Tenpin Bowling can be dated back
as far as 5200 BC from Ancient Egypt (1) and in England Henry VIII is said to
have used cannon balls (2).
AMF Bowling originated in America in 1900 (3) and came to prominence in the US
launching the first automated pinspotter machine (4) and revolutionising the world
of bowling.
In the 1960s Tenpin Bowling came to the UK (5) with over 160 centres at the
end of the decade. AMF recognised that the scoring system could be complicated
and introduced automatic scoring (6). Suddenly the public could come along and
type in their name and the computer did the rest.
Goldman Sachs and Co, an investment Bank, purchased AMF Bowling worldwide in
1996 (7). Throughout 1997 the number of centres owned and operated by AMF
Bowling in the UK rose from 15 to 22.
On 30th September 2004, AMF Worldwide elected to
sell the UK branch of the business and the company was acquired by certain
shareholders of Bourne Leisure, one of the UK’s largest leisure groups (8).
Since 2005 AMF Bowling embarked on a program of refurbishment. In May 2006 AMF Wellingborough received the Tenpin Bowling Proprietors Association award for the Best modernised/refurbished centre of the year 2005.
As the second largest operator of Tenpin Bowling
centres in the UK we continue to the lead the way with fully automated bumpers,
Xtreme Bowling, fantastic new Diner menus and a family-orientated leisure
experience.