Bowling Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Game

A bowling alley is a window into nostalgia. The warm smell of burgers and pizza. The sound of balls crashing into pins mixed with the chatter of people talking as they wait for their turn. Rented shoes that never fit right. All of these things combine into a familiar backdrop. But there’s more to bowling than most people expect. This guide will introduce you to bowling basics and help you feel comfortable diving in, even as a complete beginner.

Equipment

Choosing Your Ball

The balls provided by the bowling alley, or “house balls,” are actually very different from performance bowling balls, and there’s a noticeable difference in how you play when you switch between them.

Generally, there are a few things to consider when choosing which ball is right for you, but we’ll stick to the bowling basics here. The primary things to focus on are weight, hook, and coverstock. A good rule of thumb when bowling is that you want to bowl with the heaviest ball you can comfortably handle. The heavier the ball, the more momentum it builds, and the easier it is to knock over the pins. This can vary depending on the person, but for women, aim for a ball in the 10-14lbs range, and for men, try a ball between 14-16lbs.

Hook potential is the amount that a ball will curve or “hook” as it travels down the lane. As a beginner, you probably want to start with a less reactive ball with a lower hook potential. This makes the ball easier to control and gives it a more predictable path as you’re getting used to the game. More experienced players will experiment with higher hook potentials, but as a beginner, it’s best to go with less reactive entry-level bowling balls.

Coverstock is the material covering the ball, and it determines when the ball starts to hook as it moves down the lane. For players just starting out, the differences between pearl, solid, hybrid, and urethane coverstocks can feel overwhelming, so to make things simple, we’ll tell you that solid coverstock will typically be a beginner’s best friend. Solid coverstock provides a higher amount of friction between the ball and the lane and offers a smoother and more predictable path than more reactive coverstocks.

Bowling Shoes - Should You Get Your Own?

Much like with bowling balls, if you’re planning on bowling regularly, then you probably want to invest in your own pair of bowling shoes. The reason is that most house shoes can actually end up hurting your game due to the wear they experience, as well as the way they are generalized for the public rather than catering to your specific needs as a player. Proper bowling shoes are important basics of bowling for beginners because they enhance your game and save you from having to wear ill-fitting shoes that have been used by strangers.

The Game

The basics of the game are fairly easy to pick up, and chances are good that you already know the essentials, but just in case, here are the basics of bowling for beginners.

Scoring

The basics of bowling consist of ten rounds, with each player getting a “frame” in a round. You get two chances to bowl in a single frame, and the goal is to knock down the pins at the end of the lane. Knocking all ten pins down in your first roll is known as a strike, and it’s worth 10 points plus the points earned in the next two balls. Knocking down all 10 pins in the span of a frame is called a spare, and it’s also worth 10 points, with bonus points awarded based on the pins knocked down with the next ball. Otherwise, you get points determined by how many pins were knocked down in your frame.

The Lane

Breaking down bowling into basics, the lane has four main components:

• The Approach: the area leading up to the lane, typically marked with arrows.
• The Foul Line: the marked point at which you cannot cross. Crossing this line nullifies any points gained on that roll.
• The Gutters: the sides of the lanes that catch balls when they roll out of bounds.
• The Lane: The area where the ball rolls on its way to the pins. Lanes are typically oiled, and their oil pattern can have an effect on your choice of the ball and the hook you achieve when rolling.

Bowling is a sport with a lot of nuance to it, but you don’t need to know all of the lingo in order to have fun playing it. At Bowlers Paradise, we pride ourselves on offering equipment and information for players at every level.