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This page last updated:
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
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How to.. play Flat green bowling
I BLAME my A-Level results on my discovery of 10-pin bowling.
The
sixth form centre in my hometown of King's Lynn was almost opposite Strikes
in Gaywood Road - which offered very attractive student rates whenever
I had a free study period.
I went from endless gutterballs to getting high scoring strikes and spares in the space of only a few months. And I still can't remember any of my geography coursework.
So, eight years later, when I got the chance to go to West Ward Bowls Club to try out some flat green bowling, I wasn't expecting it to be too tough.
How wrong I was.
The only similarity to 10-pin bowling was the dodgy flat-soled footwear I had to put on so I didn't cut up the green (I would like to point out that the sandals I'm wearing in the picture were not model's own).
Ivan Keen, president of the club, which is based on the recreation ground in Fulham Road, West Town, Peterborough, took me through the basics with the help of his wife, county champion Sue Keen.
The ball used in flat green bowls, known as a wood, is not perfectly round. It is designed to turn either to the left or the right, according to how you roll it. This means you don't actually aim at the jack when you bowl, as the wood will turn away from it.
The wood is certainly a lot lighter than the 10-pin bowling ball I was used to, which is probably why my first bowl stopped halfway up the green. Our photographer nearly fell on his face he was laughing so much.
From there I didn't have a problem getting the woods up the green - it was more trying to stop them crashing against the back board. Although I did manage to hit the jack square on at one point, and even got closest to the jack on one lucky round.
After my basic roll-up on the green - which caused much merriment among the watching members - I got a chance to sample the hospitality at the club, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of its first annual meeting next month.
Having started life as a small hut, the clubhouse was expanded to include a bar in 1974, and has steadily grown since, thanks to the efforts of its members. Not only does it now have a bar, tea room and changing rooms, the clubhouse also has a thriving social club, with darts, dominoes and pool teams taking over the facilities when it becomes too cold to bowl.
At present, the club has 80 bowlers and 120 associated members, with four teams in the midweek league and two playing at weekends.
It also has a number of members set to go to national finals organised by the two rival bowls groups - the English Bowling Federation and English Bowling Association - which regard each other with the same suspicion as rugby league and rugby union do.
Mr Keen said: "To join us you need to come along to the club - everybody is welcome to see what we have got. You need to then submit an application form, which would go to the next committee meeting, which is the first Sunday of every month.
"We like to encourage any new bowlers to have roll-ups. We also have a patio for barbecues and the bar, as well as two gala days a year."
New members have to supply their own bowling shoes so they don't churn up the green, and woods, although a set of woods can last a lifetime.
And it is not just a game for the retired - the club has several young bowlers already on its books - which is important for keeping the game going in the future.