Crown Green Bowls Tips For Beginners | A Complete Guide

  • By: Reece Williams
  • Time to read: 6 min.

Being physically active is such a rare sight to see within this age of people obsessively staring at their screens, not moving their eyes from their phones, and gaining different body disorders. 

Sports activities, in general, calm down the mind and keep the body in shape. In addition, physical movement keeps the balance in life and contributes to one’s health. Therefore, playing crown green bowling has so many advantages that you should consider playing it and immediately start learning how to play it.

Although not that common of a sport, it is played by thousands of people throwing bowls in a specific direction to reach their goal. Crown green bowling is such a lovely non-contact sport that people of any age can practice, so if you are interested in the necessities of playing it, read on.

There are many tips and tricks on playing it if you are a beginner and want to improve your techniques and results.

General Basics – How Do You Play Crown Green Bowls

Playing crown green bowls requires following a few basic rules, but the rest is a pure pleasure once you learn them. Of course, you will need some effort to score a point and win all of your games, but the satisfaction afterward is priceless.

Crown green bowls is a two-player game played on a grass or a bowling green (artificial turf). The name originates from the uneven and convex bowling green, formed with a crown as a raised center. It is a competitive non-contact sport that all ages and gender can play. It is played most frequently in Northern England and North Wales.

Game’s Objective

The game’s main point is rolling a set of two bowls with your hand to a smaller bowl known as the jack.

The jack is moved beforehand, which is known as the delivery. You have to send all the bowls and jack from the same point; therefore, you should place one foot on a special mat before delivering.

If you are the player who rolls the jack, it is your choice to deliver it to any place you like on the bowling green. 

The aim of the game is for you to finish with your bowls closer to the jack than your opponents’ bowls. Therefore, you score a point for every bowl, which is closer than the opponents’ bowls.

How to Choose the Right Bowl

Choosing your first bowl might be a challenge if you are completely new to the game. So you might ask your fellow bowlers to help you decide what kind of new bowls to buy.

In the past, the bowls used to be wooden, and the difference was only in their size. Wooden bowls were made by lignum vitae, which required more effort because this is a hardwood found in the southern hemisphere.

However, too much timber usage and the huge amount of trees cut down forced the governments to make some restrictions.

Today, different bowls are made of special plastic material, which is strong, resilient, cheap, and easier to make. In addition, this material performs better and has more consistency.

You might visit your local club and practice with another bowler’s bowls to not buy the wrong size or weight. Watch them roll the bowls first, then try it yourself. It might help you choose the right weight for yourself. Another option will be buying second-hand bowls from your club members if that is your personal preference. The usually used bowls go from 2lbs 6oz to 2lbs 12oz.

Bowl Weight

There are various types of bowls in terms of strength, weight, density, material, and size. However, the two crucial factors are weight and density. Therefore, choosing your comfortable weight is the key to your successful scoring.

The general weight goes from 2lb 4oz to 2lb 14oz. Of course, the heavier the bowl is, the bigger it will be in your hand. Heavier bowls will always go further in terms of distance, and the next bowl will not be able to knock it out as easily.

The key is to feel comfortable with your bowl in your bowling arm and hold it so that you can roll it to the furthest point. One-shot with the right weight will help you focus on accuracy without tiring your hands. So, do not choose the heaviest bowl, but the one that feels best in your hand.

Bowl Density

Choosing the right bowl density is very important for your success in the game. There are three available options: high-density bowls, low-density bowls, and standard density bowls.

Standard-Density Bowls

The beginners are advised to choose the standard density. These are the most famous available bowls today, performing well on fast greens and slow greens.

They cannot be compared to high-density bowls on a quick green or low-density bowls on a slow green, although they work better than high-density bowls on slow greens or low-density bowls on fast greens. 

These are usually used by bowlers who wish to finish the season with the same bowls as they used in the beginning. These bowls have no maintenance costs, and they have competitive prices.

High-Density Bowls

Unlike the standard density, high-density bowls are created with denser plastic. This kind of plastic reduces the size of the bowl for a given weight. 

In such a way, a smaller bowl will have the same size as a heavier bowl, which helps bowlers who have smaller hands bowl heavier. 

They are great for usage on a fast green but do not have such a great performance on a slow green, where more effort is needed for them to be sent.

Low-Density Bowls

The third type of bowls, low-density bowls, are made from wood or plastic. Since wood (lignum vitae) is not as dense as standard plastic, the bowl size for a certain weight is bigger. 

These bowls are larger, so they perform great on a slow green due to the lesser density of the bowl, thus traveling further.

Still, they are not recommended for beginners because they are hard to control due to their size and running ability. If you insist on using these bowls, what you can do to help yourself is use a grip wax.

Delivery of The Bowl

How to deliver the bowl is one of the first things you learn as a bowling beginner. If you are right-handed, step forward with your right foot on the mat and take the bowl in your right hand (do the opposite if you are left-handed). Your mat should be the reference point for your foot.

The delivery part is the most interesting thing about this game since every player has a unique style, and no one delivers the same way. The delivery part starts with the backswing, picking up the bowls, and going to the downswing as you move your arm forward. It would help if you began slowly and smoothly, then went faster and rolled the bowl.

You are supposed to release the bowl at the perfect time, not too soon, not too late. Good technique means that it should be rolled naturally down the running surface. If you do not release it on time, it will reach only a reduced distance.

Follow-Through

The follow-through is the final part of the delivery because the final touch and arm movement dictate the length of the bowl traveling. Do not be afraid to put more effort and practice, and the next shot will always be better. As soon as the bowl leaves the ground, pray for the best.

Concentration and Attention

As in most games, being fully present and concentrated is very important for greater efficiency. So whether you hit the first shot or the second bowl, concentration and attention should be the same.

Use different positions until you find what suits you the best. For example, other players may use bowls according to their hand size, but if you put your head in the game, you will develop your style on the green.

Do not be discouraged if the bowl reaches the same length; all your attempts lead to better position, swing, and shot.

Conclusion

Crown green bowling is one of the most interesting sports options out there. If you want to try something different and new, this is one of the best offers.

Besides playing with love, the best bowling tips are to choose the right bowls to fit your hand in terms of density, weight, and size, ask some club bowler for advice, and watch the opponent bowl with lots of concentration.

Try different bowls and see what suits you the best, then position your bowl and start rolling. If you still have not bought all the necessary equipment, head for the shop this instant.

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Get The Complete Lawn Bowls Drill Pack

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!