Bowling question

[Cisco]

Ok, the following will mostly be an unorganized ramble so maybe this belongs in MPSIMS, but I'll let the mods decide. My basic question is: Why is a 300 score in bowling so rare? One thing I've noticed about bowling is that no matter where you're bowling at, you're basically throwing the same ball down the same lane at the same pins. I recently met a guy who bowls an average of 8 games a day, 7 days a week, you know what is average score is? Around 240. Doesn't it seem like after you've bowled enough strikes you would eventually be able to do it every time? I mean, I've never been bowling and not bowled at least one strike, not even when I was pretty young, and I suck. Remember when Pat Sajack had to stop spinning the Wheel of Fortune because he had done it so much that he could make it land wherever he wanted it to? Doesn't it seem like that would be alot harder and take alot more practice than simply bowling a strike every time? If I haven't bowled in quite awhile I usually bowl in the upper-eighties to low nineties but if I just bowl 2-3 games a week for a month I get to where I can consistantly bowl in the 160's to 190's (My all-time high is a 192.) Now that's just a couple games a week for a month or so, think about these guys that bowl 8+ games a day for years. Shouldn't they be bowling 300's everytime? There just seems to be no variables in bowling, no different fields to play on, no opponents to go directly up against. Well, like I said, my question is What is it about bowling that makes it so hard to bowl a 300? Sorry for the rambling.

[doreen]

Aside from the difficulty of throwing the ball in exactly the same spot,in exactly the same way every time, there is a variable- the oil on the lanes.The oil is not in the same pattern on every lane and it can even change during the course of a game as the ball rolls over the lane.Then add in the pressure-My husband had ten strikes in a row and missed the 11 shot lots of times before he finally got a 300.

[OneChance]

In addition to what doreen wrote, another factor are the pins. They're not always placed in the same exact spots. One slight deviation of, say, the nine pin and it could be left standing.

[Daytona Dave]

Something I have always wondered about is this, is 300 the rarest score in Bowling. Somewhere I read that in order to bowl a 291 score, you would need roll 11 strikes and one ball where you knocked over one pin. Can anyone verify this?

[Grither]

Originally posted by Cisco
Remember when Pat Sajack had to stop spinning the Wheel of Fortune because he had done it so much that he could make it land wherever he wanted it to?

Okay, now you've piqued my curiosity. You have a cite for this?

[Bricker]

Originally posted by Daytona Dave
Something I have always wondered about is this, is 300 the rarest score in Bowling. Somewhere I read that in order to bowl a 291 score, you would need roll 11 strikes and one ball where you knocked over one pin. Can anyone verify this?

Yes - and 292 is achieved by rolling eleven strikes and one that hits only two pins, and so forth.

I don't know what the rarest score is - I grant you that after bowling eleven strikes, hitting just one is unlikely.

As to the OP - it's clear, I think, that whatever the reason, it's not true that you can bowl a 300 at will. I think the reason has to do with the fact that a tiny variation on your part translates to a large variation down at the other end of the lane. If you're just a fraction of an inch off from what you did before, and a bit off as far as your release, the ball will end up several inches off at the other end. If you throw a breaking ball, the oil on the lane may change as the game goes on, or you may be switching between lanes, as tournament play does, further adding to the differences.

I bowled in a league for several years, and carried an average of no more than 180. I often bowled in the 150 range, and my highest scratch score ever was 230.

- Rick

[Doctor Jackson]

I don't present myself as a bowling expert, but here are some variables that a bowler must overcome to roll stikes consistently:

-the approach (including the slide with the lead foot). Too short or too long affects where the ball ends up.
-the arm swing must be on the same plane every time
-release point
-velocity (how hard the ball is thrown)
-spin (on the ball, not the bowler - unless you're Fred Flintstone)
-ball placement
-lane oil (the more consistent you are with the above, and the more balls you roll, the more you wear a 'groove' in the oil. That changes the action on the ball)
- pin placement (on a 'pocket' strike the ball only knocks down 4 pins. You must rely on pins bouncing off other pins to knock down the other 6)

That's a lot that can go wrong.

[Chubbs]

What if there is a tie after a game? Let's say both bowlers bowled a 300, is there ties in bowling? Do the play another full game? or is it sudden death?

[FrankSC97]

In a single game there is a 2 frame roll-off consisting of the 9th & 10th frame.

If the tie occurs in a series (each team or person winning the same number of games) then the total score is used. If that is also a ties then a 2 frame roll-off occurs.

If after the 2 frames it is tied another 2 frames is bowled. This continues until someone wines.

[King Rat]

Ah, but bowling a 300 is no longer rare. It's became routine, in fact. At one time bowling a 300 was a HUGE deal. Not anymore.

An interesting side note is that during the league season of 1990-1991 there were 14,192 sanctioned 300 games by ABC members, while during the 1961-62 season (the earliest statistics 300's were kept), there were only 790 sanctioned 300 games. Ironically in 1962 there were 11,476 bowling centers, and according to the ABC, in 1992, the number had dwindled to 7,904.

[fandango]

Originally posted by FrankSC97
If after the 2 frames it is tied another 2 frames is bowled. This continues until someone wines.

"My arm hurts."

"I'm tired of playing"

"This beer is flat."

You mean like that?

[jk1245]

Some-time league bowler here (sub once every 2 wks or so).

As others have said, there ARE a lot of variables to consider and it is very difficult to throw it EXACTLY the same way each time. Even if you could, that wouldn't necessarily help, the lanes change during the game (actually, the oil does). I know people who have 3 or 4 balls (bowling, that is, keep it clean ) and will change them throughout the night depending on how the lanes are. You might consider this a tad obsessive (and I'd agree), but the lanes do change, even for a mediocre bowler like me.
Also, really good bowlers thorw hard and with a lot of hook on the ball. A slight error means they are way off at the end.

KingRat is right, the 300 isn't so rare anymore. I've been up against a team that had 2 in one night. The rarer feat is an 800 series for 3 games. MUCH rarer than a 300 because you need 3 good games (bowl a 300 and you still need 2-250s).

More than you ever wanted to know about bowling