Bowlzee

Along with golf, bowling is one of the more popular recreational sports a person of any age and gender can play. Participating in activities like these brings about not only physical benefits but social ones as well – the secret being that one enjoys the game regardless of whether they win or lose.

But that is not to say that a recreational bowler should simply settle for mediocre results. In fact, enjoyment of the game can only increase if the scores proportionally increase as well. In order to accomplish this, a bowler has to develop a consistent bowling game that works on maintaining good technique and improving on problem areas.

Attitude Being able to bowl consistently is challenging, but not impossible for the average bowler. The first requirement, of course, is the drive to want to get better at the game. Hours and hours of coaching and practice will not get a lot of results if your attitude is less than enthusiastic.

A little help Even if you have no intentions of bowling professionally, getting a coach to help with your game can increase your game’s efficiency. This is because a coach is able to watch and analyze your movements to see what you are doing right and what you’re doing wrong. You don’t even have to get a one-on-one coach. Classes of about six students to a coach are perfectly fine and a lot cheaper, while allowing the right amount of focus a coach can give each student. If no coach is available, ask a friend who you think has a better game for some help.

Practice – even outside the lanes! The recommended practice time for a recreational bowler is around 4 to 6 hours a week. If you think that’s a lot, realize that an average visit to the lanes is no less than two hours. (Of course, it is another matter if it was spent practicing or spending time at the snack bar.)

At the lanes, practice with a schedule. Start with some warm up exercises to avoid injury. Then while you’re still fresh, work on the problem areas of your game. The areas you have less problems with can be worked on after the problems have been addressed.

Even when you’re not in the lanes, you can still practice your approach and swing. Try this in an area where the flooring most resembles the alley to get a consistent feel.

All it takes is a positive attitude coupled with disciplined practice to improve. The fun doesn’t only come from averaging above 180, but also from the fact your hard work is paying off.

Watching more experienced and skilled bowlers, nimbly hook their bowling ball down the lane and score a strike can be a bit frustrating for beginner bowlers. I first learned true mechanics of bowling when I was in college. I had bowled before then. But, I never really learned how to bowl. I remember being frustrated because I was able to run a fantastic hook shot one day but not the next. I remember wondering how my bowling skills could fluctuate so much on a day to day basis.

It was not until college that I would learn that it was not my bowling abilities that had changed. But what had changed were the characteristics of the lanes that I was bowling on, and the bowling balls that I was using. For practical purposes I want to concentrate on bowling ball basics and not on lane characteristics. What you as a beginner need to know about bowling balls.

There are several variations of bowling played through out the world. But for the most part these variations are forms of either five-pin bowling or ten-pin bowling. When most people think of bowling they think of what is called ten-pin bowling. Ten-pin bowling is the most popular and the most widely played form of bowling.

Bowling balls used when playing ten-pin bowling have several set physical characteristics. First, ten-pin bowling balls are 8.5 inches in diameter. However, simply stating the diameter of a bowling ball is a bit deceptive. It makes bowling balls seem smaller than they really are. The actual circumference of a ten-pin bowling ball is about 26 inches.

The weight of a bowling ball is between 6 pounds and 16 pounds. There is a wide variation between ball weights to accommodate different physical strengths of bowlers. And to some extent, like in baseball with a baseball bat, the weight of a ball used can depend upon the skill level of the bowler.

The size or circumference of a bowling ball is relatively uniform despite differences in weight. A bowling ball is made up of three distinct parts; the core, the coverstock and the filler. The coverstock is the outside of the bowling ball. It is what makes contact with the lane. The core of the bowling ball is a complex mixture of dense materials that controls it spin and hook.

As a ball becomes smaller in weight the core becomes smaller. The filler is material that fills the void between the coverstock and the core. The density of the filler material used to make a bowling ball will change based on the desired weight of the ball. In essence, because all bowling balls are nearly uniform in size the filler is what enables the uniformity in bowling ball circumference while enabling different bowling ball weight classes. This is accomplished by changing the density of the filler material dependent upon the weight desired.

Although the filler makes up for the weight between different balls the two most important parts of a bowling ball are actually the core and the coverstock. The shape of a bowling balls core can influence whether it hooks and by how much. Public use bowling balls at bowling alleys will have cores that are of uniform shape. This uniformity in shape means the ball will roll relatively straight. Cores, of house balls, are kept uniform, symmetrical, because they are designed to be used by any player of any skill level. Because house balls have very little hook many bowlers like to use them as spare balls.

Just like the core of a bowling ball can affect the action of a bowling ball as it rolls down the lanes, so can the coverstock. Coverstocks can be made of resin, high friction resin, urethane, polyester, plastic or a combination of materials. The material that makes up the coverstock can determine how the ball reacts to lane conditions. A softer (duller ball color) is better for more oily lane conditions and a harder (shinier ball color) reacts better to drier lane conditions. But, whether you use a ball with a harder or softer coverstock for a particular lane condition depends heavily on your skill level, your ability to read lane conditions and what you are trying to accomplish with the shot.

Now you know that not all bowling balls are created equal. House balls are harder to hook because they are not designed for it. So the next time you watch someone with their own bowling ball making it beautifully hook to the target, remember that it may be more the bowling ball than the skill of the bowler.

I hope by reading this you now have a better understanding of bowling ball basics. There are definitely more complex issues surrounding bowling balls. But, the intent was to give you some practical insight into bowling balls that might help you with your bowling game.

When one witness a bowling game where the players use balls and pins that are midget-like, he is witnessing a duckpin bowling competition.

Beginnings

Duckpin bowling was born somewhere in the 1900’s in the eastern part of the United States. Duckpin is believed to have been born in the bowling alley which was owned by the famous baseball players Wilbert Robinson and John Mcgraw. History has it that people back then had an interesting idea of making the pins and balls smaller. The manager of the bowling alley, Mr. John Van Sant, hired a wood turner to customize the balls and pins. The people loved the new game and played it.

By the 1930s, around 200,000 people were playing the game. It has continuously gained popularity because people who wanted the fun of ten-pin bowling but hated the stress and backaches caused by the game quickly shifted to duckpin bowling.

Why is it called “duckpin” bowling?

The owners of the bowling alley (the baseball players) were also duck hunting enthusiasts. They loved hunting birds, especially duck during their spare time. As they watched the pins scatter around the alley, one of them made a comment about how the pins resembled ducks. This is the story of why the game was named “duckpin”

Specifications

Duckpin bowling has the same goal as that of regular ten-pin bowling- knock all the pins down. However, there are some major differences between the two games:

-The size of the duckpin ball is smaller, of course. A duckpin ball will measure to about 5 inches in diameter (maximum). The duckpin balls do not have holes in them, they are meant to be held in one hand.

-The pins are also smaller. The duckpins measure to around 10 inches in height.

-In duckpin, one can throw three balls during a certain round. Unlike regular ten-pin bowling, a player can try his luck three times during a certain round. This is because it is much harder to get a strike or a spare in duckpin bowling as compared to regular bowling.

-When a player knocks down all the pins in three throws, he is merited with 10 points. No bonuses are given to him for knocking all the pins down.

One must try playing duckpin bowling to experience the fun and excitement it brings. It’s as fun as ten-pin bowling but minus all the back and finger aches.

Along with golf, bowling is one of the more popular recreational sports a person of any age and gender can play. Participating in activities like these brings about not only physical benefits but social ones as well – the secret being that one enjoys the game regardless of whether they win or lose.

But that is not to say that a recreational bowler should simply settle for mediocre results. In fact, enjoyment of the game can only increase if the scores proportionally increase as well. In order to accomplish this, a bowler has to develop a consistent bowling game that works on maintaining good technique and improving on problem areas.

Attitude Being able to bowl consistently is challenging, but not impossible for the average bowler. The first requirement, of course, is the drive to want to get better at the game. Hours and hours of coaching and practice will not get a lot of results if your attitude is less than enthusiastic.

A little help Even if you have no intentions of bowling professionally, getting a coach to help with your game can increase your game’s efficiency. This is because a coach is able to watch and analyze your movements to see what you are doing right and what you’re doing wrong. You don’t even have to get a one-on-one coach. Classes of about six students to a coach are perfectly fine and a lot cheaper, while allowing the right amount of focus a coach can give each student. If no coach is available, ask a friend who you think has a better game for some help.

Practice – even outside the lanes! The recommended practice time for a recreational bowler is around 4 to 6 hours a week. If you think that’s a lot, realize that an average visit to the lanes is no less than two hours. (Of course, it is another matter if it was spent practicing or spending time at the snack bar.)

At the lanes, practice with a schedule. Start with some warm up exercises to avoid injury. Then while you’re still fresh, work on the problem areas of your game. The areas you have less problems with can be worked on after the problems have been addressed.

Even when you’re not in the lanes, you can still practice your approach and swing. Try this in an area where the flooring most resembles the alley to get a consistent feel.

All it takes is a positive attitude coupled with disciplined practice to improve. The fun doesn’t only come from averaging above 180, but also from the fact your hard work is paying off.