In the game of bowls, a small heavy melamine ball (bowl) is bowled down a perfectly flat green lawn. With the right weight and direction it will come to rest next to a smaller white ball (jack). Rather than following a straight line, the bowl takes a long slow gentle curve to reach its destination.
One of the sides of the bowl is slighter heavier than the other. This gives the bowl a ‘bias’ so that as the bowl slows down there is a pull towards that side. The bowl literally curves around until it comes to a stop.
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR BOWLS
So that you have the best control possible of the delivery it’s important to use a bowl that’s the right size for your hand. To find your size, stretch out your bowling arm horizontal to the ground and place the bowl in the upturned palm, gripping it comfortably.
Now (with a friend’s hand underneath to catch it if it falls) rotate the wrist 180 degrees. If the bowl feels as if it is slipping out of your grasp, it’s probably too big. Go down one size and repeat.
DON’T follow the practice of placing your hand around the belly of the bowl until the second fingers meet at the top and the two thumbs touch at the bottom. This takes the weight of the bowl out of the equation and is a completely useless guide.
Consider too that some bowls of the same numerical size have different widths. So for example a Taylor Blaze size 2, an Almark Slimline size 2 or a Henselite Tiger size 2 might be more comfortable for you than a Taylor Ace or Drakes Pride Professional of the same size.
After your first season you’ll also want to take into account the route taken by the bowl from mat to jack – a wider or narrower curve. But that’s a subject for another page…
That’s it! Now click on the links below to discover more…
How do they make bowls?
Delivery Tutorial
End-to-end hand signals explained
The laws of the game of bowls
How bowls have different curves
When bowls collide….
Fantastic delivery tutorial from New Zealand
Here’s how you communicate without shouting:
Download the Laws of Bowls here (PDF File).
You can also purchase a hard copy here
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Bowls for Beginners
- Description
- Customer Reviews (1)
Whether you are just going to start playing outside or indoors, or need to be reminded about the things you were told, this 50-page book will be a great help to you.
It covers what to look for in a club, choosing the right size bowls, delivery, rink layout, type of shots, how a bowl reacts when making contact with another, duties of each player, markers and umpires, Some do's and don'ts. And lots more.
1 Reviews for Bowls for Beginners
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Thank you - Tuesday, July 18, 2017"Your book has been very popular at my club (Cerne Abbas) and our newest member
has found it particularly helpful. Thanks again for taking the time to write it"
June B (Devon)
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