Bowling For Dummies

A.J. Forrest, Lisa Iannucci

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780470601594
• eBook ISBN: 9780470882429
• Edition: 1

The fast and easy way to perfect your bowling game

Bowling is an inexpensive date, an affordable night out for the whole family, and a fun hangout activity for kids of all ages. Bowling For Dummies reveals the tips, tricks, and rules of play for this iconic American sport.

While not every player can hope to bowl 300, you can improve your average and show off for friends, family, and bowling league teammates. Bowling For Dummies provides easy-to-understand instructions for improving your bowling game. The expert tips and advice take you through every step of the game, from selecting the right shoes to the proper way to yell, "Strike!"

• Packed with photos and line drawings
• Step-by-step instructions and illustrations included for all techniques
• Covers beginner through more advanced techniques

Whether you're a casual bowler or on a bowling league, the practical, friendly advice in Bowling For Dummies will have you itching to hit the lanes to try out your new skills.

Part I

The Opening Frame

In this part . . .

This part is your opportunity to take a closer look at the sport of bowling, including how and where it’s played. We get you familiar with the rules and scoring and reveal that those little marks on the lane aren’t just there for decoration — they’re actually there to help you become a better bowler. We also run through the equipment you need to get started, from your very own bowling ball (should you want one) to bowling shoes (they’re not all ugly, we promise).

Chapter 1

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Bowling

In This Chapter

Reviewing the finer points of bowling

Enjoying the social benefits of the sport

Looking at bowling as a form of cardiovascular and strength-training exercise

Every year, millions of people go bowling and have a great time with their family and friends. Bowling is a sport that just about anyone can play, you can enjoy it year-round, it’s easy to learn (not to mention affordable), and you can get started right away without having to buy any special equipment. All you have to do is walk into your local center, rent some shoes, borrow a ball, and you’re ready to go.

Consider this chapter your introduction to the sport of bowling. In it we give you an overview of the various aspects of the game and highlight its mental and physical benefits.

Figuring Out How the Game Works

Several types of bowling exist, including duckpin, five pin, and candlepin. In this book, however, we focus on ten-pin bowling because that’s the most popular version of the sport in the United States.

Ten-pin bowling involves knocking down bowling pins with a bowling ball. The pins are set up in a triangle at the end of a lane that’s 60 feet long. Your task is to stand behind what’s called the foul line (if you cross it, you don’t get any points), throw the ball down the lane, and try to knock down all the pins. You earn points for each pin you knock down, plus bonus points if you throw well enough to knock down all the pins with one shot. At the end of the game, the person with the highest score wins.

In the following sections, we cover the basics of bowling so you can be ready to head to the lanes tonight.

Seeing what equipment you need

One of the best things about bowling is that you don’t have to invest hundreds of dollars in equipment in order to start playing. In fact, you don’t have to buy any equipment at all. The center has bowling shoes that you can rent and bowling balls that you can borrow (flip to Chapter 3 to read all about bowling shoes and house balls). All you have to do is pay for your shoe rental, the number of games that you bowl, and any snacks or drinks that you consume.

Exploring the different types of bowling

This book focuses on traditional ten-pin bowling, but if you travel around North America, you’ll find bowlers who participate in other forms of bowling, such as the following:

Candlepin bowling: Candlepin bowling is popular in the northeast portion of the United States and in parts of Canada. The major difference between candlepin and ten-pin bowling is the size of the pins and the bowling ball. Candlepins are much thinner and a bit taller than traditional bowling pins, and the ball is smaller and lacks finger holes. In fact, a candlepin ball weighs slightly less than a single pin, making candlepin bowling more difficult than other forms of bowling. You get three tries per frame as opposed to two, but after each throw, the fallen pins aren’t cleared away from the lane, increasing the game’s difficulty. Because of these differences, strikes are rare in candlepin bowling.

Another difference between candlepin and ten-pin bowling is the lob line, a heavy black line located 10 feet down the lane from the foul line. The ball must be in contact with the lane prior to reaching this line, or else the pins struck by that throw don’t count toward your score.

Duckpin bowling: You can think of duckpin bowling almost like a miniature version of ten-pin bowling. Duckpin bowling balls weigh only 2 to 4 pounds, and the pins are shorter and fatter than the pins used in ten-pin bowling. Another difference between duckpin and ten-pin bowling is that you get three chances per frame to knock down all ten pins. If you knock down all ten pins with your three shots, that’s called “getting a ten.”

Five-pin bowling: Popular in Canada, five-pin bowling is actually the result of complaints. According to the Canadian 5 Pin Bowlers’ Association, ten-pin bowling came to Canada in the 1880s, but customers complained about the size and weight of the bowling balls and thought that the game was too strenuous. A bowling center owner had his father reduce the size of five of the standard pins down to approximately three-quarters of their original size. The owner then took the five smaller pins, spaced them out equally on the 36-inch ten-pin triangle, and rolled a hand-sized hard rubber ball (approximately 5 inches in diameter and 31//2 pounds in weight) down the ten-pin lane at the five pins, inventing the new game of five-pin bowling. In this version of bowling, you get three chances to knock down all five pins.

Street shoes and bare feet are a no-no on the lanes, so you must wear bowling shoes. These shoes are designed to protect the lanes and allow you to slide properly when you’re releasing the ball. If you try to get away with wearing anything but bowling shoes while bowling, you may wind up damaging the lanes and injuring yourself or other bowlers.

Of course, just because you don’t have to buy equipment to bowl doesn’t mean you can’t decide to buy your own bowling ball if you really like the sport. When you’re ready to invest in your own equipment, head to Chapter 4; it contains everything you need to know about buying a bowling ball, shoes, and other accessories.

Bowling in a nutshell

Bowling is probably one of the easiest sports to learn how to play because you don’t need to memorize a bunch of complicated rules (although if you want to know the basic rules of the game, you can refer to Chapter 2). You just need to become familiar with the main concepts of the sport. Here they are:

A game of bowling consists of ten frames. In each frame, you get two chances to knock down all ten pins.

You throw a specially weighted ball, which ranges in weight from 4 to 16 pounds, down the lane to try and knock down the pins.

As you bowl, you move your arms, legs, hands, and wrist in certain ways to make the ball go where you want it to. (When you’re ready to tackle the specifics of fo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Part I: The Opening Frame
• Part II: Body Basics: Throwing Yourself into the Game
• Part III: Time to Get Rolling: Making Your Shot
• Part IV: Staying on Your Game
• Part V: Joining Others at the Center
• Part VI: The Part of Tens