"You have the opportunity to play against the world's best bowlers and it develops a hard, competitive approach to the game," Walker said yesterday.
"The best way to harden up the mental side of your game is by competition against the best bowlers," Walker said.
"You get hardened to different pressure situations until it becomes second nature.
"This is particularly relevant in the South because our greens are closed during the winter months."
Walker is not opposed to bowlers getting toned up in the gymnasium and getting training in specific areas of their game. But they still have to perform on the green.
"In the PBA, there are the keen and competent bowlers and you can test yourself against them," he said.
The PBA was started in the United Kingdom in 1997 and was introduced to New Zealand in 2001. Walker has been one of the regulars since 2003.
Walker (65) first made his mark on the Dunedin bowls scene in 1979 when he beat former World Bowls and Commonwealth Games champion Gordon Jolly in the final of the Bowls Dunedin champion of champions singles.
Jolly wanted that title to beat E.H. (Life) Ravenwood's record of 17 Bowls Dunedin titles. Jolly had to wait until the next season to get the record.
Walker has now won 31 Bowls Dunedin titles and is one title behind Terry Scott, who holds the record of 32 titles.
Walker is still beating the best and he proved it by winning the transtasman PBA singles title at Tweed Heads late last month when he beat Kelvin Kerkow, who represented Australia from 1995 to 2008 and won a Commonwealth Games singles and World Bowls titles.
He was the best-performed member of the New Zealand team and also beat top Australians Steve Glasson and Karen Murphy.
His only loss was to Brett Wilkie, who will represent Australia in World Bowls at Adelaide this year.
Glasson is the national coach of Australia and players in the national squad are encouraged to join the PBA.
Walker represented New Zealand at two World Bowls but his career had dipped by the late 1990s.
It was given new spark when he joined the PBA and he is now playing some of the best bowls of his long career.
He is top of the New Zealand PBA ranking list.
His next target is to win the qualifying event for the Welsh Grand Prix singles at the Dunedin Bowls Stadium at the weekend.
The winner will qualify for the national finals weekend at Dunedin from September 7 to 9.
