Lawn bowling offers more than just a workout

When Nancy Miller visited the Honolulu Lawn Bowls Club in Ala Moana Park for the first time nearly six years ago, she felt like she’d stumbled on an urban oasis. Now she and her husband, Ray Yourcheck, are regulars.

“It is unlike any sport I had ever played,” she said. “It is a game of strategy, finesse, eye-hand coordination and good social fun.”

Despite its name, lawn bowling is nothing like the bowling most familiar to Americans. This game is played outdoors on a grass bowling green — not indoors on wooden lanes — using balls (known as “bowls”) that are about the size of a grapefruit.

The object is to roll the bowls closest to the “jack,” which resembles a pool cue ball, at the opposite end of the field. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. The bowls are shaved on one side, and the weight bias means they curve when played.

Lawn bowling is believed to have been developed by ancient Egyptians. The oldest known green — in recorded operation since 1299 — is in Southampton, England.

The Ala Moana Park facility, the only public bowling green in Hawaii, was constructed during the 1930s for use by Australian servicemen stationed in Hawaii. The local club, formed in 1974, has 40 members.

Miller, director of membership for the Honolulu Lawn Bowls Club, said she and her husband have become avid fans of the game and have visited clubs in Canada and New Zealand.

“I expect we will be lawn bowlers for the rest of our lives,” she said.

Setting

The bowling green is near McCoy Pavilion. The game is played outdoors under the hot sun, so bring a hat, water and sunscreen.

Equipment is available for both members and guests to use. The bowls come in a variety of sizes to fit hands large and small.

Regular games are played at 10 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Participants should be at the clubhouse by 9:45 a.m. to choose teams and positions. Members sometimes arrange games on their own outside the regular schedule.

Free lessons are offered 9:15 a.m. Saturdays.

Benefits

This is a game of strategy, skill and finesse, so players have to stay focused and mentally sharp. Walking from end to end over the course of a game offers a mild aerobic workout. In a game of six to eight rounds, players cover less than a half-mile in total. Longer games mean more mileage.

Players say the social component is another plus.

The workout

Lawn bowling is a low-impact activity that includes walking and standing on your feet.

The motion for rolling one of the bowls is similar to the form used in an indoor bowling alley, with arm swinging back and knees bent as the bowl is released low to the ground. The strategy is more similar to golf, as players must gauge the distance to the jack, control bowl speeds and placement, and assess course conditions.

Although the bowls are marked so players know which side is weighted, they don’t always roll where you want them to. The bowls I played often went in the opposite direction than intended.

Newcomers are encouraged to take lessons. “It’s just more fun to play a game where all parties have some degree of experience,” said Miller.

There’s a lot of lingo involved, but once you learn how to aim and deliver the bowl, you’ll start to pick it up.

User review

Waikiki resident Keith Kawley has been lawn bowling for about five years. Changing weather and course conditions make the sport challenging, he said.

“Bumps in the grass can change everything. And the grass could be wet in the morning and different a couple hours later,” said Kawley, 67.

Mark Berwick, a 48-year-old Hawaii Kai resident, has been lawn bowling since 1996. “It’s a super social sport. It’s competitive,” he said.

But what Berwick really likes about the sport is that it’s inclusive.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, young or old, weak or strong,” he said. “No one is better than another because of physical gifts or athleticism.”

Berwick compares lawn bowling to golf because players need to read the green and make adjustments to achieve the desired bowl speed.

“It’s all about strategy. You need to check out your where your opponents are and find a path to the jack. It’s easy to do but hard to master.”

Try it out?

Lawn bowling is an outdoor sport played at a leisurely rate that provides a great opportunity to make new friends. It is suited to competitive types who will enjoy the skill challenge and those who may not be able to engage in more vigorous activities.