How to Choose Bowls

Choosing your own set of bowls is one of the most exciting, and most important, part of the sport of lawn bowling. Keep in mind that when it comes to buying your own bowls, you will first have to choose whether or not you should purchase a used set. Used sets are significantly cheaper than new and if you inspect them carefully and they don’t have any serious flaws such as deep scratches, nicks, or dents, they should be fine for what you need.

If you decide to invest in a new set, be sure to bring along a fellow bowler, especially if you’re not very experienced in the sport. They’ll be able to show you how you will be holding the bowl, as well as different techniques, and from this you will be able to determine if you are really comfortable holding different bowls. Also, make sure that wherever you’re buying it from will let you have a few practice shots with the bowl first so that you can really get a good feel for the bowl. 

Also if you’re buying new bowls, try to buy a complete set all at once. This has the distinct advantage over buying individual bowls because they will all be identical in shape and weight and they will all also have the exact same biases. This will give you a more consistent throw and will help you better perfect your game!

Table Bowls

When the weather is rainy or there’s no green nearby, avid lawn bowlers don’t need to worry that they can’t partake in the game they’re so passionate about! Indoor lawn bowling can be played in a way that’s much different than indoor greens – it’s played right on a table! 

It’s thought that the game of table bowls originally came from pubs that held in the district of Carlisle sometime during the second half of the 19th century. This game uses miniature-sized bowls and jacks as well as a wooden chute and is played on a standard-sized billiards or snooker table. 

The chute is placed at one end of the table with one end resting on the table and the other end resting on the edge of the table, so that it is on a slant. The players will position the chute at the angle they want it and place their bowls into the chute. Once the bowl has been placed into the chute, it is released and the bowler has no more interference with its force or direction. (This includes using excessive force to drop the bowl into the chute.) Whoever ends up closest to the jack at the end wins the game.

Table bowls stems from the Victorian era and although not played as regularly as standard lawn bowling, it’s a game that’s still very much enjoyed today. It’s also one that takes great skill, accuracy, and practice to master!

Different Forms of Play

One of the greatest things about lawn bowling is that there are so many different ways to play and so, even after you’ve mastered one way you can move on to another and work on your skill and strategy all over again! The main different forms of play in lawn bowling are singles, triples, fours, and sometimes in pairs. 

In single play two people play against each other and a governing body will determine the number of points needed to win. The number of points required for a win is usually 21, 25, or 31. Two sets of nine ends are played, an end being one player each taking a turn. If each player wins one of those sets, a third end will be played that will automatically determine the winner. 

When playing in pairs, one player assumes the position of the Lead while the other player assumes the position of the Skip. Each player will take turns throwing two bowls, until a total of 6 bowls has been delivered by each player. After each end, the lead and the skip will change positions and the entire game will be played over 21 ends. Triples simply adds another to the team while fours adds two more to the fun!

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.

The Roles in Bowls

In lawn bowling, each team is made up of 4 people. These 4 people each have their own role within that team and each role has their own responsibilities. The 4 roles are called The Lead, The Second, The Third, and The Skip. Here’s a brief explanation about what each does.

The Lead – The first player to bowl is called The Lead and they will approach first, lay down the mat, position the target or jack where The Skip would like it, and deliver the first bowl. Generally The Lead tries to position their bowl just in front of the jack or just behind it. The worst thing The Lead could do is deliver a short bowl, which could hinder the other players on his team, or deliver a wing shot, which could help players of the opposing team.

The Second – The Second is the second person on the team to bowl. The Skip may offer them tips on how to deliver their bowl, depending on whether or not The Skip thinks they are in a good position.

The Third – The Third is the third person on the team to bowl but is generally a more experienced player. This is because they will require a greater level of skill as there will already be several bowls in the playing green and they will need to know how to maneuver around them. The Third may actually tell The Skip what they think is best but ultimately, they must leave the decision to The Skip and carry out what they think is best.

The Skip – This is the hardest role within lawn bowling. Not only must The Skip be extremely knowledgeable about lawn bowling and its techniques and strategies but they must also be able to throw just about any shot there is. In addition to all of this, they must be able to advise other team members on what they should do and should also offer support throughout each match.

Get a Grip!

When you decide that you want to take up lawn bowling, one of the first things you’ll be taught how to do is how to grip your bowl. This is very important because there are 2 main ways and what you choose will depend on how comfortable you are with the bowl and what delivers the best shot for you. 

The first kind of grip is the claw grip. When holding the bowl like this, your thumb is placed at the top of the bowl so that the bowl sits between your thumb and your fingers and most of your palm doesn’t even rest on the bowl. If your fingers want to spread out on the underside of the bowl and the grip feels good to you, this is probably the grip that you’ll most want to use.

The second type of grip is called the cradle grip. Start by placing the bowl flat in the palm of your hand and with your middle fingers slightly close together. This is actually the most preferred kind of grip for most bowlers however, some feel as though there’s not enough control over the ball this way. It’s important to remember no matter how you want to hold your bowl that it should sit upright in your hand otherwise it will turn onto its side while rolling.

About the Bias

One of the main things that people will look for when buying lawn bowls is the bias that the bowl has. The bias is the part of the bowl that has been designed to allow the bowl to curve when it is thrown. The bias that the bowl will have will depend on the type of bowl and the manufacturer. Bowls can either have a large bias or a narrow bias and bowlers will choose one based on how they like to throw the bowl. A narrow bias will allow for bowls to get into small spaces and will roll straighter. Large biases are able to go around other bowls and will have a very large curve when they are thrown. How fast the greens are will also depend on the bias of the bowls. There are strict regulations pertaining to biases however, players still have a wide range of bowls with different biases to choose from.

How an End is Played Out

What may be considered a round is called an ‘end’ in lawn bowling, and in these ends, players will try to roll their bowls closest to the jack, which is the white ball. There is a lot of strategy involved here and that’s where many lawn bowling tactics come into play but first, it must be decided which team is going to start the end. This is quite an important part to play as the first ball thrown is the jack. If the jack does not land in a position allowed within lawn bowling guidelines, the next player will then throw the jack. This is often though an unecessary step as the jack is usually thrown within accordance with the rules on the first try.

To determine which player will be the first to throw the jack, a coin is flipped. After that, players take turns individually to try and either get their bowl close to the jack or to knock opponent’s bowls out of the way. Once the end has played out, the player with the most number of bowls closest to the jack will get 1 point for every bowl closer than the nearest opponent’s bowl. Any number of ends can be played, depending on the amount of points they have predetermined the winner must have before the game is over. The number of points varies but is generally 15, 16, 18, or 21.

Lawn Bowling Basics

Lawn bowling is a sport played outdoors or indoors, which consists of two types of balls: the bowl, which is what the player will use, and the jack, which is a ball that remains on the green (or course). The object of the game is to roll your ball closer to the jack than your opponent.
Hitting (often called firing) the opponent’s ball or the jack to make them move away or closer to a target, is allowed. Lawn bowling is played on a green, usually about 40-42 square yards. It is then divided into six sections, which are known as rinks, and although the bowls are sometimes referred to as ‘woods’ they are normally made of plastic composite. The bowls are generally just shy of six inches in diameter and weigh about 1.5 kilograms. They are always flattened on one end so that they will take a curved course when thrown.