Getting started in bowls

Equipment

This is generally not an issue as long as you have some flat-heeled shoes. Any club you choose to get involved with will usually have bowls to use and the rinks laid out. Moreover, it is worth considering that purchasing bowls is a significant investment and should not be taken lightly.

However, if you really want to start opening your wallet, there are many good internet suppliers in the UK and abroad such as Fred Fern Lawn Bowls, BowlsWorld and OnlyBowls.

Clubs

The best way to get started in bowls is simply to join a club and give it a go. There is a whole host of websites where local clubs advertise themselves such as www.bowls-clubs.co.uk, www.bowlsclub.org and www.bowlsclub.info.

Further preparation can also be done using the English Bowls Coaching Scheme website, where a beginner’s booklet is available to buy along with plenty of tips and good contacts.

Improving your skills

Practice is naturally the only way to deal with individual problems you may be having, but there are a number of good websites out there which can offer general advice. One of these is Lawn Bowls Coaching, which contains detailed sections on the basics of technique, tactics, a good forum and even an array of tests to facilitate further progress.

Other decent sites include eCoachBowls, which offers some good tidbits on tactics, case studies and an excellent choice of articles in the Coaches Forum section. However, be wary that you don’t get too taken in by the self-help elements of the ‘sports science’ approach.

Tactics are also the pre-occupation of LawnBowls.com.au, with a series of columns and advice on delivery technique as well as suggestions on training drills for practice.

Rather more curious but actually very informative is Performance Lawn Bowls. Revolving around its interestingly-titled ‘gyrostatic technique’ to delivery, you will naturally find plenty of tips on approaching technique and a Coaching Clinic which, among other subjects, looks at the issue of back pain during, or resulting from, Lawn Bowls. However, don’t be afraid of using any club you go to, they are there to assist and practicing against the best only helps!