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 to knock down all ten bowling pins. Optimal ball speed, which is defined as the time it takes for the ball to travel from one foot past the foul line to the head pin, is 2.3 seconds (this number can shift to 2.2 or 2.4 depending on the dryness or slickness of the lane). A ball that is rolled too fast will not give the pins enough time to “mix” with other pins, or in other words, to knock each other down in a domino effect motion. Conversely, a ball rolled too slowly will deflect too much and will not