Bowlin Buddies : Grand Blanc Lanes

     This is one of my favorite places to bowl. They always have great deals here. Ben and I can bowl for 2.5 hours for under 20$. Which is great because neither one of us are independently wealthy, but we are both bowling addicts! We can always get a lane because they have a million! They have two sections to their building. The annex which has 32 wood lanes, and is mostly used for over flow open bowling during leagues, or you can host an event there. The more modern synthetic lanes are in the main side of the building. There are 76 lanes and they are usually pretty full on Saturday nights.
      I have recently bought a ball here and had it drilled by Neil Cross, who has the in-house pro shop at GBL. He helped Ben and I pick out new balls that have helped increase our averages. He spent a lot of time watching us bowl so that he knew the best way to drill, so the ball would do exactly what we needed it to do. He is a really nice guy and I would recommend him to anyone. Neil is full of knowledge and willing to do what needs to be done to make sure you get what you want.
     The atmosphere is really fun and laid back. For a long time, GBL was a dry alley. It has been a few years since they put in the bar, but it seems like they still have a rep for being a dry house. I never really see too many people drinking, which makes it feel more family oriented. I enjoy that a lot, because I'm not a big fan of the bar atmosphere.
     The best part about GBL is, we have never had a lane with really poor oil. This point really makes or breaks an alley for me. I want to bowl at a house with consistent lanes. It is way more fun to throw well and have a few high games, than it is to fight to get the ball into the pocket over inconsistent, broken down oil patterns. We have had very few pin jams and stuck balls, except for last night when lane 29 jammed every few frames. Even then, the control desk did a great job fixing it proactively. They would see the problem and call on it before we attempted to contact them. If we ever have a problem there, the staff is willing to jump up and take care of it. GBL has really great people working there. You can tell they care about their job, and that is what sets them apart from other bowling alleys.