The beauty of lawn bowls is that as it’s played on an artificial surface, or bowling green, it can be played both outdoors and indoors. But we have to admit, we love playing it outdoors! Especially when the weather is perfect!
Lawn bowls is super easy to learn, but when it comes to mastering lawn bowls that can take some time.
So, the key elements of lawn bowls are:
- Rink: while there is a bowling green, the bowling green is divided evenly into playing areas called rinks, allowing multiple games to be played at the same time.
- Jack or Kitty: the small white ball that’s rolled out along the centre of the rink at the start.
- Bowls: the balls a player uses during the game, to get as close to the Jack as they can. A lawn bowl isn’t perfectly round. One side is slightly larger than the other, which is called the ‘bias’. It’s slightly larger due to a little bit of extra weight on one side and this weight helps the bowl curve as it rolls.
- Mat: where the players stand to bowl.
Bowling a bowl
Standing on the mat with your feet together and knees and waist bent a little, take the bowl in your right or left hand, then step out the opposite foot (opposite to the hand with the bowl) and take a swing as you bend down and then roll the bowl out at an angle along the ground. The bowl will curve out a little before it curves back and reaches the area the jack is (well hits the jack, not reaches! 😉)
When you want to get closest to the Jack, use a ‘draw shot’ – a slow and measured bowl. If you want to knock the other players’ bowls away from the jack go with a harder and much faster ‘drive shot’.
The winner?
The person who has a bowl closest to the jack. And if it looks really close between some players… the measuring tape comes out!
Did you know?
You can play lawn bowls in light rain. 🌧️
The Bowls Australia wet weather policy says that if it begins to rain, play will continue until the Competition Manager deems it unsafe to do so or the greens become unplayable.
Also, a little bit of history for you… The first recorded game of bowls in Australia was in 1845 and it was played at the Beach Tavern in Sandy Bay Tasmania.
Want to discuss the maintenance or installation of a bowling green? Just get in touch with our team.
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