by R. Renee Bembry

Created on: February 02, 2009   Last Updated: March 31, 2009

Anyone wishing to increase their bowling score could opt to use what's called "bumper lanes" when bowling. The bumpers allow balls to ricochet left to right from bumper to bumper all the way to the pins. Most balls taking ricochet rides are guaranteed to help increase scores because bumpers eliminate gutter-ball occurrences and assure most balls rolling down the runway will hit at least one pin.

If you're not a kid and your bowling isn't that' bad, however, you'll probably prefer to bowl on regular lanes. In this case, attempts to hit sets of ten pins standing sixty feet away from the foul line - where bowlers stand to toss their balls - will require more skill and concentration.

To begin with, make certain you are comfortable. Bowling in clothes that are too tight or loose could hamper or restrict your movement. In addition, wear smooth leather soled bowling shoes that allow your feet to slide and prevent you from tripping while tossing your ball. Wear thick socks to keep your feet comfortable when wearing used bowling alley shoes.

Check out your ball. Make sure it's a good fit for you - meaning - it feels comfortable to your fingers and thumb and it isn't too heavy. Bowling balls should be approximately ten percent of a bowler's body weight and should not stress a bowler's arm when one-arming the ball. Bowling balls should be snug but not loose when bowlers insert their thumbs in the thumb holes. The knuckle on a bowler's middle finger should line up with the middle ball hole when the thumb is inserted in the ball and the bowler stretches his or her hand across the surface of the ball and then directly across the three finger holes. When using knuckle positioning as a guide, bowlers should be able to hold their balls at their sides easily and comfortably when preparing to bowl.

Determine where you need to throw your ball. Bowling lanes have three points of reference leading from where bowlers stand to the pins. The reference point most bowlers aim for is the triangle of targeting arrows located fifteen feet down the lane. A few feet closer to bowlers is a set of targeting keys laid out in similar fashion as the arrows. Some bowlers prefer using the keys as a point of reference in particular when their eyesight doesn't allow them to see down the lane to the arrows. Other bowlers prefer to use the line of dots located just in front of the foul line. Dots tend to be most helpful to bowlers who are near sighted. In order to determine which point of reference is best

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