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by: DarkSith
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Any decent player of bowling knows the difference between a bowling alley and a bowling lane. After all, even if they sound similar, they are as different as night and day. The bowling alley is composed of several parts, one of which is the bowling lane.

The bowling lane is composed of planks joined together to form a lane 75 feet long and 3.5 feet wide. This long lane is kept smooth by the use of smoothing chemicals on the boards as well as polishing techniques. There are also measurements indicated on the lane, via the use of paints. These measurements serve as guides for players.

On each side of the lane, the gutters are placed. The gutters are composed of rubber or plastic and are 60 feet long. The length starts from the foul line and extends well to the pins. When a player's ball rolls over to the gutter, a player incurs a miss. Just beyond the gutters' sides, the borders separate one bowling lane from another.

On the other end of the bowling lane, directly facing the player, the bowling wall is located. The bowling is usually the place where the bowling center's logo is printed. The wall also serves another purpose.

Just beyond the bowling wall, hidden from the players, the bowling machine is located. Bowling machines place and rearrange the pins, ready for the next round. The bowling machine also retrieves the balls used by the players and then returns them back to them via a tunnel that is located just beside the alley. At the end of the tunnel, the ball-sorting mechanism is placed which handles the task of sorting the balls in the correct order. There may also be a hand dryer/blower in the bowling ball sorter.

The last part of a bowling alley is the scoreboard which is presented in the form of monitors placed high above the lanes for the players to see. The scoreboard electronically keeps track of each of the player's scores and progress and it is controlled by a computer.

The game data is calculated by a computer and displayed on monitors located above the lane for the players to see. The players also have seats and a table at the end of the bowling alley. A rack with extra bowling balls is usually placed beside the seats.

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Want to learn more about bowling alley equipment... visit our online guide.

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