A Brief History of Bowling

The history of bowling can be traced back to the 3rd century.  The game of bowling was said to have originated in the German church. It was common for parishioners to set up a Kegel (club) representing a sinner, and then roll a stone in an attempt to knock it over. If the parishioner knocks the Kegel over, then the sinner is free of sin. The game eventually moved from the church and into a popular sport among the common people. A wooden ball replaced the stone, and pins were used in place of the Kegel. In the Middle Ages, the sport of bowling was seen throughout Germany, and many events included the sport. Eventually the sport spread from Germany and onto Austria, Spain, Switzerland, and the Low Countries. The game, which was previously played outdoors, was also moved indoors, into covered sheds with lanes made of wood or sunbaked clay.

Dutch colonists brought the game of bowling to America in the 17th century. The colonist’s game consisted of nine pins set in a triangle. The game was most common in an area of New York that is now known as Bowling Green. The sport of bowling was primarily associated with inns and taverns. The game of ninepins was banned in Connecticut in 1841 because of widespread gambling, and later banned in many other states. Some believe that the modern tenpins game was developed to circumvent the laws against ninepins. Indoor bowling became popular in the mid-nineteenth century after the introduction of indoor lanes in New York.

In 1875, eleven New York clubs met to create rules of bowling and standardization of equipment. Although basic rules could be agreed upon, there was no agreement on the width of the lane or the size of the pin. The American Bowling Congress (ABC) was organized at Beethoven Hall in 1895. The score was established at 300, and the distance between pins was set at 12 inches. Originally only New York City, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Buffalo, N.Y. were represented, but the following year Cincinnati, Boston, and Lowell, Mass. were represented. Ernest Fosberg of Rockford, Ill. was the first man to get a score of 300 in five-man league play. The following year E.D. Peifer inaugurated a handicap method for bowling; originally the competition was on an actual score basis.

The first hard rubber ball was developed in 1906, and the maximum ball weight was set to 16 pounds. Up to this point, all balls had been made of hardwood. The sport of bowling gained more popularity in 1920 as the prohibition law led to increases in the game. In 1939, it was established that all lanes should undergo annual inspection and certification before players are allowed to play on them. The National Negro Bowling Association was also founded in the year of 1939. From 1941-1945 the game of bowling grew even more as World War II greatly impacted the sport. Forty-five hundred alley beds were built by the military as a source of recreation.

In the year of 1948, Brunswick introduced dots and arrow markers to their lanes, which drastically improved accuracy for many bowlers. The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) was founded by Eddie Elias in 1958. The PBA originally had 33 charter members. The PBA featured three or four tournaments on the PBA tour, but the number of tournaments grew rapidly in the 1960s, which could be attributed to the influence of television. The “stepladder” format was formed in order to fit tournaments into TV time slots. The competitors in the tournaments begin by rolling a series of qualifying games with the top five finishers advancing into the stepladder round. Fourth and fifth place qualifiers must bowl a match, with the winner advancing to bowl against the third-place qualifier. This process continues up the stepladder, until the survivor meets the first-place qualifier in the final match.

Knock’em Dead with these Bowling Accessories

The sport of bowling has come a long way.  There used to be a time when all you needed was a pair of shoes and a bowling ball.  Even these necessities have become more and more refined and there are now various different kinds of balls and shoes available for those who wish to squeeze any and every advantage from the game.  Yet did you know that there are also other accessories that will make your game more elegant while at the same time will make you more effective at the game?  Do not be fooled by the claims of some retailers who will promise you that the purchase of a certain gadget or brand will turn a hack bowler into one that rolls one strike after another – while accessories will not roll the strikes for you, they will go a long ways to help you turn advantages into disadvantages.

Take for example the bowling gloves that are available for purchase. You may opt for either a complete glove, or you may consider a thumb or index finger support. The goal of the individual finger support is to be guards for your finger against blisters while at the same time it provides a textured material that will help you improve your grip on the bowling ball. Additionally, the gloves and individual finger supports will prevent the formation of unsightly calluses that also hurt when pressed.  Going along with the protection of your hand and individual fingers is also the protection of your wrist. There are several products on the market that serve to strengthen your wrists, and even if you do not feel you need any help with your wrist, you will be interested to know that some of these supports are semi-rigid so as you force your wrist into a proper position.  If you have trouble with your ball release, or if you are trying to find out why your bowling ball is not always going just where you planned, you might want to try out these great products to see if such a wrist support will help you to knock ‘em dead!

If you are not yet ready to invest in a glove, but the holes in the ball are truly doing a number on your fingers and thumb, you may also wish to consider the finger hole inserts you are able to purchase at reputable bowling supply stores. Make sure you specify the grip size to ensure that the inserts fit snugly into the holes. This will take the edge of the grip and make release a lot easier on your fingers and thumb. While you are taking care of your bowling ball, why not take the time to also check out the various kinds of ball cleaners that are available?  They are not all created equal, and if you speak to ten bowlers, the odds are pretty good that you will get ten different answers as to which cleaner is the best on the market.

As a general rule, it is best to ensure that the cleaner is indicated for the kind of finish on your bowling ball, does not eat away at the ball’s surface, and will get rid of any lane oil and dirt you may pick up during a game. If you notice that your ball seems to be covered in dirt or somewhat sticky from oil residue, you may also wish to invest in some cleaning towelettes that will permit you to clean the ball in between rolls. These disposable towelettes do not harm the ball’s surface, and instead permit you to remove materials that might otherwise hamper your rolls.

Tips on Customizing the Surface of your Bowling Ball

When you first go to the sports store to get outfitted for your new hobby, you will probably notice the vast array of bowling balls you can purchase.  There are aesthetic differences, such as colors and decorations, but as the friendly store clerk will soon advise you, there are a lot more differences on the inside of the ball.  Once you have turned from a novice to a seasoned bowler, however, you will probably listen to the conversations of others, and learn that the truly hard-core bowlers will alter their balls’ surfaces so as to work better with their own personal bowling styles, as well as be more useful for different lane conditions.

Do you ever wonder what it would take for you to customize the surface of your bowling ball? It is important to think through the changes you want to affect before even touching your bowling ball.  Remember, while many changes may be temporary, some are permanent, and some bowlers have ruined perfectly good bowling balls simply because they did not have a clear picture of what they were trying to accomplish before beginning.  This also involves being brutally honest with yourself about your skill level and ability to play during certain lane conditions.

It is easy to say that a lane is too fast, when in fact perhaps you are having a hard time determining the proper oil pattern. Secondly, keep in mind that you want to adapt your ball to the lane you will be playing at.  This might mean that you will have different balls for different lanes and alleys. To get a good idea of whether or not you will need to make some changes to your ball is to take a peak and see how other bowler are doing in the same conditions.  Are they consistently out-bowling you? If so, is it due to altered ball surfaces, or are you not as good a player as perhaps you are hoping to become? Are you playing on a lane that has a different floor composition than they are? Once you have answers to all of these questions, you will know whether or not to attack the surface of your ball.

If you have determined that you need a ball that will reach its breakpoint and then hook toward the pins, but your ball seems to lose its steam long before it gets around to doing a hook, you will need to polish your ball.  The shinier the ball, the easier will it traverse the head of the lane without using up as much energy. On the other hand, if your ball is rolling just fine but the problem lies with the latter part of the hook, then you may need to dull it instead of polishing it. Assuming you will be adjusting the surface of the ball at home, keep in mind that a bowling ball is perfectly round.

If you do not spin the ball consistently while changing its surface, you may treat one portion of the surface too much while leaving another spot virtually untreated, which will result in a loss of the ball’s perfect shape.  Even a small imbalance will have a drastic impact on your game, so it is vital to be absolutely certain that you treat the surface of the ball evenly. If you are not certain that you will be able to accomplish this at home, keep in mind that resurfacing equipment is available at professional sports stores, especially those who cater to an avid bowling audience. Last but not least, keep in mind that changes to a ball should be made gradually so gage the success or failure of your approach.

Reasons Why No Two Bowling Lanes are the Same

If you are an avid bowler, you know that there is more to the game than simply showing up with a ball and renting some shoes. As a matter of fact, there are several mental aspects to the game that seasoned players use to their advantages when they go nose to nose with another bowler. Yet in addition to even these aspects, there are also the physical conditions that change. Bowling balls are different in many ways, and players have learned that different balls work well for different shots. Shoes are different and are often used to give someone a slight edge.  Yet the one thing that a bowler has no control over is the bowling lane.  No two bowling lanes are the same, and a good portion of the game is dedicated to ascertaining the differences between one lane and the next, and then turning possible disadvantages into advantages.  There are a large number of reasons why no two bowling lanes are the same.

Some older bowling alleys still have hardwood floors, whereas the more modern centers use synthetic floor materials.  Oftentimes these surfaces are made to look like wood, yet they lack the wood’s aspects.  Probably the most obvious difference is the fact that wood surfaces are rougher than synthetics. In order to upgrade their lanes, some alleys have decided not to install completely new lanes, but instead to simply overlay old and damaged wood with a covering of synthetic material.  Yet because this covering is thinner than regular synthetic material used to create a lane, it is also softer, thus impacting the actual performance of the bowling ball. Conversely, you might run across a bowling alley which has not yet resurfaced its worn lanes, and some of the lanes may show some heavy impact in the first few feet of the lane where bowling balls generally impact the floor boards the hardest, and where damage is quite frequently the most intense. A damaged lane will impact the way your ball with roll and thus may completely change the way your trajectory should be planned out.

Oil is used to help preserve the surface of the lanes, and there are different patterns used to spread it.  Some of these patterns have their own names, such as the Christmas tree pattern, and each pattern affects a bowler’s rolls. Thus every bowling lane may have their own modes of laying down oil, and thus patterns. Even within a bowling alley there are differences between the individual lanes.  For example, if you are up to bowl on a lane that has been in heavy use throughout the day, the odds are that there is less fresh oil remaining on the floor, and what remains may have begun to dry out. This will affect your trajectory dramatically.

As you can see, there are a large variety of reasons why no two bowling lanes are equal in performance.  Granted, they may look similar, but when you get down to the details, you will be able to tell that there is a lot more to the shiny floors than meets the eye. Some bowlers have cultivated close relationships with the workers at different bowling alleys to not only be informed about lane conditions, and which lanes have received the least play throughout the day, but to also be given some tips on which patterns have been used to lay down oil, and which lanes have recently been resurfaced.  The other mode of dealing with lane conditions is the practice round, when players will be able to quickly ascertain the latest conditions of the lanes before the scoring begins.

Does the Bowling Ball Make That Much Difference in a Game?

There are absolutely hundreds of bowling balls available on the market, which can be overwhelming and confusing to a person who is trying to choose a bowling ball. The key to choosing the right ball is to understand the differences between bowling balls and know what you are trying to achieve with your bowling ball purchase.

Some information you should know about bowling balls before making your purchase is that a bowling ball is mostly composed of two major parts, the Coverstock and the Weight Block.  The Coverstock is the outer shell of the bowling ball. This is the part of the ball that you see and the most influential element of the ball when it comes to hook potential.  This is because it is the part of the ball that is actually making contact with the lane surface.

There are four main types of bowling balls: plastic, urethane, reactive resin, and particle, which is proactive. The big difference between these coverstock materials is how they perform and react on the lane surface. When a ball is rolled down the lane, friction is created from the contact between the coverstock and the surface of the lane. The more friction that is created from this contact the more hook potential the ball has. The amount of friction that is created will vary depending on the type of the ball’s coverstock.

Plastic coverstock is a really smooth surface and creates the least amount of friction.  Therefore it has the least hook potential available in a bowling ball. This type of ball is good for beginners who want their own ball with a proper fit to their hand. Intermediate and advanced bowlers also use this type of ball for shooting spares because of the balls very predictable reaction due to its very low hook potential.

Urethane coverstock is more durable than plastic and creates more friction between the ball and the lane surface. This means that urethane has a higher hook potential than plastic. Due to the increased friction on the lane, urethane tends to deflect less which results in better pin action. This type of ball is a more advanced step up from a plastic because it is still very controllable but also offers increased hook potential.

Reactive Resin coverstock is less durable than plastic or urethane, but creates more friction, hook potential, and pin action. Due to the much higher friction they create, reactive resin balls are more sensitive to lane conditions, and operator error.  Therefore they are usually a little more difficult to control. This type of ball is designed for the intermediate or advanced bowler who wants to be able to hook the ball and a lot of potential lane reactions.

Particle coverstock has a very “bumpy” feel to it, which allows the ball to dig into the lane surface.  This creates the most friction available on heavily oiled lanes. Mostly intermediate and advanced bowlers use this type of ball.

The Weight Block of a bowling ball is found inside the ball beneath the coverstock and has a lot to do with how your ball will perform. The two main types of weight blocks are high mass and low mass.

A High mass weight block will promote a lot of length down the lane because it doesn’t usually allow the ball to get into a heavy roll, and a Low mass weight block will allow for that heavier roll, which can increase hook potential.

When choosing a bowling ball, be sure to consult with someone who knows a lot about them because finding the right ball for your size, weight, and skill level will make all the difference as well as help you make the right investment.

Tips for Bowling: Christmas Tree Pattern

Try these tips for bowling the Christmas Tree Pattern which heavily capitalizes on the notion that there is a lot more to bowling than meets the eye of the casual observer. To the untrained observer, bowling itself is merely a game where players use a heavy ball to knock down a number of obstacles that are placed on the other end of a long, flat corridor. If this were the entirety of the game, it would not be surprising if it were an obscure sport. As it stands, however, it is an international pastime with a large number of aficionados who all have their own tips and tricks to score higher and win over the other competitors. When listening in to the conversations between seasoned bowlers, you will soon learn that there is so much more to this game than meets the eye.

One such item that rarely factors into the mainstream perception of the game is the oil pattern. The bowling lane will need to be cleaned and the wood or synthetic material preserved. To this end, many proprietors use a specific kind of oil that not only protects the floor material, but also adds the glossy shine that is so pleasing to the eye. Experienced bowlers know that there are different kinds of patterns that emerge when the oil is applied, and during tournaments bowlers work long and hard to find out the patterns that have been laid down; one such pattern is referred to as the Christmas tree pattern. This pattern refers to the fact that the oil is laid down in a Christmas tree shape pattern, leaving certain areas of the lane dry.

Here is a list of Christmas tree pattern bowling tips you can practice:

* Assuming you are right handed, it is important to move the ball closer to the right side than you might ordinarily do. The goal is to take advantage of the fact that there is not much oil laid down to help your ball to project to the pins. If you are left handed, obviously you are aiming for the other side.

* Experiment with your desired breakpoint. You may need to move your stand point more than you might need to move your target. Before changing your aim by three boards, decide instead to move your feet, and adjust your aim by only one board.

* Do not be afraid to waste a ball or two in trying to find out how far the oil pattern reaches. Novices wrongly believe that the oil pattern will reach all the way to the pins, whereas in reality it may only go as far back as 35 feet. This is the reason that practice play is so important before you decide to keep score!

* If the oil is very heavily applied, be sure to use a ball with a dull finish. A shiny ball will make adjustments to the Christmas tree pattern harder since the ball will be more inclined to roll the direct line.

As you can see, while a Christmas tree pattern is something that pros love to grapple with, there are some tips and tricks the average bowler may use to also shine at the game. The most important aspects of playing this pattern are – for the intermediate bowler – to fist of all recognize the pattern in the first place, and then gain a feel for the length to which it is applied. Frequently the latter is forgotten when the former is recognized to be a part of the game play, and the excitement over finally having seen the elusive Christmas tree pattern takes over.

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