A Statistical Analysis of 10-pin Bowling Scores and an Examination of the Fairness of Alternative Handicapping Systems

Using data on approximately 1240 games of bowling we examine the statistical properties of 10-pin bowling scores. We find evidence that that the distribution of bowling scores is approximately log-normally distributed with a common variance across players. This allows us to consider the effectiveness of alternative handicapping systems in allowing less skilled bowlers to compete against more skilled opponents. We show that the current system mitigates against bowlers of low skill and propose a new system which we show works well in equalising the playing field across all match-ups.