MULTIMEDIA

Bowling photo gallery

Bowling seems like a leisurely enough sport -- one where, shall we say, rotund gentlemen can excel, even dominate.

But when the Professional Bowlers Association comes to Indy for the Denny's World Championship, beginning next week, you'll know how serious the world of tenpins can get.

"It's relaxed, then qualifying starts, then it gets more serious as they cut and cut and cut," said Terri Powell, program director for the 80-lane Woodland Bowl. "By Friday evening, everyone's as quiet as a mouse, watching on the edge of their bleacher seats."

The vast majority of bowlers, however, enjoy the game solely as a recreational pursuit, and a quick look around Indianapolis suggests the character of the game is now surprisingly hip, entertaining, family-friendly and all-inclusive.

Bowling league membership may be down, but alleys looking to enhance their bottom line have turned to cosmic and duckpin bowling, as well as bowling megaplexes, to attract the new bowling market: families, teenagers, young professionals, companies. And winter is its peak season.

So we took a look at a few of the local options.

Pinheads

IThe catchphrase for Pinheads, which opened in 2005, is just what you would expect from the modern bowling experience: "Not your father's alley." The building rises up like a monolithic presence in a sea of vacant Fishers lots off Ind. 37, and the entertainment center boasts an array of options -- from its duckpin-style bowling to the arcade to the VIP lounges and restaurant and "Play-A-Lot!" playground. But the thing Pinheads truly does well is cosmic bowling. The alley is set up in a "split house" configuration, meaning lanes radiate out from a central concourse, which on Friday and Saturday nights becomes a dance floor. Projection screens at the end of each lane light up the night, as do the suspended disco balls and the light and sound show, complete with fog machine and a little strobe lighting. "The teenagers would like us to play a lot different music, but we keep it family-friendly. This is the natural evolution of black-light bowling," said sales manager and investor Robin Patras. "For a long time, leagues were the bread-and-butter of bowling houses, and that trend is changing."

Pinheads
Where: 13825 Britton Park Road, Fishers
Info: (317) 773-9988 or www.bowlatpinheads.com.

Retro for real

Duckpin bowling was born in Baltimore in 1900, but the spirit of the sport is still alive and well in 2008. It's embodied locally by Linton Calvert's Fountain Square Theatre Building, which houses his fourth-floor "Action Bowl" and basement "Atomic Bowl." Duckpin bowling is basically the same as regular bowling, but it incorporates smaller pins and smaller (5-inch, 3-pound) balls. It's an unpredictable but inclusive game, one in which a petite gal has as much chance of winning as a brawny boy. But the building in Fountain Square is as much a joy as the game itself. Calvert's painstaking efforts to bring vintage pre-war and post-war nostalgia to the two alleys (courtesy of a serious eBay habit) makes them feel as if they should be populated by Damon Runyon types (Action Bowl) or twisted beboppers (Atomic Bowl).

"It's the 'You-won't believe-the-place-I've-found' crowd," said Calvert.

Action Bowl and Atomic Bowl
Where: Fountain Square Theatre Building, 1105 Prospect St.
Info: (317) 686-6010 or www.fountainsquareindy.com

All day, and all of the night

Beech Grove Bowl was built in 1948, and it looks it -- in a good way. The alley has changed maybe a little here and there, according to general manager Scott Seach. The pin boys are gone, as are the above-the-lane ball returns and the wood lanes (in favor of the synthetic variety). It has a modern scoring system, too. But everything else is old school and informal. It's a familiar place, from the nachos and hot dogs in the little alley kitchen to the four regular employees that everyone knows. Most of the alley's business is after midnight, courtesy of third-shift workers and hospitality industry staff, all of whom flock to the 12-lane center regularly. "It's a small homey environment," Seach said. "We know the majority of our customers by first name. It's their hangout, their place, their bowl. And they're protective of it. "It's like 'Cheers.' You can walk in here, and by the time you leave we'll be talking to you by your first name."

Beech Grove Bowl
Where: 95 N. Second Ave., Beech Grove
Info: (317) 784-3743 or www.bgbowl.com

The "can't miss" experience

Although Jillian's in Downtown Indy is not the only center of its type, the establishment perhaps typifies the sea change in the total bowling experience. The company Web site doesn't even identify the place as bowling-oriented. No pin puns -- it's all about "family entertainment." The first floor is home to the Video Cafe, a full bar and restaurant bedecked with 15 (65-inch) HDTVs. The second level has a redemption and arcade game center and private billiards lounge. "On Saturdays," said general manager Jim Brown, "it's birthday party central." The third floor houses a "9 Ball Lounge" and "Hi Life Lanes," where the pins actually fall. "We'll get people who'll start downstairs for dinner, and make their way up through the floors, play some games, then go bowling," Brown said. "And there's a full bar and full menu on all floors."

Jillian's
Where: 141 S. Meridian St.
Info: (317) 822-9300 or www.jillians.com

Denny's World Championship

What: Professional Bowlers Association competition, where the pros battle for $250,000 in prize money.

When: Finals are Feb. 24. Doors open at 10.a.m., seating begins at 11 a.m., with the finals at 12:30 p.m.

Where: Woodland Bowl, 3421 E. 96th St. Cost: $15, $25, $40 and $60; available in advance at Woodland Bowl or at www.pba.com.

Info: (317)844-4099, www.royalpin.com.