Bowling alleys in or around napa CA

[Geetaan]

does anyone know of any bowling alleys in or around napa? I have read some reviews that Napa bowl is pretty bad... so i dont Know if I wanna bowl there. I will be probably moving to napa for school in the fall and want to get in a league there.

[J_w73]

where have you read that napa bowl is bad?  The open lineage might be high but it is actually one of the better run houses. It has some great leagues and tournaments.  It is super clean. equipment seems to always work. Never seen a ball damaged there. Porters are super fast.

if you can .. stay away from Stars Recreation in Vacaville.  Napa's owner's brother owns the one in Vacaville.  You couldn't tell that they had the same up bringing cause Stars is a dump.. huge house that had huge potential but it just went downhill.. All of the scratch bowlers left there and went to Napa and Sacramento. All he cares about is making money.. they don't fix anything, porters and staff know nothing about bowling or how to run a bowling alley, I don't think they own a broom or a mop, lane machine sucks or they don't know how to use it.... just started to finally put out a decent shot.. would never strip outside of 6 to the gutter.. made for a nice reverse block.. was told that wasn't the case and the machine worked fine... the shot finally got better after someone threatened to kick the managers azz if he didn't do something about the oil on the lanes..only thing going for it is it has cheap sunday mornings.. come at 5 and pay .50 cents.. 6 and pay .60cents a game..
its a gamble.. you might have oil and you might not.. and when I say no oil I mean like throwing the ball in the parking lot.. instant roll out.. even with plastic..

anyway.. that is how much I had Stars.. there should be a house in Vallejo I would think.. that is just down the road from Napa..knowing Vallejo's reputation I wouldn't think it would be better than Napa.. or safer..
There are a few more houses toward the bay that alot of people bowl at.. Diablo and albany are two I hear about.

Talk to Kevin Mecham in Napa.  He runs the pro shop. He is a great guy and a good bowler.  He can point you in the right direction for a league.. Thursday 5 man 1030 scratch is one of the best leagues there. 35 point system , alot of good bowlers , and some good competition.  Not sure of your average but alot of teams are splitting up this year and will be needing bowlers to fit in .. you might be that diamond in the ruff that someone is looking for.. they house tends to have higher averages.. especially vs Vacaville.. 30 pins difference..
so if teams can grab outside bowlers they usually do because they know you will average higher in Napa.. i see you bowl in Stockton.. pacific bowl? I heard that shot is fairly easy as well.. so not sure how that would translate to napa..

anyway goodluck.. too bad I won't be bowling with you there.. this is my last year there. Moved to the Sacramento area and the drive is just too far.  
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16-17 mph,350 rpm,PAP 5 1/2 x 3/8up, HighGame 300 x 3, High Series 782
Book Average 215 / 205,PBA Xperience ave180



Edited on 4/23/2009 9:43 AM

Edited on 4/23/2009 9:45 AM

[bowl400]

i agree on the generally poor state of the Stars center.  when it first opened, it was a nice center with a very playable shot.  state tournament was even held there.  for whatever reason, the owner and current manager do not see the problems.  i only bowl once a year there as part of a travel league and the shot is always very  dry.  i was told that they oil only during the week and not on weekends.  people i know who bowl league there are leaving.  unfortunately, in solano county, the only other choice is the air force base center or drive to sac.
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Tag Team Coaching success story

[J_w73]

quote:i agree on the generally poor state of the Stars center.  when it first opened, it was a nice center with a very playable shot.  state tournament was even held there.  for whatever reason, the owner and current manager do not see the problems.  i only bowl once a year there as part of a travel league and the shot is always very  dry.  i was told that they oil only during the week and not on weekends.  people i know who bowl league there are leaving.  unfortunately, in solano county, the only other choice is the air force base center or drive to sac.
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Tag Team Coaching success story

I'm pretty sure they oil once a day before leagues and then maybe double oil on Saturday evening.. but don't oil again until Monday before league..but even the fresh shot is pretty dry..the fact that it is dry is not the biggest problem though... the rumor was that they didnt' strip near the gutters cause the solution was getting in the gutters and eating the paint.. and they didn't want to take the time to wipe it down.
I don't know if that is true cause I dont know of any other center having that problem....I have watched the machine do its thing and it definately was not cleaning the outside edges for whatever reason.. it was a lovely shot though. either stay left of 10 or right of 10.. do not cross.. or your ball is not coming back and may pick off the 6 10....  The approaches and gutters are filthy, there is gum stuck all over the floor.. you have to dogde leaky roofs, food on the floor, broken equipment, ball damage.  The wait staff is slow and doesn't know how to make money.. there is this 70 year old lady at Alpine in sac that serves a huge league by herself and she is flying and running around all night busting her butt hauling pitchers and trays of drinks.. Stars people serve one drink at a time and at a very very slow pace..
another rumor that I heard is that the owner is a big gambler and pretty much puts all the money he makes from the alley into his sports bets.. he doesn't reinvest any money back into the center.  I really hope the place burns down.. the only reason I bowl there is that I bowl a league there with my dad..

as you can see I pretty much hate everything about the place.


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16-17 mph,350 rpm,PAP 5 1/2 x 3/8up, HighGame 300 x 3, High Series 782
Book Average 215 / 205,PBA Xperience ave180



Edited on 4/23/2009 4:23 PM

[Atochabsh]

There's Rhonert Park/Double Decker Lanes

Petaluma has a center AMF Boulevard Lanes

and Continental Lanes in Santa Rosa

I've never had a problem with Napa Bowl except their prices and the extremely slow service in the cafe.  

[bowl400]

Continental is closed.
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Tag Team Coaching success story