The Deal

• $35 for two hours of BYOB bowling and shoe rentals for up to eight ($80 value)

Bowling Shoes: Putting a Slide in Your Stride

Rental bowling shoes will help you hit the lanes safely and in style. Find out why these kicks are also important to performance with Groupon’s exploration of the topic.

Although they may look more suited to a clown than an athlete, a bowling alley’s rental shoes can be vital to your game. The primary reason you can’t bowl in your street shoes is, of course, the stuff they might track in from the street, whether you’ve walked through a puddle or upset the monarchy of a nearby anthill. On the slippery, waxed surface of the bowling lane, even a small amount of moisture or debris on the bottom of your shoe can lead to a dangerous fall.

But bowling shoes provide more than just protection. The bottom of a rental shoe sports a rubber heel and a smooth, leather sole. Ideally, on the last step of a bowler’s stride, he or she will use the momentum from previous steps to swing the ball toward the pins while sliding forward on the foot opposite the ball. It’s the leather sole that allows for sliding, while the rubber heel acts as a brake to prevent skidding down the lane. A bowler wearing professional shoes will have only one sliding sole, on the foot opposite his or her ball hand. This gives extra stability to the ball-side foot, which is important when aiming to consistently produce the satisfying thunder of 10 pins toppling.