Glossary, Part 2

We brought you all kinds of terminology in our first post about lawn bowling language, which you can find here. But it seems that we missed some of the lingo that’s commonly tossed around the green so, we’ve brought another installment of our Lawn Bowling Glossary to give you a better idea of what you’re talking about if you’re a beginner, or to brush up on some old terms if you’re a novice!

Block – This is a bowl that sits right in the line of fire. Bowlers will strategically block their opponent to keep them from scoring or winning.

Bowl in Course – This can also be thought of as ‘any bowl in motion.’ From the moment you release the bowl from your hand, to the moment it rests somewhere so it is no longer moving, the bowl is in course.

Covered – This is what it’s called when a bowl is in front of another bowl, or in front of another bowl. In this instance, the bowl in front would be ‘covering’ the other bowl.

Dead Bowl – A dead bowl can occur on the green for many reasons. One instance of a dead bowl is if any bowl, with the exception of the toucher, should come to rest in a ditch. A bowl can also become dead if it touches any side of rink and comes back to the green, or if it touches any jack or toucher that sits in a ditch. If a bowl stops 15 yards or less from the mat, this bowl will also be considered a ‘dead bowl.’ Any bowls that come to a stop anywhere outside of the boundaries of the rink are also considered to be dead bowls.

Dead end – Any end that has within it a dead jack is considered to be a dead end. The jack becomes dead if it has rolled outside the boundaries of the rink. Should an end become dead, the two skips will decide mutually in which direction the end should be played out. Traditionally, the round is replayed in the same direction that it was originally being played.

Fast Green – A fast green refers to the conditions of the actual green being played on. If the grass has been cut too close or the green has been allowed to dry out, it will be a fast green. The bowls will have a wider curve on them and the ironically, the course will take longer to play.

Four – This is the type of team that is playing the round. Four members logically enough, make up a Four and within this Four, each member has a specific role. Within a Four are: the lead, the second, the third, and the skip. Each player delivers two bowls each round.

This time, we’ve found too many new terms to bombard you all at once with them! Check back soon for another installment of our Lawn Bowling Glossary. And if you have any suggestions on terms that we’ve missed, drop us a line and let us know!