From Bowling Lanes to Fairways: Elite Athletes' Crossover Skills
Look, we all know golf is hard. Damn hard. But what about other sports? Can a guy who throws a 16-pound ball down a lane at 20 miles an hour actually swing a 7-iron? Turns out, yeah. Some of them can. And not just dabble. We’re talking legit, better-than-scratch golf games. It’s a wild thought, right? You’re picturing a PBA star, maybe someone you’ve seen on TV, trading in their slides for spikes and actually making solid contact. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Some of these bowlers, the absolute top dogs, have got the golf chops to back it up. It makes you wonder, what’s the secret sauce? Is it just raw athleticism, or is there something deeper going on?
The Unexpected Golfer: EJ Tackett's Story
Take EJ Tackett, for instance. This dude is a legend in the bowling world. He’s bagged the PBA’s Triple Crown, which is basically their version of golf’s Grand Slam. He’s got the hardware, the reputation, and now, he’s even got his own HBO Max show, “Born to Bowl,” alongside his buddy and golf buddy, Kyle Troup. But here’s the kicker: Tackett wasn’t just born to bowl. He was also a damn good junior golfer. We’re talking about competing against guys like Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas back in the day. He even played Division I golf before deciding that knocking down pins was his true calling.
Now, he’s a four-time PBA Player of the Year, with a career that’s borderline Hall of Fame material. His numbers are impressive, no doubt. But the money? That’s a whole different story. Bowling’s prize pools, while growing, still don’t touch golf’s. Even with all his success, Tackett still had to share hotel rooms for a good chunk of his career. But even with the relentless travel and the grind, he’s managed to keep his golf game sharp. Better than scratch, they say. It’s a testament to his dedication, something you don’t see every day.
Golfing Roots: How It All Began
So, how does a future bowling superstar get his start in golf? For Tackett, it was all about family. He was just a little kid, maybe 3 or 4 years old, tagging along with his dad on Saturday mornings. His dad played in a local skins game, and young EJ got to hit off the tee, then move his ball to his dad’s, and eventually chip and putt. It was a casual start, but it planted a seed. He even had a friendly rival, the grandson of the course owner, who was the same age. They’d play chipping games, putting contests, and hit balls at the range. That competition, even at a young age, pushed him to get better. It’s funny how those early experiences shape you, isn’t it? You think it’s just playing around, but it’s building a foundation.
By the time he was 12, Tackett was hitting the junior tournament circuit. In Indiana, there were tours named after pop brands – the Pepsi Tour, the Mountain Dew Tour. One summer, he cleaned up, winning every event he played. That’s the summer he qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur and the Junior PGA. Those are big deals, man. You’re playing against the future of the game. Imagine that. You’re a kid, trying to make a name for yourself, and you’re lining up against guys who will eventually be household names in professional golf.
Junior Golf vs. Junior Bowling: The Crossroads
The U.S. Junior PGA was held at Sycamore Hills, not too far from his hometown. Tackett admits he was nervous. First round? He played “horrendously,” shooting an 85. Meanwhile, Justin Thomas was setting the course record with a 65. Ouch. The next day, after a rainout and some serious range work with his dad, he shot an even-par 72. Not enough to make the cut, but he redeemed himself. At the Junior Am in Michigan, he shot in the mid-to-upper 70s both rounds, missing match play by just a few strokes. He was good. Really good. But he was also becoming one of the best junior bowlers in the country.
In 2011, he made Junior Team USA. Then, as a teenager, he qualified for the U.S. Open bowling tournament, finishing 20th. That’s when the tough decision had to be made. When did he finally pick bowling over golf? He says it was when he decided he wasn’t good enough to make it in golf. That’s a brutal assessment, but sometimes you have to be honest with yourself. He played golf at Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne, a Division I school, for three semesters. He wasn’t seeing the results he wanted. He hated school. Plus, his parents owned a bowling center, so he’d been working there his whole life. Commuting an hour each way to school, trying to work every day… it was a lot. He knew he was really good at bowling. He got his PBA card in October 2012. The rest, as they say, is history. It’s a path many athletes face – identifying where your true talent and passion lie, even if it means letting go of another dream.
The Crossover: Technique and Mental Game Parallels
You might think bowling and golf are worlds apart, but there are a surprising number of parallels, especially in technique and the mental game. Tackett, who’s 5-foot-8 and about 150 pounds, isn’t a huge guy, but he’s powerful in both sports. He points out that his swing path in both is out-to-in on the backswing. That’s a detail most people wouldn’t even consider. And his footwork in bowling? When he gets to the foul line, his heel sometimes comes off the ground. That’s him using the ground for leverage, just like a golfer does when they load up their left knee and it straightens through the shot, causing the heel to lift.
Then there’s the whole “wait on it” concept. If you try to force things too early in your swing, whether it’s a bowling ball or a golf club, your timing gets thrown off. It becomes herky-jerky, and you lose control. It’s all about rhythm and timing. You can’t rush it. You have to let the motion happen naturally. It’s a subtle but crucial aspect of both disciplines. It’s the kind of thing you only learn through countless hours of practice and a deep understanding of your own body and the mechanics of the sport.
The mental side is where things get really interesting. In bowling, you can throw a “perfect” shot, and it doesn’t always result in a strike. Lane conditions change, the oil patterns are brutal, and sometimes, the pins just don’t fall your way. It sounds a lot like golf, doesn’t it? In stroke play golf, you’re playing against the course. In bowling, you’re battling the lane conditions. The guys who can overcome those perceived bad breaks, who don’t overthink things and just play what’s in front of them, they’re the ones you see on TV week after week. It’s about resilience. It’s about accepting what you can’t control and focusing solely on what you can. One shot at a time. That’s the mantra.
The Parallel Play: Competing Without Interference
Both bowling and golf are what you’d call parallel-play sports. You’re competing alongside someone, but you can’t directly influence their performance. You can’t trip them, you can’t knock their ball away. So, how do elite athletes handle that? Tackett says he just focuses on doing his best. He does pay attention to what other bowlers are doing, especially since they’re constantly moving lanes and changing balls based on conditions. If someone is bowling really well, he might check out their ball, their starting position, their line. It’s about gathering information that might help him. But it’s not about rooting against them or hoping they fail.
If someone makes a tough split, yeah, he’ll give them a high-five. If they bowl a 300 game, he’s genuinely happy for them. He figures it’s probably the same on the PGA Tour. You’re out there doing your job. If someone makes an incredible shot, you give them a nod, maybe a thumbs-up. But for the most part, it’s business. You’re in your own zone, focused on executing your plan. This kind of mental discipline is key to success in any competitive arena. It’s about compartmentalizing, focusing on your own game, and not getting too caught up in what everyone else is doing.
The Money Game: Golf vs. Bowling Salaries
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the money. It’s a stark difference between professional golf and professional bowling. Tackett thinks about it all the time, especially since he still watches and plays golf. He won five times in 2023, including two majors, and still ended up $40,000 shy of half a million dollars. That’s a great year by bowling standards, but it’s a fraction of what top golfers make. He’s not complaining, mind you. He says if you reach a high level in bowling, you can be comfortable, not rich, but definitely not poor. But would he love to see those million-dollar paychecks? Absolutely.
He muses that if bowling made what golf does, he’d have earned $15 or $20 million before the FedEx Cup even happened. Imagine that. He believes that if bowling had prize purses of half a million or even a million dollars for major championships, it would revolutionize the sport. He knows the people in charge are doing their best, but it’s a constant work in progress. It’s a tough reality for many athletes in sports that don’t have the same global reach or media attention as golf. It’s a reminder that talent and dedication don’t always equate to financial reward. You can check out the Professional Bowlers Association to see the caliber of athletes we’re talking about.
Camaraderie and the Grind: Life on Tour
There’s a romantic notion about PBA pros caravanning from event to event, sharing hotel rooms. It sounds a lot like the PGA Tour back in the 40s and 50s. Does that create more camaraderie than today’s golfers with their private jets and five-star hotels? Tackett thinks so. He says they spend more time with each other than with their families, being gone 200 days a year. There are always buddies getting dinner, going for lunch, having a few beers, hanging out. It’s like having a family away from home. He has started staying by himself more recently, now that he’s at a point in his career where he doesn’t have to share a room to save money. But that shared experience, that grind, it definitely builds bonds. It’s a different kind of lifestyle, one that fosters close relationships forged through shared challenges and triumphs.
And let’s be honest, the average person has no clue how hard these sports are at the top level. The old “they’re not real athletes” line, or the “my buddy at the club shoots par all the time” comment. Tackett says people just don’t understand. They see that you can play both sports your whole life, eat and drink while doing it. In bowling, the ball comes back to you. In golf, someone carries your clubs. They don’t see the preparation: the gym time, the practice, the diet, everything that goes into being successful. It’s a serious commitment, requiring discipline, focus, and a relentless pursuit of improvement. The precision required is unreal. On the toughest oil patterns in bowling, you’ve got maybe one or two boards to hit – that’s 1-2 inches. You need the right speed, the right rev rate, the right rotation. Just like in golf, you’re constantly calculating: How much spin? Draw or cut? Is this an 80 percent shot? Both sports are great because you’re in control of so much, yet also in control of so little, all at the same time. It’s a beautiful, maddening, and utterly captivating balance.