# Are men better at bowling than women? WHY for heaven's sake? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162 "2004-05-02T16:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/1 "2004-05-02T16:51:29Z")
Our church has bowling nights. They have separate women’s and men’s champions, which I never understood, figuring that as most of us spend the evening throwing chips at one another, we weren’t exactly operating on a level where subtle differences between the sexes’ skills would become apparent. However the men’s champion has invariably scored higher than the women’s, and I just don’t understand why this game should be affected by a person’s sex. Is it about upper body strength or what? Does that help your control? How is that important, given that one can have different-sized bowling balls? Surely it’s all in the aiming, and that’s down to the brain? Isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/2 "2004-05-02T16:53:53Z")
There is a theory (or maybe it’s more than a theory) that the brains are, well, different. That male brains are better at spacial awareness (and women’s better at communication skills) ---
**Author:** ![citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/3 "2004-05-02T17:16:51Z")
Pardon me if this is just folklore, but I’ve always been told men have more upper-body strength than women, and women have more lower-body power. Either way, outside of professional womens’ bowling, I think men are made to be more concerned with developing their arms’ musculature than women are. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/4 "2004-05-02T17:25:41Z")
> [@citrus x paradisi](#): > > Pardon me if this is just folklore, but I’ve always been told men have more upper-body strength than women, and women have more lower-body power. > [@Ross](#): > > Is it about upper body strength or what? Does that help your control? How is that important, given that one can have different-sized bowling balls? So how does strength alone help with the bowling? Can’t women just use smaller bowling balls? Does greater upper body strength naturally imply greater accuracy? Would that be why women’s darts players are also relatively few? I see what you mean about the cultural drive towards development of the arms, but neither of our women’s or men’s champions seem to have spent any time on that at all. Not that I’d say that to their faces… The spatial awareness bit sounds quite good, but I wonder if it’s true. I’d ask my wife but she tends not to miss when she throws things at me. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/5 "2004-05-02T17:43:10Z")
> [@Ross](#): > > So how does strength alone help with the bowling? Can’t women just use smaller bowling balls? Does greater upper body strength naturally imply greater accuracy? Using a heavier bowling ball allows you to deliver more kinetic energy to the pins, which increases the chances of picking up a spare after a split. I’ve gotten a few glancing shots in my time, and while a 16lb ball can send a pin careening around, possibly knocking down others, a 12lb ball with the same slight contact will cause the pin to just tip over. Accuracy is always key, of course, but the heavier ball gives you more wiggle room. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/6 "2004-05-02T17:44:04Z")
Ideally, if a small person hits the pocket (that spot between the head pin and the next one back - on the right for right handers and on the left for left handers) perfectly each time he or she will get a strike even if it is relatively light ball and a relatively soft throw. And while that happens on occasion, it doesn’t necessarily happen all the time. One has the variables of not perfect pins, balls and alleys (not to mention temperature and humidity). And that is on top of not everyone being able to put it in the pocket every single time Thus more “pin action” (you know when the bowling pins go flying all over the place crashing into one another and giving a person a higher pin count than they would normally get) comes in handy. Pin action is created by the force, and to a lesser extent spin of a ball. The force in its turn is created by just how hard the ball is thrown and the weight of the ball (a 16 pound ball is going to cause more pins to fly around than a 10 pound ball if they are thrown at the same speed). Men because of their traditional strength advantage usually throw harder and choose heavier bowling balls thus giving then an edge to begin with going up against a woman of standard frame and strength. Could a woman who pumps iron and builds herself up and bowls with a 16 pound ball contend with most men – most likely. TV ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/7 "2004-05-02T17:56:33Z")
And then there are left-handed bowlers who have a slight edge over right-handed bowlers. > [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Accuracy is always key, of course, but the heavier ball gives you more wiggle room. You were talking about bowling, weren’t you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/8 "2004-05-02T18:00:44Z")
Gosh, a whole hour and five minutes before the sniggering started. What took so damn long? ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/9 "2004-05-02T18:05:37Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > Thus more “pin action” I think that’s the answer to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/10 "2004-05-02T18:08:45Z")
From an elementary physics standpoint, wouldn’t a smaller ball thrown faster be better? I’m assuming the force, and therefore the momentum, that a bowler can put out is constant. So the bowler could throw, say, a 16 pound ball at 10 ft/sec (making the numbers up here, to be easy), or a 10 pound ball 16 ft/sec. The energy in the first case would be (1/2)(16 lbs)(10 ft/sec)^2, or 800 lbf. Whereas the energy in the second case would be (1/2)(10 lbs)(16 ft/sec)^2 = 1280 lbf. Would it not be advantageous to bowl a (small ball at high speed) with 1280 lbf of force, rather than the larger ball (at lower speed) at 800 lbf? ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/11 "2004-05-02T18:11:53Z")
Now that I think about it for a second (right after hitting submit, of course) the heavier ball would have greater potential energy when it’s lifted up by the bowler’s arm. Am I missing any other ramifications of bowling physics? ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/12 "2004-05-02T18:24:05Z")
> [@iwakura43](#): > > I’m assuming the force, and therefore the momentum, that a bowler can put out is constant. More likely, it’s the amount of work done, so the energy is the same. Someone stronger is capable of more work. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/13 "2004-05-02T18:31:24Z")
Given that the kinetic energy point has already been noted, a man and woman each take bowling balls of equal weight, approach at equal speeds, and having an equal backswing, release at the same point. The only difference is the vertical distance between the pivot point of the shoulder and the ground plane which will typically be greater for a male. Therefore he must move the ball through a longer arc segment owing to increased radius, and to do so at the same time as the female, must increase speed. That would case the ball of the male to touch the lane at a higher initial speed than that of the female. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/14 "2004-05-02T18:37:22Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > The only difference is the vertical distance between the pivot point of the shoulder and the ground plane That’s assuming that gravity is the only thing doing work–and I don’t think that’s true. Although, I am not a professional bowler. Is that what I’ve been doing wrong all these years? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/15 "2004-05-02T19:36:24Z")
You can make the ball smaller but the pins are still the same size. That’s why it doesn’t balance out. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Roberto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Don\_Roberto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Roberto)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/16 "2004-05-02T21:24:06Z")
While not being a professional bowler, I have recently become a student of the game. It is my understanding that gravity should be doing most of the work in accelerating the ball–‘muscling’ the ball will tend to cause inaccuracies. Thus, bowlers never speak of ‘throwing’ the ball; it is ‘rolled’. Regarding the weight/momentum/kinetic energy confusion: yes, a lighter ball can be thrown faster, but the ball itself will deflect more upon hitting the first pin. This reduces the effective strike angle (or size of the pocket), meaning there is less margin of error with a lighter ball. In a ‘Perfect Strike’, the ball itself makes direct contact with four pins: 1,3,5,9 (for a right handed bowler). A lighter ball will deflect more off the 1 pin, with a concomitantly greater chance of missing the five pin. These things I can say relatively definitively; I have no definitive answer as to why men are better bowlers than women. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/17 "2004-05-02T22:17:20Z")
Why is it so hard to accept that women and men are different??? Anyway I think momentum (mass \* velocity) would be a much better messure then Ke. Throwing a ball faster leaves less time for an accurate throw and also more of it’s velocity is lost due to friction (both rolling, sliding and air). So when the ball meets the pins a HEAVIER ball mainains more momentum then a light ball thrown at higher speeds. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/18 "2004-05-03T00:33:57Z")
**Are men better at bowling than women? WHY for heaven’s sake?** Because we want to be. 😃 That’s the flippant version of a more serious response… aren’t men generally considered to be more competitive? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/19 "2004-05-03T01:25:25Z")
I’m completely missing why lefties have an advantage… ??? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162/20 "2004-05-03T02:13:12Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > I’m completely missing why lefties have an advantage… ??? Possibly the left side of the lane has suffered less erosion, making spins more effective. Being a lefty myself, I gotta get back to the lanes one of these days. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-better-at-bowling-than-women-why-for-heavens-sake/243162.md?page=2)