The history of bowling dates back thousands of years. It is believed by many that a passion for hitting a bowling pin with an object actually struck humanity sometime in the Stone Age. This passion has never gone away, as evidenced by the worldwide popularity of the sport.

As man evolved, so too did [...]]]> By J. Lloyd

The history of bowling dates back thousands of years. It is believed by many that a passion for hitting a bowling pin with an object actually struck humanity sometime in the Stone Age. This passion has never gone away, as evidenced by the worldwide popularity of the sport.

As man evolved, so too did the game and its trademark bowling pin design. Whereas the first pins likely were made of stone or another crude material, the pins of today have come a long way. Modern pins are precise creations typically made of wood. Each one is uniform in design specification down to the thickness of the necks and the height they stand.

The history of bowling marched forward from the Stone Age into actual royal courts. The first mention of the game in written history involves English King Edward III who, in 1366, actually banned the game to force his soldiers to focus more on their archery practice. From Edward’s court, the game moved on to the time of King Henry VIII. It was in Henry’s time the game became one enjoyed greatly by nobility.

In Colonial America, the game made an appearance and was often associated with gambling. The bowling pin count in this earlier form of the game involved nine pins, rather than the 10 of today.

The game enjoyed widespread popularity that stuck following the invention of the automatic bowling pin spotter in the 1940s. This little creation revolutionized the game and made it much easier for frames to be reset. The game has become so popular, in fact, that bowling pin set ups can now be found in almost every country in the world, with an estimated 95 million fans across the globe.

The standard bowling pin of today has come a long way, as well. Rather than stone or crude wood, a typical American bowling pin is made out of fine maple wood. This type of pin is created using a lathe to form the shape. Once this is done, the wood is coated with plastic and then covered with gloss. The idea is to create a uniform set up that is fairly standard from alley to alley.

The American bowling pin is a pretty strict creation. The standards set by the American Bowling Congress call for very stringent specifications. A standard bowling pin stands precisely 15 inches in height and is not more than 4.75 inches wide at its fattest point. They weigh in at less than four pounds a piece.

Although the standard American bowling pin is what is found in most alleys, there are other options out there in pins. The games played with them are a bit different, but they still revolve around the same concept of bowling to knock them down. Other types of pins used in bowling games include the candlepin, the duckpin and the set up for five-pins.

Bowling is a sport that has been enjoyed by people through the ages. From the days before recorded history to the modern, computerized alleys of today, the heart of the game has always involved a bowling pin in one form or fashion.

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The kicker is that bowling requires a lot of equipment in order to practice effectively. First you need a bowling lane and pins, [...]]]> Many of the various bowling information sources suggest that practice will help you improve your bowling game and help you raise your bowling average. They are right, concentrated practice will improve your game.

The kicker is that bowling requires a lot of equipment in order to practice effectively. First you need a bowling lane and pins, a few bowling balls, bowling shoes, etc. Not things available in the typical home.

There is however a readily obtainable way to hone your swing mechanics, spare shooting angles, and strategies without leaving the comfort of your living room.

Enter the Nintendo Wii™, one of the newest electronic home game systems on the market and the sports pack of games that comes with it. Included are a few bowling games that can actually give immediate quality feedback for a variety of bowling skills.
Now before you get really excited, this would not be a substitute for learning the game of bowling, you will still need a real bowling alley to learn the basics.

The movements involved with the Wii controller are very close to the actual moves involved in the release of the actual bowling ball, wrist movement is very similar, in order to make a good delivery in the Wii game you have to “release” the ball at the bottom of your swing, this is identical to real bowling. In my opinion the more you play the Wii bowling game, the more smooth and accurate your swing mechanics will become, you will learn more about spare angles and how ball speed and hook affect how the ball hits the pins. These are skills that are transferable to actual bowling.
The scoring functions on the Wii game are accurate and exact, so you get the added benefit of learning how to keep score. Yes I know that most bowling centers offer computerized scoring, however there are times the computers are not working, there are also instances when they are not accurate, knowing how to keep score is still important. You can “bowl” by yourself or against up to 3 other players.

Featured in the Wii bowling suite of games is a “billiards” game that has you shooting at a 1 pin spare, then a 2 pin spare, followed by a 3 pin spare and so on, this game does make you think about spare angles, and how the ball hooks and hits the pins. Planning how you are going to make these spares is identical to the planning and ball movement in actual bowling. Also included are an obstacles game and another game that adds a row of pins to each additional frame, getting up to really ridiculous numbers, these 2 game while entertaining do not really depict real world ball movements and are not much use as training devices.

The Wii system, because the controller senses actual body movement is very popular with the younger crowd and is also becoming very popular with older people, now being used in many retirement or nursing homes as a way to keep seniors active.

Bowling shoes are really specialty shoes, [...]]]> Bowling shoes have come a long way, at one time the only difference between the bowling shoes you rented at the bowling center and the bowling shoes you owned was that yours were not of mixed colors and they were made to be worn by right or left handed bowlers.

Bowling shoes are really specialty shoes, they are constructed specifically to perform certain functions, as well as protect the approach surface. For a right-handed bowler, the left foot is your final step toward the foul line; the left shoe is designed to slide to the foul line. The right shoe is designed to provide traction to facilitate the that starts your approach. For a left-handed bowler just reverse the above.

Just a few years ago you had very few style choices, your bowling shoes were either black or white and had a leather slide pad on the slide shoe, and no modifications to the push-off shoe.

That has changed; today there are now more manufacturers of bowling shoes, offering many new styles, and a wide price range. If you are a recreational bowler, you will benefit from having your own shoes just because you will have a consistent fit and feel. You will become used to how they slide and have a more comfortable and natural approach.

If you are bowling in a league or if you are a competitive bowler you will want a bowling shoe that offers more features. Bowling shoes made for competitive bowlers offer such “accessories” as changeable slide pads, and changeable heels on your slide shoe, this allows you to customize your shoe to exactly how you would like it to perform, or to make adjustments for changing approach conditions. The traction shoe is equipped with a positive traction toe or sole, which will promote solid consistent, push off to start your approach. One top company even offers a “shuffle” shoe style for those bowlers who tend too shuffle their approach steps. These bowling shoes are going to cost a bit more, however they will also give you years of performance.

Many bowlers will use a “slide sock” that is designed to slip over the slide pad to allow for more slide on sticky approaches, this device is especially useful on synthetic approaches.

There are also “wet socks” available to slip over your slide shoe when walking outside of the bowling approach area, this protects the slide pad from getting wet.

If your bowling shoes are ready to be replaced, or if you are looking to make a first time purchase, check with your pro shop for your choices.

For great online selection and service check the link below!

bowlingball.com offers the largest selection of bowling shoes on the Internet.

There are really a few reasons that I would consider buying a used bowling ball, and you may want to think about the same.

There have been a few times when a completely new class of bowling balls has been introduced, for example when “urethane cover stocks” first hit the market, and again when [...]]]> By Jim Newell

There are really a few reasons that I would consider buying a used bowling ball, and you may want to think about the same.

There have been a few times when a completely new class of bowling balls has been introduced, for example when “urethane cover stocks” first hit the market, and again when “reactive Resin cover stocks” arrived.

A lot of new balls all at once, and of course the marketing hype, each company claiming that their ball will almost bowl for you. And each company has their tier one bowling balls, and then a second, less expensive tier, so how do you decide which one you want to try? Is a second tier ball as good as a tier one?

When the “urethanes” came on the scene about 1982-1983, I bought a new first tier ball, and it worked okay, however I wanted more, a friend had a Columbia Torq that he did not like, he only had a few games on it, and it had a very slight blemish. This was a $180 ball, he sold it to me for $30, I had it plugged and redrilled to my specs for another $20, and I used that ball for about 2 years as my go to ball and averaged 210-220 with it.

A few years later I started having trouble with my right shoulder after bowling and decided to investigate going to a lighter 15# ball. This would be a major expense, as I would need to buy 3-4 new balls to have a complete arsenal. The bowling pro who drills my bowling balls had a second tier Storm ball that he plugged and redrilled for me to try out, total cost for this $100 ball was $20. What I found was, not only did I not lose any hitting power with the lighter ball, but this second tier was as good as the top tier ball I also bought!

I have been in the habit of trying a new ball every 2-3 years, on the theory that the new ones are really better, and that “reactive resin covers” do lose a little punch after 300-400 games. Last year I picked out the ball I thought I wanted and went to see my bowling pro, he did not have the ball I wanted in stock as a new ball, however this gentleman is a touring regional professional, he had tried this same ball for himself, he is left handed, I am right handed, so he plugged and redrilled it for me, this is a $200 ball, total cost $65, averaging right around 200 with this ball.

Believe me, I have nothing against new bowling balls, and have still bought an average of 2 a year. But the used ones that I have tried have worked very well, and with what they cost today, this is one way to save money, when making a change.

Check around your league or your bowling center pro shop, there may just be a diamond in the rough waiting to be found.

Bowling balls have really come a long way, from the round stones that may have been thrown at pin like stones by the caveman, and most assuredly be the ancient Egyptians, to the “resin particle cover stocks” with unimaginable weight block shapes that are driving up averages today.

The Dutch introduced a [...]]]> By Jim Newell

Bowling balls have really come a long way, from the round stones that may have been thrown at pin like stones by the caveman, and most assuredly be the ancient Egyptians, to the “resin particle cover stocks” with unimaginable weight block shapes that are driving up averages today.

The Dutch introduced a game similar to what we play today to America during the colonial period. This game evolved into the game of “nine pin” which became a very popular gambling game, the authorities of the time eventually banned the sport of “nine Pin”. In order to skirt the ban on “nine Pin” it is popularly believed that a tenth pin was added to the deck, thus the game we know as “ten pin bowling”. The ball used for these games and up to the very early 20th century was made of a very dense hardwood, lignum vitae. In 1905 the first rubber ball, named the “Evertrue” was introduced, about this time the 16-pound maximum weight limit was imposed. Then in 1914 the “Mineralite” ball was introduced by the Brunswick Corporation, then a maker of billiards balls, and was successfully promoted, touting its “mysterious rubber compound”. These types of bowling ball, and variations of it, were the mainstays until about the 1970′s.

During the early 1970′s polyester/plastic bowling balls were introduced. The characteristics of these bowling balls are low production costs, which allows lower costs for bowlers buying their own equipment, durability, many color or design choices. The disadvantages are that these balls do not “grip” the lane very well and usually go very straight, however the tendency to go straight does make them very popular as a spare ball, and many are used today just for that purpose. Most bowling centers have a selection of house balls for the patrons to use, most of those balls are either hard rubber or polyester bowling balls. 

In 1981 Ebonite developed the technology to produce a polyurethane cover stock, however this was a higher cost process, and Ebonite, fearing that the bowler would not pay the estimated $80 sale price, sold the manufacturing rights to AMF. The result was the production of the AMF “Angle”, and the modern era of bowling balls was born. This new cover stock allowed more friction or “grip on the lane, resulting in a ball that was more controllable, predictable, smoother roll, and was easy to hook or curve into the strike pocket. The cover stock was also “adjustable” as to how aggressive the hook or curve was, by varying how it was finished, need less hook, polish the ball, need more
hook, sand the surface. The “urethane balls are durable, last a long time, require less maintenance and still perform well, especially on “dry” lane conditions.

The 1990′s saw the introduction of the “reactive resin cover stock” bowling ball, and the stampede to higher scoring began. This group of cover stocks have a sort of “tackiness” that seems to grip the lane, this allows for greatly increased hook potential, and a ball that seems to deliver more energy and hitting power to a larger strike pocket. These bowling balls won’t bowl for you, however they will make a good bowler a lot better. You no longer have to be exactly precise, but rather bowl in an area.

Building on the huge success of reactive resin cover stocks are the newer “particle reactive resin cover stocks” which are even more aggressive on the lanes.

To take advantage of these new high tech bowling balls you need to check out the pro shop at your bowling center, or find out where the good bowlers in your area buy their equipment, you need to buy from someone who really knows how to fit a ball to you and your particular style of play, and then drill that ball to match.