Bowling Scoring - Petraglia Scoring System

Sometimes referred to as golf, the Petraglia Scoring System counts a player’s total number of shots rather than total pinfall.

Unlike traditional scoring, a bowler throws as many shots as it takes to knock down all 10 pins in a frame.

For example, if you throw a strike in your first frame, your score is 1. If you throw a spare in your second frame (two shots), your score for that frame is 2, bringing your total score to 3.



This system can punish you quickly if you miss your spare shots. Say you throw your first ball and leave the 7-10 split. You throw your second ball and hit the 7, but leave the 10. You throw your third ball and miss the 10 completely. Finally, on your fourth ball, you hit the ten, registering a score of 4 for that frame.

The Petraglia system can go on forever, in theory, and rewards bowlers for strikes and spares, as does traditional scoring.
In this system, the perfect score possible is 10, as there are no fill balls in the tenth frame.