Recent statistics suggest a mean bowling average for all bowlers in the US at somewhere between 150 and 155 per game. Bowling at this level can be accomplished with converting about 50% of your spares; however most bowlers will also throw 1 or 2 strikes per game.
Raising that average to the 175 to 190 level only requires that you start throwing 3 to 4 strikes a game and convert about 60% of your spares. This could be accomplished by most recreational bowlers with practice and some instruction on picking up your spares.
Moving your average above 190 and up into the 200′s will require rolling 4-6 strikes per game and converting about 90% of your spares. If you want a game over 200 those strikes must include at least one double (2 strikes in a row).
From the above it is easy to see that can raise your average the quickest by learning to pick up a larger percentage of your spares. Of course it never hurts to have a good mix of strikes as well.
Below are some interesting facts and oddities about bowling scores.
How hard is it to throw a 300, or perfect game? It is estimated that there are 4 million plus avid bowlers in the US, if each of those bowlers, bowl an average of 20 games per year (which would be a very conservative estimate) that means that there are at least 80 million games bowled in the US each year. In a typical year there will be between 40,000 and 50,000 perfect games bowled, according to the USBC, the official keeper of annual sanctioned game statistics. So doing a little math shows that 0.0005 to 0.0006 percent of all of the games bowled in a typical year might be a 300 game.
Is it harder to bowl an 800 series than it is to bowl a 300 game? To bowl an 800 series you have to average over 266 for your 3 games. According to USBC statistics a typical year will yield 11,000 to 15,000 800 series. So yes it is about 4 to 5 times harder to bowl an 800 series, than it is to bowl a 300 game.
If someone offers to teach or show you how to bowl 300 every time, or to average over 260, think of the above statistics, and don’t waste your time or money.
A 279 game requires 10 or 11 strikes and can be scored by bowling 11 strikes and one 9 pin count spare anywhere from the second to the ninth frame. It can also be bowled by having a 9 pin count and converting the spare in each of the 1st and 2nd frames and then striking all remaining shots, or by having strikes in each of the first 9 frames, a 9 count on the first ball in the tenth, converting that spare and then a strike on the last ball.
The rarest score in bowling is a 292 game, which requires 11 strikes in a row followed by a 2 count on the last ball, and has only been accomplished about 20 times.
For more information on bowling records go to the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) site at http://www.bowl.com