LANE CONSTRUCTION
Lanes are always 60 feet long (from foul-line to head-pin) and always 42 inches wide (comprising of 39 boards).

The dots indicated at the 12 ft and 15 ft marks can be a different distances, so if you are bowing in another bowling centre for the first time, pace it out just to check. You may find in a different bowling alley you may have to start at a different place relevant to the dots.

FLAT GUTTERS and KICK BACKS are part of the PIN DECK construction area.
They are actually designed to help the bowler knock over pins.

Unlike the rest of the lane, the pin deck does not have to be completely flat, in fact a pin deck can be raised by up to just over an inch and still be legal. This helps rolling pins stay on the pin decks.

Likewise, strong kick-backs encourage pins to bounce back into play.

The flat gutters also encourage the pins to come back out onto the pin-deck (and the joint pictured here explains why sometimes when you bowl a gutter ball it jumps into the air when it gets near the pins).

The combination of Kick-backs, flat-gutters and pin-decks can all contribute to higher or lower scoring lanes.

LANE MARKINGS
Dots are located at the foul-line, 12' and 15' intervals from the foul line. You will notice the individual boards are easy to identify.

One way to help develop a consistent approach is to make sure you place your foot at exactly the same starting point each time you bowl your strike ball.

With practice you can make simple adjustments for spares or strikes by simply moving a given number of boards. See MAKING SPARES for further details.

Dots found on the other side of the foul-line are not on all alleys. Like the arrows, they are used as a targeting tool. You can see on worn lane surfaces, such as this one, dots can be difficult to see, so you may need to double check your target on older lanes.

NOTE: These dots are placed on the 3, 5, 8, 11 and 14 boards (counting from each edge).

The arrows located at the 15ft mark are actually wooden wedges (not simply markings on the lane) and are made of a harder grade of wood than the rest of the lane. The great Earl Anthony noticed strange ball reactions when he bowled over arrows, and preferred to use boards either side. Upon closer inspection, you will notice that the arrows can actually be slightly raised, creating a small lip.

Arrows mark every 5 boards. They are at different distances from the foul-line so bowlers can identify them a little easier.

Their only function is to help give the bowler something closer to aim at than the pins!