The nice thing about living in the same place for 30 years is you get to know the community about as well as you know yourself. And for Dan Knowlton, a resident of Dade City, Florida, for that length of time, it was not just that he had lived there for decades. It was that he also had built, and later sold, a local glass business, which thrust him into contact with basically every contractor in town. This would come in handy when Knowlton decided to follow a dream that prompted his wife Michelle to tell him he was crazy. 

The PBA50 Tour champion and veteran of Senior Team USA got the itch to follow that crazy dream when his PBA50 Tour exploits brought him to the senior circuit’s most unorthodox setting — the two-lane center in the basement of Bill Moore’s Virginia home named after his dad Bud where he has hosted PBA50 stepladder finals for years — most recently the 2024 Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship. 

When Knowlton made his first PBA50 stepladder in 2021, it was Moore’s establishment that hosted the stepladder finals.

“That kind of got the wheels turning,” Knowlton said. 

It got the wheels turning both literally and figuratively, in fact, as Knowlton had a 49-foot motorhome and was looking for a place to park it. When he surmised that his 2-and-a-half-acre property could accommodate a sizable garage, he started to wonder what else it might accommodate. Moore’s center featured prominently on Knowlton’s mind now. Then he inquired about the cost. Michelle offered three words in response to those figures: “Way too much.” 

“One thing led to another. I pitched it to my wife, and she told me I was crazy,” Knowlton said. “It is a crazy idea, but we have the property, so it wasn’t an issue of land.”

Having lived in Dade City for 30 years and running his glass business there for most of that time — he sold it in 2022 — Knowlton knew virtually every contractor that worked on his project. They went to high school with the main contractor, Bobby Hilton, and also worked with him on projects at their glass company. Hilton, his son and his father all contributed. That relationship and trust was priceless as Hilton took the Knowltons’ vision and made it happen. 

“This isn’t something that really anybody here had done, so it was not like we had a template to go by. It has been fun, interesting and frustrating,” Knowlton said. “It is just an incredible relationship we are very blessed to have with him. He was always like, ‘Let’s figure it out.’”

They figured it all out, creating a truly one-of-a-kind setting with stained-steel beams along with a second-floor balcony overlooking the lanes. There are beautiful, hand-cut, Cypress-wood banisters upstairs, as well. Below is a bar, multiple couches and a comfortable settee area. 

Knowlton estimates they can accommodate about 75 people.

“It’s a unique perspective watching bowling from 15 to 20 feet in the air. We had to have a high roof for the motor home that is 13 feet, so I knew the eaves had to be pretty high,” he said. “I made sure we made it high enough so we could have a second level. I am all about maximizing the space that we have.”

Knowlton has a fondness for urethane equipment and ultimately, he and Michelle decided to name their personal lanes, Urethania Lanes. With the name chosen, Michelle wanted to surprise him with a logo. Dan’s brother owns a printing company, so she partnered with her nephew, Ryan, to create a unique design, inspired by the chemical structure of urethane.

“It looks like something in a galaxy in my mind, so we made little bowling balls. The colors were specific to the urethane balls he likes,” Michelle said. “He loved it. We have the screens up with our logo on it. It is the coolest thing to see your vision come to light.”

“How it all came out is so much better than I envisioned. There is a lot of sweat, tears, thought and emotion that has been put into this and it is a wonderful thing,” Michelle added.  

The approaches and lane beds are AMF. The left lane is AMF, and the right lane is Pro Lane from Brunswick featuring down-lane markers. He also has DFX projection screens and two EDGE String Pinspotters from QubicaAMF.

“I am not a mechanic, and I have never worked in the back of a bowling center, so I thought this would be the easiest way to get to my end results,” he said. “It’s great these are sanctioned now. I hadn’t thought about hosting an event but now with the string pins approved, I absolutely want to do it.”

He has received some valuable advice on how to prepare his home lanes from fellow PBA50 champion John Burkett, who has two lanes inside his home in Texas. “A lot of times, what he will do is oil one lane relatively often and the other one he goes without re-oiling for a long time, so he gets to practice on a transition pattern or burn. That way, he will always have one that is fresh,” he said. “That is probably what I will end up doing, too. I strategically put the most hooking AMF lane on the left and the least hooking lane on the right. I have the ball return pretty much off the approach, so you can move as far left as you want.”

Knowlton has bowling jerseys in black shadowboxes displayed on one wall next to the lanes. This includes his own Senior Team USA jerseys with the medals he won, along with jerseys from Chris Barnes, Tom Hess, Michael Haggitt, Jon Rakoski, Jeff Johnson and Rudy Kasimakis.  

Ultimately, Knowlton feels a lot of pride knowing this entire project started with a concept, and that the team involved built it to what it is today. Everything was completed just in time for the start of the 2025 PBA50 Tour season; he and Michelle will be spending 101 days on the road together. When they get back home, Knowlton will put Urethania Lanes to good use to continue to get one percent better.  

“This is all his dream now and I see it unfolding. Watching him thrive and learning new skills is amazing,” Michelle said. “It is constant change and growth, and I love seeing it in him. I’m so proud of him.”

A Trend Catching On
Knowlton, Moore and Burkett hardly are alone these days in their passion for bowling inside their own homes. Burkett, a two-time Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher in 1993 and 2001, provides a template of sorts as other pro athletes — baseball’s Mookie Betts, basketball’s Paul Pierce and tennis legend Maria Sharapova — all have installed home bowling lanes. 

There is something of a boomtime underway among those wishing to bring fun and entertainment inside their homes with the addition of bowling lanes. 

Enter Bill Snoberger, who has been working on residential and commercial bowling-lane installations for more than 40 years. The growth he witnessed first-hand having worked at Murrey International and now the US Bowling Corporation has been nothing short of unbelievable. 

US Bowling Corporation has been building and installing custom bowling centers since 1959. They are the largest independent manufacturer and supplier of new bowling equipment throughout the world. He estimates their sales on full-size tenpin residential installs have doubled compared to five years ago. Yet, when it comes to their installations of Rollerball mini bowling and duckpin, business is booming.

“That has gone crazy because you don’t need 100-feet to put mini bowling in your home. You need about 50-feet,” Snoberger said. “Mini bowling has all of the features of traditional bowling with the approaches, bumpers, and the same synthetic lanes that we manufacture. The ball is smaller, the pins are the same shape, but only 11 inches tall. People just love to have that if they entertain or if they have kids. It is just fun and its half the price.”

He credits the evolution of the string pinsetter with making it much easier for a home build because the maintenance issues associated with the nature of freefall pinsetters are now alleviated. They have done a lot of mini-bowling installs in businesses like Great Wolf Lodge, Punch Bowl Social and SCHEELS. They also continue to receive phone calls after someone sees their work on an episode of “Rock the Block” on HGTV that originally aired four years ago. 

Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt from HGTV’s “100 Day Dream Home” contacted US Bowling Corporation to install a two-lane Rollerball Classic inside the basement of a home they redesigned as part of the second season of “Rock the Block.” 

“After the show was done, we talked to the homeowners and one of the reasons they bought that house was because of the bowling alley. They love how easy it is to use and how much fun it is,” Brian said, in a video sent to US Bowling Corporation. “We went functional with an emphasis on fun. US Bowling really helped us deck out our basement and ultimately secure the win for us.” 

This home build included the company’s PULSE Scoring Entertainment System, with touchscreen consoles that turn traditional scoring into an interactive experience. 

The footprint for Rollerball Classic is 43 feet long and 9 feet wide, which includes a 3-foot rear service aisle. Roller mini-bowling is 35 feet long and 85 inches wide in the lane area, while the pinsetter area is 95-inches wide. They also offer duckpin bowling installations for a bit of nostalgia. They receive about 25 inquiries per week for custom installations. Snoberger estimates they average almost two dozen full-size residential builds a year, along with 30-40 mini bowling installs yearly.

“When I hear somebody calls us on behalf of an NBA player who is a well-known All-Star and wants to put bowling lanes in his house, or a football player, it’s amazing. The aspect of having bowling in all circles, from a mom and pop to somebody who makes $60 million a year playing basketball; it covers the entire gamut,” he said. “If it just stays on the path that it is for residential tenpin and mini bowling, any supplier that provides this will be very happy. We hope it increases, but I don’t see how it can get any more crazy than it is.”

The craziest installation he has ever worked on during his 40-plus years was installing two lanes inside a 20,000-square-foot log cabin in Utah. Ultimately, in Snoberger’s opinion, it doesn’t matter the size of the ball or how far you have to roll the ball, it’s about the ambiance, camaraderie, the food and drink.

“You don’t need to put on bowling shoes. You don’t need to pick up a 10-pound ball and you don’t need to throw it 60 feet. You can bowl in your street shoes with a 4-pound bowling ball, throwing it about 30-feet, and have just as good a time as if you were bowling on full-size lanes,” he said. “Somebody who wants to have something for grandma, kids and the parents to do together with three generations at the same time — that is what residential bowling can do.”  

Never Lose Sight of Your Dream 
Bruce Hall was on the PBA Tour in the mid ‘80s. He’s won regional titles but quickly realized he wasn’t quite at the level of his competition. Instead, he chose a stable paycheck, got married and started his family. His dream was to one day have his own lanes and training center to give back to the sport he loves. Today, the Vincent Hall Training Center is an all-in-one practice facility that is a valuable tool and resource for many, including his son, Andrew Hall, who earned his 2025 PBA Tour exemption.

“In every house, I have always tried to scheme and figure out if it were possible to build lanes there. It turns out to be really hard to build lanes in your house because you need 120 or more continuous feet to have the lanes, machines, approaches and everything,” Bruce said. “If you don’t really set out to do it and design your house around it, it is not going to happen.”

Vincent Hall is Bruce’s dad. Himself a pretty good bowler and the man responsible for introducing the family to bowling, Bruce said, “He is just the best guy. He was great to Andrew, and he was supportive in education and everything we wanted to do.”

“My dad has been my main supporter, but I have so much support in the back like my mom, my grandfather, and my grandma who recently passed away,” Andrew added. “I am very lucky to have the support system that I have.”

Between Andrew and Bruce’s time traveling to bowling centers around the country for years, they learned what they wanted and what would work when designing a competitive bowling environment. They worked together on the layout, which includes a media booth, SPECTO, cameras, and a Kegel FLEX lane walker, allowing them to put down any oil pattern. The height of the ceiling was important to Andrew to ensure bowlers with a high backswing, such as 2023 PBA50 Player of the Year Troy Lint, wouldn’t have any issues. Thanks to the hard work of F.W. Madgin construction and architect William Masiello, this incredible facility came out even better than this father-son duo imagined. 

“The lanes are actually underground eight or nine feet below the grade of the surface,” Bruce said. “Lanes 1 and 2 are new Brunswick Pro Lanes with Brunswick NXT pinsetters. Lane 3 is string pins, and an SPL Select Lane from Joe LaSpina’s Rockville Centre in Long Island.” 

Blueprint work started in September of 2022. They officially broke ground on May 5, 2023, and they threw their first shots on the lanes exactly one year later. “We bowled on Lane 3 with the wood panels first because there was a lot of plastic covering the two new lanes,” Andrew said. 

“We didn’t really want to take them off, but we couldn’t help ourselves after a couple of days.” 
 
At the time, their lane machine wasn’t running yet, so Andrew went to a local Massachusetts bowling center for a spray bottle of oil to hand-oil the lanes before they bowled. At the time, Andrew was living about two-and-a-half hours away from his dad, who lives about 35 minutes west of Boston. As soon as the lanes were ready, he would make the drive once a week to practice. Just a few months before the start of his first full PBA Tour season, Andrew moved back home, bowling almost every day. 

“It has really helped me as far as figuring out my arsenal. But nothing truly prepares you for the tour and how good those guys are,” he said. “I am learning a lot more out there, but to go home after the season and apply all of the things that I learned — that is going to make the most difference. They will be way more useful; knowing what to practice is going to be a big help.”

Nate Purches, 2024 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year, who Bruce has coached since he was younger, is a frequent visitor to the Vincent Hall Training Center. “I would say over 100 people have come here so far. It has become a nice practice facility for a lot of local guys, and we run lessons there,” Andrew said. 

They also have a bar area, a pool, a hot tub, gazebo, and a deck on the top that has astroturf to play bocce on. Andrew feels so grateful to his dad for never giving up on his dream. Having his dad out on tour with him this season has been memorable for them both. 

“I am glad he could live vicariously through me a little bit. I wish I could have given him some more match play appearances, but we will get there,” Andrew said. “He is the best. I think having him out there has really been the biggest difference for me. It is everything.”

Bruce feels very fortunate to be able to experience this journey with Andrew. One way he tries to help Andrew and calm his own nerves is by taking his clipboard with him as he charts what is happening on the lanes Andrew is moving to next during a tournament.

“Watching Andrew compete against the best in the world is amazing and watching him grow as a player. He has improved his release and how he performs under pressure,” Bruce said. “You can see the learning curve. He has performed beautifully, and he is getting better and better. It is all uphill from here.”

Bruce encourages people to never give up on their dream, whether it may be bowling professionally or having lanes built on their property. When he heard fellow PBA50 Tour player Dan Knowlton was having lanes installed on his Florida property, he sent him their plans. He talked to John Burkett about his home lanes, and he saw Bill Moore host a PBA50 stepladder finals on the two-lanes built inside his Virginia home. That has inspired his next dream.

“It is an interesting thing as we keep talking about an all-home senior tour event. Certainly, it is a dream and goal of mine to work with the PBA to try to make that happen,” Bruce said. “I designed my lanes to specifically host stepladders.”

Vintage Tribute to Bud Moore
Bill Moore vividly remembers watching his dad, Lewis ‘Bud’ Moore, compete at the 1970 Buffalo Open. Bill was only 10 years old, but he got to meet Carmen Salvino, Guppy Troup and Nelson Burton Jr., all legends of the game. Bud finished in 36th place and won $55. He knew he couldn’t make it on the PBA Tour, but the experience led to a lifetime of memories and a connection between father and son. 

Bill was the oldest of five kids, who went with his dad to league about four nights a week in Niagara Falls. That’s where he learned how to keep score with the yellow pencil on the cellophane scoresheets. Bowling was a fun passion for Bud, who was a welder at General Motors. When Bill fulfilled his dream of having bowling lanes built in his Virginia home in 2017, the space served as a tribute to his dad. 

“Since I built the bowling alley, dad and I talk bowling all of the time. He watches all of the bowling shows with his BowlTV subscription,” he said. “I want to credit the bowling alley for keeping him going. It has definitely brought our family much closer together.”

Bud Moore Lanes features two synthetic lanes with Brunswick machines in Bill’s basement. There is a telescore unit along with a projector. PBA player jerseys are displayed in frames along the walls, along with player banners. The lanes are numbered 13 and 14, celebrating a pair that Bud recorded a perfect game on, along with a large Virginia license plate above the lanes that reads “BUD300.”

There are multiple display cases filled with memorabilia from Bud’s Niagara Falls Bowling Hall of Fame career, including the actual scoresheet from Bud’s first 300 game rolled in 1977, which sits next to two diamond 300 rings. “I have got all of the history down there. The lockers, the bar, the neon lights. I tried making it like how it was in the ‘70s,” Bill said.

After the lanes were completed, Steve Caffrey at Brunswick asked Bill if he was going to have a grand opening party. Bill never thought about doing that, then Caffrey mentioned bringing in Johnny Petraglia to the event. 

“I was like, ‘Wow, Johnny Petraglia would come to my house?’” Bill said. “It has turned into an amazing thing. Johnny has become a great friend.”

In 2018, Petraglia was there for the grand opening. In November of 2019, they hosted a Bowlers to Veterans Link charity event that Petraglia attended, along with Parker Bohn III and Walter Ray Williams Jr. More than $12,000 was raised for the charity in one week. When the PBA made adjustments to its schedule due to COVID in Nov. 2020, they ended up in Centreville, Virginia, less than 10 miles from Bill’s house. 

“I invited them all over to feed them and have fun at the house while they were here. I said to Tournament Director John Weber, ‘Why don’t you have a tournament at Centreville, and you can have the TV finals in my basement?’ They thought that would be a pretty cool idea after they saw my basement,” Bill said. “That was like me winning the lottery. Out of every bowling center in the whole world, they picked Centreville, Virginia. They pick anything else you would never know who I was.”

It actually happened when Bill sponsored the 2021 PBA50 Bud Moore Classic and the five-person stepladder finals was held at Bud Moore Lanes. The finals have continued to be hosted there but now the tournament is the Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship. It’s a major with the second highest first-place payout at $20,000. Ultimately, this has all been for his 91-year-old dad, and Bill also enjoys bowling as much as he can on the PBA50 Tour.

“Bowling was his life, and I built this bowling alley to cheer him up after a lot of his friends passed away. I tell my dad that every pro bowler in the world knows who he is now,” Bill said.

As a certified financial planner for more than 35 years, Bill has advised his clients so they can reach their dreams and goals. But he has also noticed many of his clients forget to spend their hard-earned money. When Bill would tell people he was going to have bowling lanes built in his basement as part of his dream house, people just laughed it off, including multiple contractors. 

Finally, they were able to make the dream come true. He has had multiple conversations with Dan Knowlton about his home lanes. 

“I have been egging Dan on to do it. I was at his house one day and we talked about it,” Bill said. “I told him to spend his money. You don’t take your money with you.” 

Ultimately, Bill hopes to be part of another never-done-before event. He wants to team up with Knowlton, John Burkett, Bruce Hall and the PBA to create a unique tournament series with stops in each home venue.  

“I hope we can make that happen because that would be incredible,” Bill said.