Understanding the Lane

A bowling lane consists of 39 boards and measures 42 inches wide. It is 60 feet from the foul line to the head pin, with another 15 feet making up the approach area.

On the lane there are 7 arrows, these are locate 15 feet down the lane from the foul line. The arrows are situated on boards 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 and are referred to as 1st, 2nd, 3rd arrow etc, 4th arrow being in the centre. You can count these arrows from left to right if you're left handed and right to left if you're right handed.

On the approach, you will notice that there are 7 dots at the foul line, and two other sets of 5 or 7 dots. The two other sets of dots (usually 5 each set), are located 12 and 15 feet from the foul line. These dots correspond with the arrows on the lane, being located on boards 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30. These dots are there to help bowlers line up for their shot.

Generally, when a bowler releases the ball the point at which the ball contacts the lane is 7 boards from the inside of the shoe (this is a general rule and does not apply to everyone). If a bowler walks in a straight line up the lane without drifting, and wants to play the ball straight up 2nd arrow or board 10, standing on board 17 should help them accomplish this.

 

The Pin Deck

This diagram of the pindeck is pretty much self explanatory. There are 12 inches from spot to spot, and 20.75 inches between a sleeper (1 & 5 pins, 2 & 8 pins or 3 & 9 pins). There are 36 inches between the headpin and the tenpin spots. From the centre of the headpin spot to the back of the pindeck measures 34.1875 inches. These are the basic measurements of a pindeck.

 

 

Angle of Entry

If a right handed hook bowler makes the perfect shot into the 1-3 pocket, their ball should only contact four pins being the 1,3,5 and 9 pins (shown opposite), we call this the angle of entry. If this happens, it should create the perfect strike where all the pins are swept off the pindeck leaving no pins visible. For a left handed bowler, their ball should contact the 1,2,5 and 8 pins.