Bowling Glossary
Alley: 1) A group of lanes; 2) bowling establishment; 3) playing surface,usually made of maple and pine boards; urethane lanes may soon outnumber wood lanes.
All the way: Finishing a game from any point with nothing but strikes.
AMF Bowling Centers: AMF Bowling Centers, Inc. is the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers. Since the introduction of the automated pinspotter in 1946, AMF has been a leader in the bowling industry. According to AMF, bowling is the number 1 participatory sport in the United States. More than 25 million bowling enthusiasts a year make AMF their destination of choice.
American Bowling Congress (ABC): The world's largest sports organization and the official rule-making body of tenpin bowling.
Approach: 1) Part of the lane from the very back of the ball return area to the foul line. Most approaches are 16' long; they are required by the ABC to be at least 15'. (platform, runway) 2) Start of the bowler¹s motion, ending with the start of the delivery, which is when the ball begins its final swing forward to the release.
Automatic Pinsetter: First used in the 1940s, the original editions took note of the pins left, swept the entire area, and reset the pins for the spare. This invention is credited for the great bowling boom of the 1950s; the inventor received $1 million from AMF.
Back ends: Last 5-6 feet of the lane, including the pin deck. (ends)
Ball return: Track between the lanes the ball travels on when being returned to the bowler.
Ball track: Area on lane where most balls are rolled.
Bed: The entire area a lane is set into, from the approach to the pit, including the channels.
Blended condition: Oil pattern resulting from lanes with a slight depression in the middle; proprietors compensate by "accidentally" over-oiling, resulting in a "regular blended block." If the contrast from the oily center to the dry sides is very great, it's called a "Berlin Wall." A blocked condition around one arrow (usually the second arrow) is a "tunnel block." When the block narrows toward the pins, it¹s a "funnel block." If you can find the edge of a block, the edge will move toward the center as the oil evaporates. A "reverse block" has more oil on the sides and less in the middle; thus the edge will move outward as the oil evaporates (and can be followed outward).
Bowling shoes: Special shoes for bowlers have a sticky, rubbery sole on the non-sliding foot to act as a brake and a slicker, harder sole on the other foot to allow sliding on the last step.
Bowling Alley or Bowling Alley’s – A term once used before the 1980s to describe bowling centers.A building that contains several alley’s for bowling. A lane down which a bowling ball is rolled toward ten pins, a skittle alley.
Bowling Center Valuation- Independent appraisal of the going concern and tangible real estate market value of a bowling center.
Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA): Trade organization of the people who own bowling centers; publishes Bowling Digest magazine.
New Brunswick GS-X pinsetters are the newest pinsetters on the market.
Brunswick Cosmic Bowling®. It's the futuristic sensation that's bowling over the nation! The center turns down the lights and fire up the Cosmic show.
The Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is a United States-based corporation that has been involved in manufacturing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick's global headquarters is in the Northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois.
Coefficient of Friction: The coefficient of friction (also called COF, or friction) is a measurement of the force it takes to slide an object across another surface divided by the object's weight. In bowling, the coefficient of friction refers to how well the bowling ball grabs the lane surface. If lane oil is present the ball slides on the lane surface very easily and there is a low COF. If there is no oil on the lane, the ball does not slide as easily and the coefficient of friction is high. A more aggressive shell material has an even higher coefficient of friction. The greater the coefficient of friction, the sooner the ball will grab the lane and hook.
Concourse - Open space where crowds gather behind the settee. They are usually separated by tables and chairs.
Clean Back Ends – A generally desirable lane condition in which the back ends of the lane have little or no conditioner.
See continuation of glossary
