Back Bowl A bowl that is behind the jack or the head. Backhand Delivered towards the left hand side with the bias to the right for a right handed player, or the right hand side with the bias to the left for a left handed player. Bias The non-symmetry of a bowl that results in the bowl moving to the left or right while moving on level ground. See our post What is the effect of lawn bowl bias? for more information. Blocker A bowl placed in the way, usually short of the head, to interfere with a later delivery, Chalk Marking a bowl with stick chalk or spray chalk to signify it as a ‘toucher’. Dea ..read more

Size The first factor to consider when selecting a bowl is size. Lawn bowls might be found in the following sizes: 0000 – Smallest 000 00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 – Largest Most bowls are available for purchase brand new from sizes 00 to 4. Sizes 000 and 0000 are a fairly new development and are not generally available in all models. Size 5 is also not available in all models. You are only likely to find size 6 and 7 in old used bowls, I’m not aware of models available for purchase brand new in those sizes any more. The majority of men play with a size 3 or 4, and the majority of ladies play with a s ..read more

The easiest way to try out lawn bowls and see if it is for you is to attend an open day at a local lawn bowling club or attend an ad-hoc coaching session. Outdoor clubs will run at least one open day towards the start of the summer season. Indoor clubs will have at least one open day a year. Check on club web sites or phone to get details. Clubs will have bowls of various sizes, bias and profile that have been donated by members over the years, and some will have various sizes of shoes you can use on the green. If the club doesn’t have shoes of your size you will need perfectly flat shoes with ..read more

Part of the etiquette of bowls is to not move when players are about to bowl so as not to distract them. This does not just apply to your rink, but also to any rinks you will be walking behind, or if you are in the aiming point of a neighbouring rink. If you do not have possession of the mat, i.e. one of your team is not on the mat, do not signal to your players about their last bowl or where you would like their next one played, wait until your team regain possession of the mat. Your bowlers should not leave the mat until their delivered bowl has come to rest so you can signal to them how lon ..read more

Lawn bowls are not perfectly symmetrical, they have an uneven shape so that they trace a curved path when travelling on level ground. Looking above at the picture of the Henselite Tiger Pro you will see that one side sticks out a little more than the other so the bowl will naturally fall towards that side when rolling. Every lawn bowl will have a bias, and there is a minimum amount of bias defined by the World Bowls Board that all bowls must exceed. Each bowl has a serial number and stamp to signify conformity. The side of the bowl with the world bowls stamp and small centre circle is the ..read more

The initial cost while you work out whether lawn bowls is for you can be quite low. You maybe able to borrow club bowls and shoes, so the only cost maybe green fees, and there will be no green fees on open days. Once you have decided you want to pursue it at as a sport or pastime there are some essentials you will need to budget for. Club Membership This is paid on an annual basis, even though outdoor clubs will only be open during the summer (although some may run short-mat during the winter) and there are usually different categories. Here are some examples based on prices in 2022. Our outdo ..read more