Etiquette of the Lead

In lawn bowling, there are of course different roles for each player on the team. However, these roles don’t just define what’s required from different players according to different rules but, these roles also have their own etiquette that’s expected, and this isn’t written down in the rule books. 

The first ‘rule of etiquette’ for the Lead happens while his opponent is laying down his mat. During this time, it’s a nice gesture for the Lead to take the jack and his opponent’s bowl and give them to him. The jack should be held in the left hand with the player’s bowl being held in the right hand. This simple act provides for a friendly competitive atmosphere and can make the game even more fun!

During a pairs match, the Lead measures and if his measurements are wrong, a penalty may be given to him. The penalty is usually in the form of another shot being awarded to the opposing team. It’s proper etiquette for other players in the match to not take advantage of this fact just to get their extra shot.

The Wrest & The Wick

The Wrest
This lawn bowling shot is quite strategic and is used when a bowler wants to use more weight so that they can knock an opponent’s bowl out of position. To perform the wrest, you simply perform the same action as a basic drawing shot but put a lot more force behind it so that it bears more weight.

The Wick
The Wick is one of those shots that many would refer to as a ‘lucky shot.’ Although seeing a perfect one is rare, and they do often come by sheer luck and accident, advanced players can try to attempt it via process of visualization. This shot is thrown with the purpose of knocking it against another player’s bowl so that it can come to lie nicely close to the jack. This shot is usually best attempted on a medium-paced green.

Mastering a Basic Shot

When you’re first learning the sport of lawn bowling, it can be easy to get caught up in advanced shots and strategic moves and want to try them all. But there’s one shot that must be mastered before any others can be achieved and that is the Drawing Shot. The goal with this type of shot is to throw your bowl with enough force so that the bias can come into play before the bowl rests near the target or the jack. In order to deliver this shot effectively, you must be able to have good judgement of the line and the length that you will be throwing towards and green conditions will also factor into how well the bowl rolls.

The only way to perfect the drawing shot is to constantly practice. Playing the lead before moving up in roles can help with practicing the drawing shot and becoming advanced enough at it to move onto other more complex shots.

The Rules of Lawn Bowling

Because the rules of lawn bowling can vary slightly from club to club, beginners can often become overwhelmed at the seemingly large amount of rules in lawn bowling. Truthfully, there are only a few basic rules but the best way to learn them is simply by playing the game and practicing with people who are familiar with the rules of lawn bowling. Even though each club has slightly different rules, there are some basics of bowls that cannot be diverted from. Here are the generally accepted rules of lawn bowling.

Lawn bowling is played on a green, which is divided up into 6 rinks and each rink is 20 feet wide x 120 feet long. The mat is laid at one end of the rink and the target or jack is laid at least 23 meters away from the mat. The object of the game is to get your bowls as close as possible to the jack and/or knocking your opponent’s bowl away from the jack.

When releasing the bowl, each player must have one foot near the mat. Scoring works by giving each team one point for every bowl they have closer to the jack than the other team. This is called the count. The length of the game will depend on the club. 14, 15, 18, or 21 ends can be played, but usually 21 ends are played. Sometimes the game will simply be played on a points system but this is more common in individual play. Usually the teams are made up of 4 players but singles, pairs, and triples can also be played.