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Bowling Academy

The Bowlers Handbook

Glossary

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of bowling terms explained.
Strike: All 10 pins are knocked down on the first delivery. You get 10 points for those pins, plus bonus points equal to the number of pins your next two balls knock down.

Spare: All 10 pins are knocked down with two deliveries. You get 10 points for those pins, plus bonus points equal to the number of pins your next ball knocks down.

Frame: One tenth of a game and also one of the 10 score boxes in which the running total of the game is recorded.

Game: Consists of 10 frames.

Approach: The name given to the area between the bowlers starting position and the foul line

Foul line: Is the starting line at the beginning of the lane.

Foul: Touching or going beyond the foul line as you deliver the ball.

Average: Total score of your games divided by the number of games you played.

A Double: Two strikes in a row.

A Turkey: Three strikes in a row.

Gutter: The runaway on each side of the lane where balls end up if they leave the lane or miss.

Perfect Game: A game that consists of all 12 balls being strikes (a 300 game).


Wet Lanes: There is a lot of oil on the lanes. Hook balls will generally move in a straighter line.


Dry Lanes: The opposite of Wet Lanes, not much oil. Hook balls will generally grip faster and turn earlier.

Pocket: For a right handed bowler the pocket is between the 1 & 3 pins and for a left handed bowler it's between the 1 & 2 pins. This is where a hook bowler will normally aim for a strike.

Brooklyn: Also known as the Brook or the Brookie ("Brucky"), the term takes it's name from the Brooklyn bridge implying the other side. It referes to when the ball misses the pocket and crosses in front of the headpin making contact on the other side.

The Old Man: A 200 game


Under, Over & Par: Par is a 200 game in league bowling, under and over relate to how many pins a bowler is away from 200.

Sleeper: When one pin is directly behind another, eg 2 & 8 or 3 & 9

Washout: Any split where the headpin is left standing.

Lilly: When the 5, 7 and 10 pins are left standing

Grandma's Teeth: The 3, 4, 7, 10 pins are left.


Dracula's Teeth The 4 and 6 pins are left


Bucket Either the 2, 4, 5, 8 or 3, 5, 6, 9 pins are left.

Big Four The 4, 6, 7, 10 pins are left.

Big Five Either the 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 pins or the 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 pins are left.