It seems simple enough. Just throw 12 strikes in a row and you’ll end up with a 300, or a perfect game. Nearly anyone who puts in effort to learn how to bowl will throw more than their fair share of strikes. So how long until they happen to string 12 together, even with the aid of a little luck?
But the 300 game feat can be a lot harder than you might think.
What Are the Odds of a Perfect Game?
Your chances of achieving perfection obviously depends on your skill level, but many bowlers are understandably curious just how rare of a feat a perfect game is. And fortunately, mathematicians have actually calculated this!
According to their work, the odds of any adult bowler bowling a 300 are 11,500:1. For a pro bowler, that figure is reduced to 460:1. Thus, for more advanced amateur bowlers, you can assume a number somewhere within that range. (source: https://www.gazettextra.com/archives/janesville-bowler-s-rare-feat-two-consecutive-games/article_2e41e219-294b-5266-a603-319495d0e6d8.html)
Getting a perfect game is a combination of good technique, consistency, and mental fortitude, so working on all of those different facets of your game is crucial. (The one aspect you won’t have to worry about, for obvious reasons, is picking up spares.) In most cases, a little bit of good luck along the way is inevitable.
Keeping Your Cool Under Pressure – Tips for Bowling Perfection
Controlling your nerves is crucial to achieving a perfect game, and there are a few strategies you can employ. It helps to establish a consistent pre-shot routine, and then ensure you stick to it. Try not to obsess over your score or the prospect of striking out for perfection, but rather taking each shot one at a time and focusing on hitting your mark.
Deep breaths can be very helpful in between shots, and many bowlers also like to repeat a positive affirmation of their choosing. In addition, be aware of tension in your arms and legs and be sure to relax your muscles when stepping up to the approach. It’s common to tense up when you’re nervous, even without realizing it, and this can be a hindrance to delivering a smooth, consistent stroke.
Learning to bowl a hook is also a good idea, as the angle to the pocket helps greatly in striking consistently. This is not required, however, as 300 games have been thrown by bowler who throw a straight ball.
The 300 Game Today
Bowling a 300 game used to be more of a rare feat that would earn the bowler recognition and praise. But today it’s becoming more common for a variety of reasons explained in an article from the New York Times: “Thanks largely to NASA-like advances in bowling-ball technology and the more liberal application of lubricants upon lane surfaces — by bowling center proprietors seeking to enliven a game of fickle popularity — the number of perfect games has exploded.
Teenagers in youth leagues are throwing them. Retired people in senior leagues are throwing them. There is a bowling alley mechanic in Nassau County who has thrown perfect games with his right hand and his left.”
And just for fun, some more 300 game trivia: 9-year old Hannah Diem became the youngest bowler to throw a perfect game in 2013. Ben Ketola bowled the fastest 300 game in just 86.9 seconds in 2017 (he had to use multiple lanes, of course). And Jeremy Sonnenfeld took perfection to a new level when he got the first USBC sanctioned 900 Series (three 300 games in a row) in 1997 (source: https://www.thoughtco.com/why-does-it-take-12-strikes-to-reach-300-420914)
Even though the feat might not be as rare as it once was, we take a positive conclusion from this information: there’s never been a better chance of bowling a perfect game than right now. So go out there and keep trying! Overall, though, don’t get discouraged if a perfect game takes some time to achieve, and keep your head up. Best of luck on your quest for 300.
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