Below are some pointers on how to get started even before you pick up that ball. - Neck and head. Tuck your head down towards your chest until you feel a slight pull on the back of your neck. Hold this for about 8 counts then reverse the direction, tilting your head back. Do this for the left and right side of your neck as well. Bowling Tip #2: Are you bowling enough? To progress at bowling, you need to bowl at least once or twice a week. The most economical way to get this amount of practice in is by joining a league. Usually, the more experienced players show up before the game to practice. This is when you can learn the most, from people committed to the sport. It is now possible to "bowl" virtually through a number of computer games available on the Internet. Some games are serious with considerations for physics as detailed as speed of approach and spin. Then there are others that are purely for cathartic fun. Here's a short list of bowling-based online games that have been making the rounds lately: There are many free games online that build on the basic alley, pins and ball setup, with little variations. If your foot happens to be positioned improperly, it can ruin the chance for a strike. Bowling shoes today are much more fashionable than in times past. They look more like sneakers. Of course you can still buy the more traditional appearing shoe. In fact, bowling shoes come in a wide variety of styles and colors as it isn t the outward appearance of the shoe, but rather the sole which plays an important part in the game of bowling. The commonly used pins are 4.75 inches in their width and they stand 15 inches in height. Their standard weight is 3lb. 6oz. but there are also pins that are now allowed (beginning in 1998) that weighs 3lb. and 10oz. Bowling pins are made by gluing blocks of hard maple wood together. Makers of bowling pins use these blocks to create the pin shape by using a lathe. A kegel - which represents the devil - was used as a pin. It needed to be hit as a sign of purity and freeing from sin and anyone who failed to hit the target was determined to be wicked. It was a practice that led the congregation to salvation and was even more standardized by Martin Luther. But when bowling was banned and used for illegal transactions, 10 pin bowling was invented to bypass the law.