In lawn bowls, a game that resembles petanque, boccie and boules, players or teams compete against each other to bowl their "woods"--which are irregularly shaped balls--closest to a white ball known as the jack. The jack, a perfectly spherical ball, measures 2 ½ inches in diameter. The woods measure 4 ¾ to 5 1/8 inches in diameter. You can play lawn bowls individually or in teams of two, three or four. A standard lawn bowls green typically measures 120 feet by 120 feet. Individual matches take place on narrow strips within the green, each measuring about 20 feet by 120 feet. A ditch surrounds the edges of the green.
Step 1
Flip a coin to determine who will play first in the first end. The winner of the coin toss can choose to play first or second.
Step 2
Toss the jack if it is your turn to play first. The jack must travel at least 75 feet. Bowl the jack so that it lands centered in the middle of the rink. If you bowl the jack and it does not travel far enough or travels into the ditch, your opponent must bowl it again.
Step 3
Bowl your woods when it is your turn to play. In some versions of the rules, each player must bowl all four woods before finishing her turn. In other versions, players take turns bowling two woods each until all players have bowled all their woods. You must keep one foot on the bowling mat, a thin mat measuring about 24 inches by 14 inches.
Step 4
Aim toward the jack or aim to knock an opponent’s wood away from the jack or into a ditch and out of play.
Step 5
Score the round once all players have finished bowling their woods. You earn one point for each wood you bowled closer to the jack than your opponent’s closest wood.
Step 6
Play first in the next end if you won the previous one.
Step 7
Continue playing consecutive ends until one player or team reaches 21 points.
Tips and Warnings
- In singles lawn bowls, each player bowls four woods in each end. In doubles, both players on a team typically bowl four woods each. In triples and fours, each player bowls three woods and two woods each, respectively.
Things You'll Need
- Lawn bowls green
- Jack
- Woods
- Bowling mat
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