- The rules of the game
When bowling for fun, there are no rules. You go to socialize with your friends, eat food, and add some trash talk just to make it more interesting. When bowling as a sport, there are tons of rules you need to follow. For starters, during a match, you are not allowed to use your cellphone. You also are not allowed to eat food while your game is going on and any drinks you have have to stay away from the lanes because this can become a safety issue. Also, you have to make sure you are showing lane etiquette, which is when you make sure the two people on the lanes beside you are not getting set to through their ball before you step up to get ready. This is so people can focus on what they are doing without the distraction of someone else beside them.
- The mindset of the bowler
Someone who bowls as a sport is constantly thinking about how the ball is reacting to the oil on the lanes, where they need to stand and where they need to throw the ball to get a spare, and they are constantly thinking about any changes they need to do to improve their game. When someone bowls for fun, they usually are not thinking about these factors and are simply just throwing the ball down the lane to knock some pins down.
- The equipment used
When bowling for fun, you pay for rental shoes and use the balls already at the bowling alley. You don’t think about buying your own equipment because you will only be using them for a game or two before going back home. When someone is serious about bowling, they buy their own shoes, buy their own bowling balls, often having more than one, bags to hold their equipment, wrist elbow braces if they need them, shoe covers to protect the bottom of their shoes, the whole nine yards.
- Competition
While bowling with your friends can get competitive, it does not get as competitive as a bowling match does. You might trash talk with your friends and rub it in their faces when you get a strike, but at the end of the day, it is all in good fun. People who bowl as a sport are very serious and competitive, however, they are competitive with themselves and get mad when they mess up somehow. There are a lot of bowling competitions out there that offer monetary prizes for the winner which heightens the competitive spirit of bowling.
- Training
Recreational bowling is a social thing that you do occasionally. You decide to go on a Saturday night with some friends and may not go again for a few months. People who are on a team, league, or bowl professionally train multiple times a week to as often as multiple times a day. Much like a football player, soccer player, or baseball player, bowlers need to practice and train in order to improve.
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