The first new bowls gadget for 100 years?
A strange and wonderful new sentence has appeared in the yet-to-be-published Fourth Edition of the ‘The Laws of World Bowls’, law 23.3.
In case you haven’t got the Third Edition about your person as you read this (and if not, why not?), law 23.3 bans measuring in the head before the last bowl of an end has come to rest
But the Fourth Edition will clarify that using ‘devices comprising concentric circles within a transparent frame which are held approximately waist high’ during an end will not be deemed to be in breach of Law 23.3
This update is surely most odd. So what could have persuaded World Bowls to introduce this most closely described of exceptions the laws?
Well, it’s not What, but Who? Australian bowler Dave Goode has invented a device which exactly matches the Fourth Edition description. Called the Bowls Eye, it is a piece of clear perspex engraved with concentric circles, and when held above the jack at approximately waist height allows someone at the head to more easily distinguish which bowls are closer to the jack. It looks like this:
and here’s a video of it being used.
I can think of one particular circumstance in which this could be very useful. At a recent singles match a bowler with one bowl left to bowl asked the marker ‘What’s the situation?’
The marker, of course, is not allowed to measure. He had several choices, including, but not exhaustively – “It’s a measure” or “You’re holding”, or “You’re one down.”
“You’re holding”, he shouted back down the green. The bowler indicated that he would not bowl has last bowl. But on arriving at the head, his opponent asked for a measure, and won the match.
If the marker had had a Bowls Eye in his pocket, perhaps the outcome would have been different. But there is another Law, 42.2.7, which the Fourth Edition does not clarify. The marker, when asked, must “tell or show the player in possession of the rink which bowl or bowls the marker considers to be shot.”
But can a marker use a Bowls Eye? That is the question!
If you want to try Bowls Eye for yourself, please email sales@bushhillbowls.co.uk to place a back order. The ‘No measuring’ regulation imposed by Bowls England during the COVID-19 pandemic means we are sold out and waiting for the next shipment.
Jerry
What’s love got to do with it?
Playing the gameDo you remember that particular game when your opponent’s bowls performance seemed to be intolerably good?
You felt somehow inferior … or intimidated .. or some other emotion, from the very first moment they stood on the mat to bowl the first trial end. Read more
Size 000 and 0000 bowls are now legal
Product NewsSmaller is harder to hit
Some people say that playing with a smaller bowl puts you at a disadvantage because it moves further when struck.
I’ve had bowlers, especially men, come into our shop and insist on a size 4 or 5 because, not to put to fine a point on it, bowling with anything less is an affront to their manhood.
They seem to be anxious that one day in a mixed triples they’ll hear the phrase “Oh, you’ve got small bowls”.
Well, ballistics tests prove that displacement anxiety is overblown. ANY bowl of any size can be displaced by a player using controlled weight, whereas a drawn bowl will displace a size 00 near the jack hardly at all, and not at all if it isn’t on it’s running edge.
On the other hand, the smaller the bowl nestling just behind the jack, the harder it will be to target. So the launch of competition-legal size triple zero and quad zero bowls (000 and 0000) will be welcomed by all bowlers with small hands, or arthritis, or Parkinsons, or any other issue that means 00 size is not quite small enough.
Drakes Pride have always made a ‘Junior’ bowl with a diameter of 9.85 cm, but they are not stamped for competition use. This compares with 11 cm for the competition legal size 00 Professional model.
The new World Bowls stamped and approved Drakes Pride Professional lawn bowls size 0000 is approx 10.25 cm, and the size 000 is 10.6 cm and although the differences seem small it will make ALL the difference.
Prices for the new sizes are £245 (Black) and £285 (colours). Now in stock for you to touch and feel.
As for the debate about whether a bowl smaller than a 00 will get ‘knocked about’ by bigger bowls in a match situation … let’s knock that one on the head!
Bowls for children
The smallest lawn bowls available, especially for children’s hands. Suitable for ages 4-10.
View bowls for children
It’s a glove Jim but….
Playing the gameCould this be the best bowls glove?
Ever keen to see innovation in the sport your correspondent struck gold in the first week of the new outdoor season. It is wet, of course, and the green is wet. Holding onto a slippery wet bowl is never easy.
Choosing a grip-enhancing product is on many bowlers minds at this time of year. Sales of Grippo, Monkey Grip, Wilgrip, Bulldog Grip and Champion spray polish (when meagre stocks can be found) are always strong in April and May. Read more
How to improve your grip
Playing the gameWhether you’re playing indoors or outdoors it is important to ensure you have a good grip on your bowl at the moment of delivery. At Bush Hill Bowls, we are here to help you to get just that. For starters we offer a wide array of useful products you can rely on. In addition, we have outlined a few tips below so you can improve your finger placement. Read more
Advice for junior bowlers
Playing the gameAt Bush Hill Bowls we strive to offer the perfect range of products so that people of all ages can get involved in the sport. We have options to suit any skill levels too. One thing we understand is how tricky it can be for young people to start playing. That is why we offer a selection of bowls for juniors, sized for smaller hands so it’s easier for them to get familiar with the sport. Read more
The proper clothing etiquette of lawn bowls
Playing the gameOur company specialises in providing bowlers with top quality bowls shirts. The merchandise we have is suitable for indoor play when the rain is pouring and for outside events when the sun is out. Not only this, but everything is very reasonably priced too.
Are there clothing requirements? Read more
Wrong Sport-sport!
Playing the gameSpotted on Facebook – this post from Peter Picknell:
So after winning the game I decided to throw the ball into the crowd, like they do on the TV.
Apparently it’s unacceptable in Bowling….
Bowls delivery: When does a Delivery Start?
Playing the gameWhen should a skip tell a bowler what shot to attempt? Logically, that’s when the bowler is ready to start their delivery…but when exactly is that?
A bowler that uses a static stance will position themselves on the mat and then wait for instructions.
But what about the bowler whose delivery is a fluid motion that includes four linked stages – walking onto the mat down the delivery line, pendulum backswing, pendulum forward-swing and follow-through with one or more steps off the mat and down the green?
For this bowler, according to the tutors on the Level 2 BDA Bowls Coaching course, the skip needs to give instructions BEFORE the bowler begins the delivery – which means before they step onto the mat.
Is this realistic? After all, until you step onto the mat you don’t really see the line.
But perhaps you should? Is this part of the concentration that the best bowlers achieve? Could it be a missing link that would improve delivery consistency?
I’ll tell you what – I’m certainly going to ask my skip to give it a try!
Water management wins the game
Trade SecretsThe BHP Skip had retired with breathing difficulties. One minute I was spectating a Middlesex Triples match between Broomfield and Bush Hill Park. The next I was in the game.
It was a dark and stormy night. The rain came down in torrents. And the number two said to young Jerry “You’re on, leading and the jack has already been cast.”
All three opposition players were County standard or higher. When they saw me come on they must have licked their lips and smelled victory.
That’s now how it turned out. Why? Because despite their experience, they couldn’t handle the water… and I could.
Between ends, I scooped out a dollop of Aero Monkey Grip into my left palm and gently rubbed my hands together. By the time I picked up my bowl for the next delivery my grip was solid and reliable.
They got back to 13-13 on the 16th end, then we got a five. Their consolation shot on the last end was game over. My warm glow lasted for several days …. and I’m bowling better than ever since that night!
Jack high or Waist high?
Product NewsThe first new bowls gadget for 100 years?
A strange and wonderful new sentence has appeared in the yet-to-be-published Fourth Edition of the ‘The Laws of World Bowls’, law 23.3.
In case you haven’t got the Third Edition about your person as you read this (and if not, why not?), law 23.3 bans measuring in the head before the last bowl of an end has come to rest
But the Fourth Edition will clarify that using ‘devices comprising concentric circles within a transparent frame which are held approximately waist high’ during an end will not be deemed to be in breach of Law 23.3
This update is surely most odd. So what could have persuaded World Bowls to introduce this most closely described of exceptions the laws?
Well, it’s not What, but Who? Australian bowler Dave Goode has invented a device which exactly matches the Fourth Edition description. Called the Bowls Eye, it is a piece of clear perspex engraved with concentric circles, and when held above the jack at approximately waist height allows someone at the head to more easily distinguish which bowls are closer to the jack. It looks like this:
and here’s a video of it being used.
I can think of one particular circumstance in which this could be very useful. At a recent singles match a bowler with one bowl left to bowl asked the marker ‘What’s the situation?’
The marker, of course, is not allowed to measure. He had several choices, including, but not exhaustively – “It’s a measure” or “You’re holding”, or “You’re one down.”
“You’re holding”, he shouted back down the green. The bowler indicated that he would not bowl has last bowl. But on arriving at the head, his opponent asked for a measure, and won the match.
If the marker had had a Bowls Eye in his pocket, perhaps the outcome would have been different. But there is another Law, 42.2.7, which the Fourth Edition does not clarify. The marker, when asked, must “tell or show the player in possession of the rink which bowl or bowls the marker considers to be shot.”
But can a marker use a Bowls Eye? That is the question!
If you want to try Bowls Eye for yourself, please email sales@bushhillbowls.co.uk to place a back order. The ‘No measuring’ regulation imposed by Bowls England during the COVID-19 pandemic means we are sold out and waiting for the next shipment.
Jerry