Ten-pin bowling duckpin bowling (conceived in 1895), popular in the Northeast United States, as well as Canada's own sport of five-pin bowling, all three of which use smaller diameter, lighter weight bowling balls when compared to tenpin bowling, without the necessity for finger holes in them. The , lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels called "gutters", which are designed to collect errant balls. The overall width of the lane including the channels is . The narrow lane prevents bowling a straight line at the angle required to consistently carry (knock down) all ten pins for a strike. Most skillful
Ten-pin bowling pins. Other bowlers utilize the dots if they find themselves pulling their body up at the foul line (the shoulders should stay level throughout the entire approach,) as this is usually caused by them thinking that the arrows are too far out at the lane. Advanced players often use the lane boards themselves to line up shots that require them to aim between arrows. The conventional bowling footwork styles use either a four- or five-step approach beginning 8 to 16 feet (2.4 to 4.8 meters) behind the foul line. In the typical four-step approach, the ball is pushed away from