Crown Green Bowls Tactics | A Complete Guide

  • By: Reece Williams
  • Time to read: 5 min.

Crown Green Bowls is a British game played outdoors on grass or artificial turf. The name “crown bowls” symbolizes the uneven grass surface filled with humps known as crowns. 

This grass is called bowling green, and the aim of the game is to roll wooden bowls towards a smaller target on the green. Another game variation called flat green bowls is played only on perfectly flat green.  

How is The Game Played?

Crown green bowls is played with a set of two bowls and one smaller wooden bowl that serves as a target called the jack. The most important term in the game is “delivery,” representing the rolling of the bowls or the jack.

When a player delivers a bowl (or jack), he must place one foot on a mat. The mat helps the players ensure that all bowls are sent from the same spot. 

One game of crown green bowls includes a lot of “ends.” An end starts with the delivery of the jack and ends when all of the bowls have been delivered. 

A unique feature of the crown green bowling is that it allows the players to deliver the jack anywhere on the bowling green. Another exciting rule is that if two moving bowls collide, they must be taken back and rolled again. 

Game’s Goal

The goal of every end is to roll the bowls closer to the jack than the opponent. Each player is limited to two points at every end, one for each bowl. The winner of each end gets to roll the jack in the next one. The player with 21 points wins the game.

Though there are many variations to crown green bowling, we will share the most common tactics you need to learn to win your opponent. 

Bowl Selection Tactics 

Everyone who likes to play crown green bowls knows that the key to winning the game, amongst other things, is to select the correct bowls. Not so long ago, all bowls were wooden, and there wasn’t much variation in size. 

Nowadays, the majority of bowls are made of composite plastic. The new material has many advantages – it is cheaper, easily manufactured, more resilient, and offers consistent performance.  

You can choose both physical size and bowl density when choosing a bowl. The density impacts the physical size of a given weight and changes the bowl’s characteristics. 

Here are some tactics for choosing the correct bowl size and density.

Bowl Weights

The bowl weights start at 2lb 4oz and can go up to 2lb 14oz. The heavier the bowl, the larger it will be, and it will run further distances and cannot be easily knocked out by opponents’ bowls. 

However, you should not pick heavier bowls just for this reason. The best tactic is to try out as many as possible and decide which bowl size you can handle best.

The goal is to feel comfortable having the bowl in your hand and achieve consistent delivery. Make sure you can grip the bowl without feeling any discomfort in your hand, fingers, or wrist.

Bowl Density

There are three densities of green crown bowls, standard-density bowls, high-density bowls, and low-density bowls.

Standard Density

The standard bowls are the most popular because they work well on all greens, both slow and heavy green and fast green. The standard density is your top pick if you are a beginner or want to finish a whole season with the same bowls.

High Density

High-density bowls are manufactured from denser plastic, and they come in smaller sizes than the standard ones. 

A high-density bowl that weighs 2lb 10oz, the same physical size of a standard density, will weigh 2lb 8oz. These bowls are great for people with smaller hands and have excellent performance on fast greens. However, they are not good on slow greens.

Low Density

Low-density bowls can be manufactured from lignum vitae wood or plastic. Bowls made of natural products like the lignum vitae are not as dense as the standard plastic ones. 

This results in the size of the physical bowl being more excellent for a given weight. Low-density bowls are great on slow greens because they feel more like a football than a cannonball. 

Many beginners struggle with these as the bowls tend to run and slip. They are recommended for experienced players and people with larger hands.

Delivery Tactics 

Many tactics can help you get better at crown bowling. And since the delivery is the part of the game you should dominate, here are some tips:

  1. Take a good look at the bowling green and find the best area to which you can send the jack. Choose a place that is not occupied, which will be your mark. Your mark should be at least 19 meters away from your mat. 
  2. Concentrate on achieving a good lead when rolling the jack. Take every advantage you can use in the early stages of the game. Keep your left foot on the mat to reach a particular length in your delivery. 
  3. Don’t feel afraid to adjust the next delivery if you notice some mistakes. It is essential to be very critical to learn what you are doing wrong and correct it until your next turn. 
  4. To achieve a perfect score, you should first roll a bowl closer to your opponent’s. Then rest on the opponent’s bowl to give you the winning one. You won’t share your opponent a chance for an excellent second bowl following a perfect second bowl. If you have a good knowledge of the bowling green, try the other peg for the next time. In the end, do not let the score affect your delivery. 
  5. When you get to roll the jack after your opponent, never choose the same mark as him. It would be best to change the length or the direction to confuse the opponent.
  6. Think of which length or direction gives your opponent a greater opportunity to win. Stay away from marks that will make the game easier for the other side. Do not promote your opponent’s bowls.
  7. Never give up the mat underneath your foot. Do not take a step forward until your bowl has reached its mark. If you stay there longer, the opponent bowls will be more challenging to follow a straight line and keep the line of either the jack or the bowl. 
  8. Do not feel ashamed to measure twice! If you think that the opponent’s jack is not at 19 meters, feel free to request long tapes to measure the distance. Even if that is not the case, you get to delay the game and turn things to your advantage. 

Conclusion

It is not easy to reach an outstanding level of expertise in crown green bowling. Still, you can do it by following a few basic principles and tactics. Amongst the most important things is to select the correct bowl size and density and keep a consistent delivery. 

We hope that this post has provided you with some new strategies for winning your next crown bowls game.

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The Jack High Bowls Drill Pack is available now for instant download.

Perfect for beginners and improving players looking to be more consistent and win more games!