is.

He was one of the first people who helped me with my game, which was in 1987 when I had bowled four fall stops. I bowled so horrible, and I was ready to ... that was it. He was the first person who basically told me that I was really bad. I mean, he says, "Your game is not good!"

You know how he can be very honest, and I was like, Wow, no one's ever told me that before! He really laid it on the line.

Periodically, he's helped me over the past three or four years.

No. There was nothing [positive] that he could find because everything that I guess he likes about my game now, he hated—the controlled swing, no rhythm in the feet, so many variables he didn't like. So he saw nothing positive at all when he had talked to me the first time about it.

There's no one particular person I worked with; there were so many people involved with it. A lot of it was just myself searching for different opinions and different views and not only their views, but why. And why this would work and wouldn't work. And then I videotaped myself and videotaped just other bowlers in general. So there were so many people involved in the viewing of the tapes—their opinion and whether I agreed or disagreed. We'd go back and forth. But it's slowly gotten a little better over time.

It's not necessarily the article that Jowdy wrote ["The enigma" in BOWL Magazine, October 1995], but there have been articles previously that, if I'm not mistaken, mentioned my potential and a couple of other items. I have to take that for what it's worth—it says I have potential, and that's basically the end of it. I'd rather they write something like that about me than writing that I have no ability, no talent, and that I should go home.

However, I almost enjoy the fact that there are people who think that way. They think that I'll never do it. I almost enjoy that more than I do the praises because I've heard a lot of the praises. I have no problem with people telling me their opinion—good and/or bad. I respect them more for giving me an opinion rather than to say something behind my back.

So I would have to say that I look at those articles as sort of an compliment, and thank you, but I understand now that it's not going to make me bowl better or be more successful. It's up to me.

Yes, I am, I guess, because the article was pretty much the truth. I've wondered myself what's wrong, but a lot of times, you can wonder about yourself for so long and you create a problem by searching and searching. You're working on this physical game and trying to make it so stellar and this and do that and this.

And a lot of times it's just the fact that there's a way to win and there's a way to lose, and it's up to you to find out how to win. A lot of times it's easier to lose; it's much easier to lose. And that sounds stupid.

A lot of times when you've lost for so long, it's hard to turn it around into winning. That's what I'm up against at this point.

Yes. That's my impression when I hear, When are you going to win? If I was at a point where I was making shows on a regular basis and making a lot of finals and cashing regularly, I would say, "When am I gonna win?"

However, I have to look at this at a totally different point of view. I want to make every show. However, I've got to go out with the attitude that I have to take myself at my own pace. Go out there to attack to win, but understand that you're not going to win every tournament.

The key is to be on a more successful level every week. And then, when an opportunity arises, take full advantage of the opportunity to win the tournament.

Just looking at winning the tournament from Game 1, I don't think that's how the successful bowlers win. I think they approach the old cliché of "one shot at a time" and/or "one game" or take the situation and deal with this and everything else will take care of itself.

Winning will happen—over bowling well and cashing and making finals and making shows. If you give yourself enough opportunities, and you get that close, you're eventually going to crack through there and win.

If I went out there just to go, I'm going to win this tournament, and if I went out and bowled poorly the first game, I think I'm done. I might as well pack up.

It would be interesting to see what does happen after I won that first title—how I could be affected by it. But even after I win that first title, if I don't win again in the next few weeks, people are going to think that I'm a flash in the pan.

Some people think that if I win the first one, I'm going to win the next 10 tournaments. I laugh: That's not the way it works. I hope it does.

The key to my success is not winning one tournament.

Danny and I roomed together in the beginning of 1990—the first time we both were full-time touring players. Danny had worked hard and bowled well locally, and he was very fortunate to pick up Sports Plus as a sponsor. I was very happy for Danny—he deserved it. We were roommates and very good friends.

There have been other people who have won after him that I've obviously questioned—Why them and not me?—but I realized that was not very productive thinking, either. It was kind of an easy way out.

Well, both of them are very ... well, you said ignore the titles and money, but I think that ... well, the first .... As you can tell by the way I'm answering, I honestly don't know. The first simple answer to that is that I don't know. The other side of it is that there are quite a few things that are different between us.

They came out and—my bowling knowledge, unlike the Colley boys [1993 NCABA scratch all events champion, Tim, and PBA southern regional casher and one-time BOWL Magazine contributor, Jim] isn't that good—Aulby was [1979] PBA Rookie of the Year, and I believe he won [the PBA National Championship] that first year. Parker also won early in his career. That helps a lot.

The confidence factor that you get by going out there and not only thinking you can do it, but doing it, is a whole other subject. As you go on, and if it doesn't work and you're not winning and not being as successful as you thought or others thought, there's a lot of pressure that you apply to yourself. 

As in bowling and a lot of other sports and games, it really does come down to a few crucial shots in any situation. If you're not ready to perform in those situations, and when you make good shots and you don't get there, and when you make a poor shot and don't get there, the bottom line is that you still haven't gotten there. Over a period of time, that begins to weigh on you. A lot has to do with the mental attitude that you have. You have to keep trying to overcome all those negatives.

At the time, it's a compliment, and it makes you feel good. As I sit back and wonder what I could have done differently or how I handled this situation, I remember the Jowdys and the Aulbys, just in general references—You're going to do it. You're going to do it. I really thought that I would, but I wasn't pursuing it the way I should have pursued it.

Yeah, yeah—you're right, you're right. Like it's just going to happen. You just sit there, and it's ... just ... going ... to ... happen.

That's so idiotic thinking, but that's the way I was looking at it: They're right.

But five years later, I realize it's not that way.

So those [predictions] are nice. It makes me feel good to know that they respect my game enough to say these things. But also understand that it's not going to help me bowl better. It's not going to put up the titles and the money that I'm looking for—that's not the way it's going to work.

I would have to say that the money drives me now for the simple fact that I'm becoming in debt because of my bowling habit. In all honesty, if it were all about money, I would have quit at this point three or four years ago. So, no.

At times, it becomes the overwhelming factor when you're looking at what it costs to bowl. You have to round up sponsors, and then you look at what you can possibly make by creating the last check. By getting that last check, what can you offer these people in return? And that's a hard sell. So in that respect, yes, it is about the money.

People have asked, "What's it going to be like after that first [win]?" I don't know. But that money is the least thing in my mind. The trophy is not in my mind. At this point, money has nothing to do with me personally. This is a personal pursuit of a goal I have set that I have put a lot of years into and a lot of other people have helped me.

If somebody wanted to bowl me for a buck, and it was somebody who I thought really thought could beat me, and he wanted to show people he could beat me, I would try to beat him whether it was for a dollar or $50,000 because it's personal, meaning it's on the lanes, not a dislike—that has nothing to do with it.

Winning one time will not make my goal. My goal is set much higher than that. Obviously, the first win will be the most memorable—it would be great—and I'd be very disappointed if it didn't happen.

My goal is much more than that. I want to be in that PBA Hall of Fame, and I want to have 10-plus titles. If I didn't think I could do that, I wouldn't go bowl.

Hasn't happened yet. There's been no real joyous occasion—no, nothing at all.

I guess the last real downer was missing the show in Indianapolis two years ago. I had never been lower than fifth the whole tournament. I bowled Parker Bohn the last game, and he bowled very well—he shot in the mid-240s, I believe. I shot 190, and I actually thought I had made it, but Joe Salvemini had shot 280. He was in tenth, and he went around me to make the show.

That was a crusher because I hadn't made a show in quite a while. I had bowled well and then the last game, I didn't make the right decisions; I grinded away, and it just didn't work out. That was very disappointing.

And then I ended up making the show the following week, but I was in the lead by 300 pins at one point. I had only bowled on one end of the bowling center, like 1 through 40, and I had bowled all my games on 1 through 20 that morning and took a 300-pin lead. And [the press] was asking me what I thought. Actually, I had bowled one game on the higher end of the house, and I shot 140.

When I came back that night, all my games were on the high end of the house, and I just panicked right from the start. If we would have had another game to go, I wouldn't have made that show, either.

But that was disappointing in itself because I was in the lead, this was the Brunswick World Open, a very prestigious tournament, I was real excited, and I just took the gas there. It was horrible. And then I end up losing the first match to [Dave] Husted, who was the eventual winner.

The bowling was the easiest part of it, as far as leading. It was afterwards when I had to deal with people wanting to talk with me about what I was going to do and how was I doing, where I was from, and just in general, asking me a lot of questions. It was nice, but it was different.

So not only did I have to bowl and do all the other things I have to take care of, I was having to run back and forth to the press room, so they reminded me of it. Here I'm not thinking about it, but they're reminding me so much that now I'm thinking, Wow, I am leading. I'm leading by 340!

Then the next thing you know, at the end of the tournament, [the press] didn't want to speak to me—as usual.

So no, I don't think it's hard to lead, it's just a different experience. I had made a few shows before that, but I had never led. I was always sneaking around, but I took that early lead, I was out in front, and, you know: "We haven't heard much about you." [The press] didn't know who I was, where I was from—they knew nothing.

So that's what becomes more difficult: It's a different experience, and you're not used to a lot of the things that were going on.

I guess the first time it happens, you think it's going to happen all the time, as far as their wanting to talk to you. But no, I realize that's the way it is.

If Mike Aulby and I are sitting together and we're tied for the lead, they're probably going to want to talk to him. He's got mid-20 titles, and I have none, and that's just the way it is. That's part of being out there, and hopefully one day, I'll be sitting next to some younger guy who has a lot of potential and I'll go, "Have a seat and relax, I'll be back."

I feel I have the ability to bowl on quite a few different conditions and bowl well on them. Unfortunately, in today's environment you need to be either very, very good on those varied conditions or you need to be dominant on one condition.

As a matter of fact, the last time I bowled an under [below a 200 average] tournament was the beginning of 1994, so I feel I'm much steadier than I was. I'm able to keep my composure and figure out the lane much faster.

But in all that changing and doing the different variables of the shot, repetitiveness on a particular condition isn't there like it was. And then you lose your dominance, and when you lose that, you lost what got you on tour. And that has a lot to do with the lack of winning.

Unfortunately, I've been fiddling with my physical game for such a long time. I keep picking up so many things that I view as important, which probably aren't nearly as important as the mental state that I've gotten myself into over the past—I'd say since the [television] show in the fall of 1993.

At this point in time, I'm trying to unscramble my brains, basically, and become much more positive. That's why I've been talking with [tour consultant] Billy Hall. I've realized that a lot of times the reason he and I seem to agree on a great deal is because I've noticed I've tried to be open-minded and listen to people's suggestions or their ideas.

We had a long talk the other day, and I'm sure this happens to many people that a lot of times you're looking around and you're searching for something that's wrong—and there really isn't anything wrong. But you're spending so much time searching for it, and you've got the answers, you know what's right or wrong, and it's up to you to apply it.

That's basically the end of that story.

I've always fought with my emotions. I used to get so keyed up that I was ready to throw the ball through the back of the unit. And that's basically what has happened in the past. It seems that I've been light every single time I need a hit, so I'm not yanking it, but I'm just missing it from getting a little excited.

I can remember on my first show in 1990 bowling against [Scott] Devers. I remember him throwing the first one, and then he threw a crossover on the second hit, and I remember telling myself, It doesn't matter. I'm going to win this match. I know I'm going to win this match, and this is the way I want to win it.

And then, when I didn't get it [leaving the 3-5 pins], I was, like, shocked: What a minute, this is not the way it's supposed to be!

I guess there are a bunch of different ways to approach situations like that. I have to learn how to teach myself to handle every shot basically like it is the same. Some people can get pumped up for a particular shot; I get so pumped up that it causes me trouble. I have got to learn to control that emotion from Game 1 all the way through.

The only thing that I feel good about, even though unfortunately there's been a couple of times I haven't struck, is that I'm not afraid to throw that shot. I still want to win my first tournament, and I want to strike out to win that tournament. That's still my dream, and that's how I think about that happening. Of course, I want to win any way I can, and I'm gonna take a win any way I can straggle through.

Unfortunately, they have done my game no good. They're not helping me. If anything, they've taken away my advantage.

The ability to create back-end and/or to get the ball to come back when I did miss left.

I don't think the bowling balls are the biggest problem; there's also the lane conditions themselves. The bowling balls can be eliminated by the push of a button.

In the past, the area centers had a heavier concentration of oil in the middle, but it was more blended going to the gutter. So therefore, you could get a great amount of rotation on the ball, but if you missed to the outside of your target, if you rolled it heavily, you would possibly create some friction to carry a lighter hit. And then if you actually got it in slightly, it would actually hold pocket because of the oil holding it back.

Now it's basically the opposite. If you miss the target to the outside, for certain speeds and rolls, the ball goes high. And then if you move your eyes inward and miss your target in—now when I'm saying miss targets, I'm talking about by a board each way, possibly—the ball goes light.

I'm constantly fighting the fact that the dry is so dry and the oil line is so heavy that the dropoff is enormous. I'm always fighting that wet/dry or that type of high/light, change of balls, or moving around. That's been my nemesis. It's been not good, and I keep working on it. It's a speed and a roll. I can drill as many bowling balls as I want; the fact of the matter is that I'm not matching up to the condition properly.

Whenever you have a wet and a dry, that is a high-scoring condition—for somebody. No matter how wet or how dry it is, somebody's going to be bowling well.

Yes. If they don't compete on my level, it's because they don't compete on the conditions I bowl on. They have the ability to do so. 

Who are these individuals?

The only reason I'm not going to answer that is because it would be unfair to put the pressure on them. I'm willing to take the rag, and I've told a few people that I really respect their game, and I think they would do well. It would be unfair for me to put that type of pressure on them, whether they're going to be ragged on because I said it or just the fact that if I say it, they think they have to go out and prove something, which just adds pressure on to them that is unnecessary.

I know I'm leading you on, but some of them are surprises who most people wouldn't think of, but I think they have tremendous ability, and some of them don't even know it.

If there was a system that I thought—and I do not know what it is—that would be a very fair way of evaluating who is the best bowler or the top bowlers in the area, that would be a good idea. I just don't know of a system that would work because the way it was I believe was from averages out of a particular bowling center. Now it's amazing that from center to center, the average may vary 30 pins.

Gary Parsons has proven that by his ranking system. He caused a bit of controversy by putting so-and-so first and this person eighth or tenth, and that did stir up a little bit of action in the area. People started to get interested in tournament bowling. So in that respect, no matter what the situation, it does cause some type of conversation about bowling, and maybe get these people to come out and bowl in more tournaments.

Absolutely. That's the way I feel. However, that obviously hasn't been working. I bowled a few tournaments recently, and I'd been staying away from some of the local stuff because I was so burnt out from bowling poorly on the tour.

I feel like I should be at a major advantage because I do get to practice a lot and I have the availability of equipment and a few other variables that they don't have access to or as easily. I do believe there are a lot of times where practice and/or the equipment don't even come into play on some of the conditions that are bowled on because of the short formats. Basically, they are four, five, or six games straight, and you cut to match play.

The bowlers in the area have become much more knowledgeable, and they are better bowlers as a group, so you're not going to come in and just lap the field. They can play, and if they get a certain ball reaction and a certain look, they'll average 240. So that's talent, that's good bowling, no matter what the environment is.

There was at first, but I think that over a period of time because I haven't done well, I think I'm not looked at that way as much as I am that, "He's a touring player. He can't bowl out there, and he really stinks back here!"

For every John Jowdy, there are maybe two or three other people who won't say it, or I haven't heard them say it, but they have those feelings, too. I will not argue with these persons, and I won't tell them they're wrong because I have to accept the fact that I haven't been successful on tour, and I may not have done what I wanted to do locally, but I am trying.

I've never come back home and said I'm the best bowler out there or in this area. I've never made comments like that. However, they're not going to say that to me without getting a response out of me. If they think they can beat me, I can be found, and I will bowl them, and it will be purely a bowling match—it's nothing personal.

I think I've proven somewhat that I can bowl, and I've bowled against the best bowlers in the world and made a few telecasts. So I don't think anybody has a real right to criticize me for attempting to pursue my own goals.

I have told other people in this area that I hope that everybody who wants to go bowl on tour or to go to a higher level of bowling gets their chance. Some, because I think they can do it. Others, so they can realize what it's really like.

The only thing that came close to being embarrassing, and only a couple people realized it, was after I lost my TV match in Indianapolis at the 1991 U.S. Open. All week, I had used the restroom on the low end next to the paddock. After I lost, I walked into the bathroom on the high end and unfortunately, I didn't look up to the "Men" and "Women" signs—they had switched them from the low end of the house. I was in the women's room washing my hands before I realized there were no urinals—but only after some lady informed me that I was in the wrong restroom!

Part II

Has the routine of the tour gotten old for you?

When you're 19 or 20, you're free to roam and do as you will, which, unfortunately, is what I did for a while. If you have to grow up, you're not going to be successful, and if you are, you're not going to be around long because you're going to burn out. You've got to stay on top of the game: It's changing so fast—the technology and the caliber of bowlers out there.

I'm burning out, but I find if I bowl three weeks and then take a week off, no matter what, that helps me get through it. But if you're not bowling well, you can bowl three weeks and take a week off and still be fried when you go back out for the fourth one.

When it's not going well, you really have to try to turn it around. Try to just forget that past experience and go on to the next week because a lot of times you're beating yourself up for not bowling well. You come back and you're still in a bad frame of mind and you get off to a slow start. The next thing you know, there are five lefties on the show. You may sneak into the finals and you may get a check, but those few frames earlier cost you a lot of money.

It used to be. Now I understand because I bowled with Aulby at times when he was 500 or 600 over and I was even.

I know I'm going to hear flack about this, but when the left was playing better, the lefties would just dominate the field because the right side of the lane was so poor and the left was that much better. But now the variables change so fast out there, and the left-handers—there's more of 'em and I believe they're better than they were because of sheer numbers—are able to do more things on the lane.

Maybe it used to be where if you threw it hard and you'd play up the gutter, you'd have a good reaction. Now there are guys who can slow-loop it or go up the gutter.

Of course, it makes you wonder if you go out and you bowl the first two or three weeks and there isn't a lefty in existence, and then when you're home you look at the paper and say, "Ah, sheesh—not a good week to take off!" At least there was a possibility that I would have had a chance.

That's the down side of taking a week off—you have to accept it and say that it was nobody's fault except my own. I should be bowling, and I chose not to because no matter how well the lefties may be doing, if you're not into it and you're not physically and mentally prepared, you're not going to do well anyway.

It pisses me off. I hate it. I don't like it. Jason is a very good friend of mine. We talk regularly on the phone, and it's nothing personal against him and/or Ricky, but I don't like it, but I don't like it because I'm not there. That's not their fault. Maybe that's an ego, I don't know what exactly that is. At first it bothers me in that I do say, "What are they doing? Why are they successful?" For different reasons, both of them are successful. Jason is just aggressive—all aggressive. When he gets it, he's going to hurt 'em. Ricky is so laid back the other way. It's knowing yourself. I really think that has a lot to do with it.

That's an excellent question: Do I love to bowl? I get joy when there's nobody in this bowling center except me and my friends and I can bowl—bowl and discuss how the lane breaks down and how bowling on different surfaces has this or that effect. Even the bowling balls—what surfaces of balls and the pin placements. There are so many things involved in bowling well now that you can make it as simple or as complicated as you want.

I love bowling. People limit themselves to what they can and can't do with a bowling ball. Most people have the ability and talent to do a lot of things that they just don't think they can do because they don't understand the game as much as they do the equipment and vice versa.

I love the actual watching of people bowl in slow-mo and figuring out what this does and why they walk left or why is [David] Ozio bowling poorly now and bowled great then and/or vice versa. I like that part.

That's probably a double-edged sword. I believe when I was at Sports Plus, I had discussed with [General Bowl's] John Benko and Annandale about doing some of that stuff.

People are not calling me, to answer your question. It's my responsibility possibly to pursue those things on my own. A lot of times, I have all good intentions—and I'm sure that [former sponsor] Bruce Merriman is laughing at this right now if he's reading it—but a lot of times when I go out and don't do well and I'm not bowling well, it's hard for me to come into a bowling center with the right mental attitude to deal with people about bowling.

I have no problem whatsoever discussing bowling, agreeing or disagreeing with me about bowling, but it's hard for me to deal with people sometimes when I feel like there are a lot of people who will criticize me for my lack of performance on tour and yet want advice from me and/or help—I have trouble letting those things go. But there are a few people I can't let affect my overall thought and what I should be giving back.

I would enjoy doing something like that, and that is one of the things I will do in the future.

Not understanding the lane changing. In today's environment, the lane changes so fast, and you have to change with it or else you will not do well. A lot of bowlers blame themselves too much and do not move with the lane.

Because of the boom of equipment and the so-called easier or softer lane conditions, I think it's easier for them to first pursue drilling a bowling ball or talking to a pro shop expert. That's a fine avenue, but I think it comes to a point where it will be a dead-end street eventually.

And the pro shop people tell you the same thing. It gets to a point where you want to help the customer as much as you can, but there's only so much the bowling balls can do. If they can't read the lane, they can't tell you what they need, so you can be doing the exact wrong things for them, and that's the unfortunate side of that.

It doesn't bother me because I understand the difference. However, it's unfortunate for those who don't choose to or don't want to understand the difference. It is a hard situation to explain that the among PBA members, the highest average ever is 222, and amateurs in leagues are in the mid-230s.

Unfortunately, it's like you're criticizing their performance when they're averaging in the mid-230s, but that's not the point. There's a different environment on tour to maintain, and it's a no-win situation. What are you going to tell the bowling centers—not to put out a high-scoring environment? They need bowlers in their bowling centers. You can't rag on them for doing that.

Yes, it's very difficult. But locally, I'm able to tell the lanesmen what I want, and they do all they can to try to set something up like the tour is doing. But I've realized that it's so difficult to set up because I would need about 10 or 15 left-handers to come bowl on my pair with me because that is the biggest part of bowling on the tour.

It's not that you have to be a genius to bowl out there, which we all know. It's not the fact that the conditions aren't sometimes easy and/or difficult. Sometimes you have to play the one-two [boards], sometimes you have to cross the ball between the fifth and sixth arrows on the right, and even the fourth and fifth on the left—it occurs this way.

But what you cannot understand or they can't appreciate is that they oil those lanes once. Sometimes there's a lot to start, sometimes there's little. But when you get about 50 lines on each lane, that oil is gone off the front part of the lane.

And when the right-handers start moving left, and they're already into the left side of the lane, and the left-handers are trying to move right, there's a problem. That's when the carrydown and the breakdown characteristics of the lane will determine whether it will be a left-handed-dominated tournament or the right-handers are going to fare well and keep up.

It becomes difficult, but for the people at home, it is much easier.

Hopefully, he has a background to fall back on. As far as bowling advice, hook up with a particular bowling center and go around and try to find a way to set up different types of patterns to get at least an understanding that you're not going to be able to stand between 15 and 25 everywhere you go.

There are going to be weeks—and people will not believe me—and I'll tell them that I am sliding in the right gutter cap, lofting the ball over the gutter because that's where the shot is. It is not necessarily hard to play there—that's where the shot is. It may take a 220 average from there.

This past year in Toledo, [Jason] Couch made the show doing that. All the left-handers were in that deep. And the right-handers for the most part every week are in that deep because of the breakdown of the lane. And there are other weeks where you have to hang it off the gutter.

So there are just different variables that you have to become accustomed to and say, Hey, this isn't that awkward, it's just a different angle.

It used to be that everybody said that you had to go out and learn to bowl on the tour, and I still believe that's true. However, you can be much, much more trained and prepared to bowl out there if you do the right things at home, meaning that if you get right environment to practice under, if you have a good set of eyes, and if you have knowledge and equipment and surfaces and lane conditions, you'll be a step ahead—big steps ahead. So therefore, it's not going to cost you as much for a learning experience.

That discussion comes up over a lot of meals at night. The general impression is that Tish Johnson obviously can play. The right-handers will tell you that she can play, too, because she's left-handed and she'd have less players to beat on the national tour.

It seems that there's a certain stamina involved with bowling. I think it depends on the condition that is put down on the lane. If they put a condition down where it had broke down a great deal up front and they were forced to throw the ball very hard or generate a certain amount of speed that they are physically unable to do, I don't think they would fare too well.

I don't know whether they would do well or not. They'd have a hard time beating the best bowlers in the world. Would they cash and make some finals? Yeah. But as far as to go out there and dominate that tour and win titles, I don't see it. But in the next few years, that would be another option: Let 'em bowl. Why not?

If you're having trouble finding positives, that has to be the biggest one in the last couple of years. That has really become very popular, and the bowlers on tour love it. It really is a unique situation. People are rowdy, the pregame warmup, the parties outside—it's really nice.

I think it is. It's just something to say. A lot of that is filler—just like the condition we bowl on this week is "35 feet of oil" and "dry back-ends." It's the same basic concept each week.

I adamantly and totally disagree with a lot of things that go on the show. As long as you treat the viewers like they're 12 years old, that's the way they're going to view the game. And I still believe that's the way they view it.

[The announcers] can't call the proper pins, they mispronounce words. I'm not picking on any particular telecast, but there's one in general where this definitely happens. But then, the other side of that is the business side.

They love Nelson Burton Jr., and they love Chris Schenkel. They are great for maybe the novice bowler—people who just flip that TV on every week. Unfortunately, we're missing the people who we need—not that we don't need the others. We need those younger viewers. We need them to make it more interesting.

There are so many variables into a bowling lane and who's bowling well and who isn't and why this person is shooting 270 and he is bowling against this person who's shooting 140. Why is this happening? We're told that "He's having a bad day" or "He's not following through." So that's the part that's difficult because from my point of view, I look at it and go, This is a joke!

I guess it's always whose eyes you are looking through—ABC-TV's or the players.

The situation that occurs now is people want scores. People want to see 300 to 270, and that's what the show, in my opinion, should be—a show. An absolute farce. Wall 'em up, move the corners in, and let 'em go at it.

Unfortunately, the person who has bowled on a certain condition all week and is leading the tournament by a couple of hundred pins, doesn't view that the same way as myself or the average viewer. So it still comes back to, Whose eyes are we looking through?

If you're looking for integrity, go bowl down the street, run 'em flat, and bowl pot games or action—whatever you want to do. This is bowling, and this is a show, so therefore, let's do what we need to do. If that what it takes to increase ratings or revenue to come into the tour, that's the way it should be. And that's what they're trying to do; they are trying to make that condition as soft as they can. But a lot of times, the lights and the hour of practice changes them that much. And [due to] the amount of friction and heat bowling balls create, the lane does change rapidly.

That's the other thing that's so great about that arena setting: I don't know why, but it seems like the scores are much, much higher. I think it's because the heat isn't as trapped in the environment. Once it settles down, it stabilizes like a bowling center would do in a regular situation.

As somebody watching the show and not having ever spoken to Nelson Burton, I would not like the show because I don't believe he goes into detail enough. With a lot of things, he's tied down and can't do. He doesn't talk enough about what particular balls the bowlers are using, why or what drilling, the [ball] surface, the surface of the lane, what type of viscosity of oil they are using, where the shot should be all week, what is happening in the environment today.

But in talking to him in a one-on-one situation, he's incredibly knowledgeable, obviously. He's won numerous titles, he's been around bowling his whole life. He is doing what they want him to do, and that's an unfortunate situation because I had never really sat down and spoke with him about these things. All of a sudden, it's like, this guy—he's incredible! He really tremendous!

I've heard in the past that he's really pro- player, meaning that he wants to see the best things for the players. But he is doing a job, and he has to separate those duties from being a player and the player's side.

The first impression was that I didn't like it, I don't like what he's doing. But then on the other side when I look at it, he's doing what he's supposed to do and it's not his fault.

He's got a great deal of knowledge. He's amazing to talk to. I just think it's unfortunate that he can't explain more on the show.

Quite a few people—it's not to do with them, but rather with me. There's only like four or five people I know I can really trust. I get along with about everyone out there.

There obviously are people who I would not want to hang around with, and one of them would be Bob Vespi—and I've told him that. I like him, we can communicate, and I think he's great for bowling, but we're just completely different types of people. I can tell him this, and I'll show him the interview! That's the way it is. He cracks me up because he's just so intense when he's bowling, and he gets so carried away sometimes that you want to strangle him. But then you realize that it's just him. Just like I had to try to learn to accept the way he is, especially on the lanes.

If I had just watched some people bowl, including myself, I'd say, "What a jerk!" But off the lanes, people tend to relax a bit more and they're actually human beings. It's just that you wouldn't know it if you just watched them bowl.

No. He's a hard person to understand because he just gets so intense when you bowl against him. He'll yell and scream and get in your face, and I'm just not the type of person who can take it but for so long, and then I say something back and you have hard feelings against somebody and really nothing's ever meant to be. But no, I don't hate Bob Vespi; it's more of a playful type of thing. Everybody thinks he's such a jerk; I figured I'd add on to the philosophy.

Generally, the only right-hander who gets to hang out with us is Ozio. For the most part, it's Eric Forkel and Ozio. Jason Couch and Parker Bohn quite a bit, too.

By far, Larry Lichstein, Johnny Petraglia, and Joe Hutchinson. They have so many stories, they've been out there for such a long time, and they've seen so many people come and go. The stories they tell go back to the early 1960s. It's just amazing. I love to listen to them speak. It's fantastic, entertaining.

Ozio has to be one of those people. He will tell you his opinions a lot. There are others who don't say much who are absolute geniuses in the game. Not to jump on his bandwagon, but Norm Duke is quite amazing.

Vespi, Kelly Coffman, and Bob Benoit. A lot of people enjoy watching Benoit, and he is one of those people who is a absolute delight in the pro-am, from what I can see. But if you bowl him in the tournament, you have to always be aware of what could be going on. It's the same general principle going back to Vespi. I don't know if I want them to bowl well or not—they're just fun to watch bowl. It's a John Daly-type of atmosphere.

The first one who pops in my head is Dave Arnold. He's always thinking—he appears to be. Practices more than anybody. People don't even notice he practices because if there's an 80-lane center, he will get the end pair, and he will be there five or six hours at a time. He does not talk, he does not speak to anyone, unless it's [brother-in-law] Jess Stayrook. But other than that, he's very quiet, very nice, and doesn't say much. He works really hard, and he deserves the success he's had in the last couple of years.

I used to think it was Parker [Bohn], but now it's probably Parker and Jason Couch. We all three have a tendency to get quite a bit of speed without realizing it a lot of times. They throw the ball relatively hard, and that's usually who I'll end up watching.

Probably my first TV match against Scott Devers in 1990. It makes me wonder how it would be different had I thrown a better shot on the first hit in the tenth and won my first match. I'll always wonder until I've won what it will be like after I win. So that was a huge shot.

It all comes down to personality. Some people out there can bowl 30 weeks straight—people know themselves and their bodies. It sounds ridiculous, and I admit it, but if you're out there and bowl three weeks in a row—and I would like to know what this feels like—if you make three or four finals in a row, and you have been making the show, it is very stressful because you don't have any time.

It's not so much the physical stamina, it's the mental stress that you're put under. It's from getting up at 7 or 7:30 in the morning—not that that's early—practicing, working on some balls, getting ready for the beginning block. You have to do a lot of equipment work now. You practice a half-hour to an hour beforehand because you have to be there for roll call. You bowl your block.

Whether you bowl well or not, now you have to determine what's going to happen for the next block. How are they going to break down? What type of equipment should I be looking for? What type of surfaces? Then you have to go eat, so that gives you about an hour, and then you have to be back for roll call again and the same process keeps going over and over.

There are a lot of guys who still don't believe you should take weeks off, but Norm Duke, if I'm not mistaken, isn't going to bowl the first three weeks of the fall. He does that a lot: When he gets to a point, he may win two weeks in a row, and then he just won't bowl. He'll say, "Yeah, I'm on a roll, but I'm tired. If I go out there and I happen to bowl poorly the first block, my mind won't have the energy to focus on what I'm trying to do, so I just won't waste my time." He figures if he goes home and rests for a week, he'll come back and win the next one.

I know that's how I am: I've got to give myself some time because you practice and practice and practice and you overtrain—you just beat yourself up. You need to relax and enjoy it for a little bit.

I would say it's almost impossible, but that's not necessarily true. With the infinite number of balls on the market today, it's very difficult. Especially on tour, a lot of times you don't always get the information that you would if you were in a pro shop. You don't know the weight block, what it looks like, etc.

My personal view is to try to keep it a little simpler. I think in the past, I've confused myself. Sticking with one or two companies that are pretty strong is probably the best advice I have.

I don't necessarily see them looking down on [the non-winners]; I do see a change in their attitude. A lot of it could be seen as negative until you understand that they're that way now because that's the winning attitude for them. I've noticed quite a few people who have had quite a bit of change.

On the other side, maybe people didn't pay attention to them before. But now that they've been successful, they're under the microscope. We're going to look for something.

I do know this: The more successful it seems that you are out there, the less friends you're going to have. If you're clowning around and obviously not a threat to take money out of peoples' pockets, they're going to be your friend. I'm not saying that they're doing that just for that reason, I'm just saying that as you become more successful, people have a tendency to dislike you—or like you—more or less.

I enjoy fishing quite a bit, even though it's really aggravating at times. I enjoy playing volleyball, and I really like to play softball. Unfortunately, I haven't got to play much softball due to the time factor, but I enjoy going to the batting cages and getting outside. As long as I'm not bowling on tour, if I can come in and be by myself, I still love to practice; I do love to bowl.

That's a good question because I don't think a lot of people know me at all. I think they judge me by my bowling antics—whether I'm having a bad day or mouthing off at the pins or somebody or I walk a certain way. They may not care for me with my attitude, but I think most people who have talked to me as a general rule find that I'm very honest, and I'm going to tell you what I think. That's not to say that I will get on somebody's back and tell him I dislike him. But if somebody comes up and talks to me, I will talk back to them. I'm just not sometimes the type of person who will walk up in general and just make conversation.

Sometimes I enjoy being by myself, and I've been that way a lot of times. Since my brother and sister were much older than myself, I did spend a lot of time [alone], and I kind of enjoy it sometimes.

It changed me because I realized I guess for the first time that you can go at any time—there are absolutely no guarantees. I know that sounds ridiculous and we should all know that, but I guess you don't think about it until the death of the first person I had been really close to. Other than my grandparents whom I saw occasionally, he was the first person I was really associated with who is no longer going to be in my life.

At first, I was very aggravated and really upset—very short-tempered. I started reading positive-type books—you know, how to see the world in a different light. It was not necessarily bad, but my bowling suffered.

I was away a month, and it should have been a lot longer. I shouldn't have been out [on tour]; I was ticked off at the world, and everybody else who got in my path at that point in time. It was unfortunate: I really didn't deal with the situation during that time. I had to learn to deal with it and go on.

That's a hard question because I guess I don't know myself. I think I'm ... I see myself as ... aggressive, but yet somber. I think that ... I'm very, ah—that's not the adjective. I can't describe myself as how I am because I think I'm so much different from when I'm bowling, and the bowling has been so poor over the past few years. Outside of that, I think I'm aggressive. An attacker. I don't know.

I'm involved slightly with The Strike Zone and Scott Bailey—the Baileys own the shop there. Scott and I have been very good friends since I was a sophomore in high school. I'm working there on a part-time basis—if they need somebody to fill in or if he needs to take a day off or vice versa.

Not particularly. I don't think it's crossed anybody else's mind, either! I don't know—it's really not me. I'm really not that interested overall in halls of fame. While it's interesting, it's not why I do this or why I'm searching. It's not a primary goal.

Are you supposed to discuss your goals? Is that something they tell you to do? Right now, my short-term goal is to go out and try to rekindle my bowling in a way, not physically but with a different mental approach. I'm going to go out and enjoy it, first of all, and be successful. If I'm not, I will keep pursuing and doing the things to make it successful on a short term.

On the longer term, I'm looking forward to the beginning of next year. I'll get off to a good start—that's going to be essential. I'm not going to look at the winning side of this right now. I'm going to look to go out and perform the way I know I can. And when that happens, good things will happen.

That's where it will depend on me to not overlook the cashing and making the finals and looking strictly at the win. It will always be attacking to win that tournament but accepting each individual shot and each individual week for what it's worth and not let one week carry into the next and go on and on and on.

My goals are to basically enjoy bowling like I used to and not try to figure some of the things out and just let those things happen. And for things that are not happening, figure out why they're not happening and change them and make them work. 

Part III

How did you become a member of PBA's tournament committee?

Actually, I was appointed by Mr. [Mike] Connor, [who departed his post as PBA commissioner on Dec. 31, 1995]. There are people he can appoint, and I was one of them.

Yes, I thought that was very nice. I also think a lot of times they try to represent everybody on the tour, whether that be titlists of a certain age, nontitlists of a certain age, and I think I was one of the younger people who's been out there for a few years and had an idea of what was going on—and hadn't won.

I was on the committee for, I think, three years. At first it was very exciting, and I looked forward to it. I thought I had some good ideas; I thought I could change quite a few things. It's unfortunate that it didn't work out the way I had planned.

The tournament committee basically deals with fines and obligations. After a few weeks, you're very tired, and a lot of players aren't showing up for the meetings. You discuss whether so-and-so should be fined for cursing out loud or kicking the ball return. After you spend an hour or two on this, it gets very aggravating. You feel like you're in there wasting your time.

It was a good experience, and I'm glad I did it. I just think that the form in which it's set up is not going to be productive. Things won't get accomplished by doing it that way.

We had insights to quite a few different things; unfortunately, with ABC-TV and the PBA office, there were a lot of things we didn't know about on the tournament committee. The way it works is that the tournament committee would bring up suggestions and proposals, and these would go on to the executive board committee.

Nothing seemed to really get done there either, because if there was a proposal for there to be more money on the national tour, the regional tours would want to know where it was going, or the senior tour. The regional tours then would want to have more money put into their tour, and we would reject it. So it became almost a back-and-forth situation, and nobody ended up winning.

It's not necessarily going up against a wall, but I'm very curious as to what our marketing scheme is and if we really have any marketing people who are real aggressive. But that will be known in the next month, I believe—there's some reconstruction going on at the office.

I never had to make calls on any of my close friends, but there were times when you had to uphold a fine on people where it was an uncomfortable situation because they would know the final vote. They obviously wouldn't necessarily know who voted for or against them, but they had a pretty good idea. And a lot of times, those players would shy away from you or know that you voted against them.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't happen. However, you would hope that it doesn't happen. I've told people I've bowled against and vice versa that it won't be that way.

I really believe some people expect it because they're playing somebody who'll basically ditch a match. If that is the intention or that's the way it's going to be, it's very unfair for the person who is behind you.

I would never dog a match—under no circumstances. It's not fair for those people who are out there trying to bowl for a living. You have to get past the friendship.

If you're in a situation where if you know friends are bowling each other, for example, who are third and fourth, and you're in fifth or sixth or seventh or eighth, you have to ignore that because there's going to be some times where there could be some doubts in your mind, and you just don't know.

I've never turned anybody in.

Generally speaking, there are people who have bothered me, but I wouldn't turn them in. I would prefer to handle it myself. If I found someone bowling next to me who was walking into my lane every other shot or yelling or screaming or throwing stuff around while I'm trying to bowl, I would generally go up to him and say, "Hey look, I know you're a little upset, but calm down a little bit." You try to handle it that way, but if things obviously get out of hand, then I'd turn him in.

At this point, I don't. I've talked to a few ball companies, and there are some strong possibilities, but right now, I'm a free agent, an independent.

There's been a controversy over the PBA membership qualifications—the 190 average. I think it's fine to be a PBA member; however, we're riding the fence on this situation.

They're wanting people to join the PBA, but to bowl at a national stop, you have to go to school and cash in a couple of regionals. At the state that we're in, they should open up the field, whether you're a regional member or whether you want to join and increase the prize fund so that Rudy K[asimakis] and the Chris Barneses, and the Pat Healeys will want to bowl on the tour. That hurts the tour, them not being there. These guys are fantastic amateur bowlers. John Gaines—you name it.

There are quite a few excellent bowlers who choose not to bowl on the tour because it costs quite a bit to stay a member. A lot of times they're better off bowling amateur tournaments—they can make more money.

In the situation we're at, [PBA] needs to loosen that up to get the absolute best bowlers out there. When we're bowling for a great deal of money, then people will want to become members, and they will want to pay that initiation and annual dues.

Now, I think [the current policy] decreases the talent on tour. It would be beneficial for a lot of guys to be on [the national] tour, but they choose not to do so.

That's true. It's one of the bigger problems, but I think they would all admit to you that it's unfortunate that those kinds of players are unable or unwilling and that they ought to come bowl on tour. The biggest response from the players is, "We're out here trying to do this as a living; they're doing it on a part-time basis."

They're bowling for more money or less money as we do in amateur events, so we have to give them a reason to want to come bowl.

Obviously, a lot of people don't agree with my point of view.

You have to look at the number of members who join to have that card and what the dues are. It's hard for [PBA] to give up those annual dues.

But, yes, to answer your question, I think it is [a joke].

It's so difficult. Not even Mike Connor, I don't think, can change things the way they are. Sometimes it comes down to the television rights. At this point, everybody keeps relying on that TV money to make us successful. It's just not there.

People are not buying our commercial air time for the price it's quoted. They're calling at the last minute and undercutting ABC. And ABC gets aggravated, and they're going to take it out on us. They moved [the start of "Pro Bowlers Tour"] back to March. To them, it's a financial situation: They say they're losing money.

We even contemplated telling them that we didn't want that $50,000 and that we're going to search elsewhere. But we're in a situation where, for most of the guys, what are they going to do? They feel as if they have to bowl. They can't afford to give up, whether it's $50,000 a show—or $20,000. They still want to bowl, and they need to bowl out there to make that income.

That's one of those situations where if I was in the top 12, I would really like that. If I wasn't, I probably wouldn't be too pleased with it.

We've discussed numerous things on the national tour about changing formats, and that was one of things that came up: that we were going to change the TV format in that if you won the previous week, you were going to be seeded on the show. At first, they said seeded No. 1, and then it was seeded No. 5. Then there was the King of the Hill idea.

That's where the separation has to come in—What is best for the tour itself? Is it better for a potential sponsor? As an avid bowler, would I want to see Pete Weber bowling Norman Duke? Or would I rather watch two rabbits who happened to make the show? For the potential viewers, they want to see the big match.

So as a player, no, I wouldn't care for that if I wasn't in the top 12. As a potential sponsor, sure, Tish Johnson bowling Anne Marie Duggan—of course, that's a great match. So it's a hard situation.

That is a tough question. Duke, D'Entremont, Vespi, Weber, and Ozio.

Dave [Ozio], because of his passion of always searching for the perfect physical game, and at times confusing himself into confusion. And because I generally like Ozio.

Weber, for the way he is able to attack bowling. He's a very aggressive bowler, and he's real exciting to watch.

Vespi, because he could shoot 300 or 130. He's exciting to watch bowl. When he's in a close match, he'll yell and scream and get in somebody's face, and that's enjoyable and good for bowling.

D'Entremont, because he's got the most leverage and balance that I've ever seen somebody bowl with. He gets such an incredible amount of rotation on the ball with so little effort.

They say this about a lot of people, and it's been an old cliché, that when he or she starts striking, they may strike forever. It is the truth with him. His ball hits like it weighs 30 pounds. The pins, the way they lumber on each other, and the roll is so tremendous.

And Norm Duke, because he's the best bowler in the world.

I've seen Walter Ray bowl well from all angles on the lane, but recently, for whatever reason, Norm is bowling well up the lane, and he's going a little straighter. Norm has, in my opinion, a bigger chance of winning a tournament throwing that big loop shot, which makes him more versatile as far as winning.

Walter Ray can do all those things, but when you talk about the best in the world, you've got Walter Ray just missing in second [place]—it's that close. You're talking about such a small difference.

There are a lot of decisions coming up. The Senior Tour, the last I heard, is talking about being its own entity and moving on their own way. I not so sure that wouldn't be a bad idea for them because their membership is booming: They're filling fields at 420, and we're not filling fields at 160. It seems that it's really starting to grow for them.

It's hard to say what's going to happen. It seems like oversees, we're starting to get some tournaments. Unfortunately, most of them are invitationals at this point, but I've heard rumors of there being some regular tour stops in Europe.

It's so up-in-the-air what's going on with the tour itself. [New PBA Executive Director Mark] Gerberich is good, but the players have got to get involved. If they don't, we'll have this same conversation next year.

RICHARD WOLFE: Up close and personal

Most marked characteristic: Ability to deal with different types of people. I can talk to all types of people and I have no prejudices so to speak of. I communicate well with people. I don't think I'm quick to judge.

Trait you deplore about yourself: Procrastinator

Quality you like most in a person: Honesty

Living person you hate: The lawyers in the O.J. Simpson trial. The whole process of this thing is disturbing in that in our world there's still so much racial tension. And it seems to be something that is either constantly either coming up or occurring. Whether people are playing it off or it's happening, it's unfortunate it has to be discussed as much as it is.

Pet peeve: Inconsiderate people

Favorite TV shows: "Frasier," "Seinfield," many Discovery Channel programs.

Favorite movie: It used to be the original CaddyShack, but now Dumb and Dumber has taken over.

Favorite actor: Jim Carey.

Favorite actress: Meg Ryan—she's beautiful.

Last book read: The Client by John Gresham

Favorite tour city: Grand Prairie, Texas.

Favorite cereal: Rice Krispies

Favorite dinner: All types of chicken.

Most overused word: "fantastic"

Greatest regret: I didn't apply myself in high school.

Idea of perfect happiness: Live a simple life, be successful on tour, be married with a few children, a dog, and a white picket fence. ·