THE HISTORY OF LAWN BOWLING

The game is known as "Bowls" or "Bowling on the Green."Some say the lineage of lawn bowling goes back to 5000 B.C. to the Egyptians. The Romans took it to Italy as "Bocce", France as "Boule", and England as "Bowls".

The oldest bowls Green played on is in Southampton, England where the green has been in operation since 1299 A.D. Some notable bowlers include Henry VIII, William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Bacon, and Sir Walter Raleigh. It was introduced in North America in the 1600's. George Washington bowled at Bowling Green Park and at Mount Vernon.

A story is told of a legendary game between Sir Francis Drake and his sea captains in 1588. When notified that the Spanish Armada was approaching, Sir Francis insisted on finishing the game before setting out to meet the invading fleet. He lost the game but succeeded in thrashing the Spaniards.

Dita Joseph, a former SBLBC bowler and local artist, depicted the Sir Francis Drake story as a mural placed in a local setting which she donated to the Santa Barbara LBC and which is proudly displayed in our lanai.

Dita also created and donated this painting to the MacKenzie Park LBC in 2001 at the Presidents' Day celebration for the new club house. This painting is displayed over the fireplace mantel in the new club house and on the cover of the Club's Fortieth Anniversary History Book. Her inspiration came after learning the history of lawn bowling and her interest in antique clothing styles of the 1890-1910 era.

THE LESSON
by Dita Joseph

LEARNING ABOUT LAWN BOWLING

Lawn Bowling is a sport enjoyed by people of all ages around the world. It is a game of skill that takes practice to master. Bowls are contoured so that they roll on a curved line. A bowl curves because it is elliptical and biased on one side so that it curves in the direction of the bias as it loses speed. Bowls come in several sizes to fit your hand. Bowls come in sets of 4. Each set of bowls has insignia, color, or marking for easy identification. A jack (a small white or yellow 2 1/2 inch ball) and a uniform-sized mat are provided.

The game is played on a GREEN that is 120 feet square. The GREEN is marked and divided into 8 rinks that are 14 feet wide. Our club has TWO GREENS, the UPPER GRASS GREEN and the ARTIFICIAL GREEN (CARPET). Teams are made up of 1 to 4 players:

SINGLES -- One against One (4 bowls per player)
PAIRS -- Two against Two (4 bowls per player)
TRIPLES -- Three against Three (3 bowls per player)
RINKS -- Four against Four (Two bowls per player)

The object of the game is to roll the bowls so they rest as close to the jack as possible. The team that has the bowl nearest the jack scores one point for each of its team's bowls that is closer to the jack than their opponents. Before the game begins, the leads determine which team will deliver the jack on the first end. The game starts with the jack being rolled and centered on the rink. The Leads then deliver their bowls alternately. The Seconds follow in turn. The Leads and Seconds then proceed to the opposite end of the green, and the Skips go to the mat end and deliver their bowls. The score for the end is then entered onto a scorecard or scoreboard. A game is usually 12 ends in length. The team with the most points wins.

For lessons contact Pearl and John Mulholland at (805) 967-2575. We'll lend you the bowls to get started. After a few you will be ready to bowl with other bowlers.