Golf versus Bowls

Golf versus Bowls

Ihave played golf for over 40 years and my work involved the building of over 70 golf courses around Australia. When I first started playing bowls my coaches would say “You will be a good bowler as you have played golf for many years”. At that stage I didn’t understand where they were coming from but, once I got my head into understanding lawn bowls, the similarities became so familiar it wasn’t funny. This is how I see lawn bowls compared to golf:

Golf

A golf ball weighs about 45 grams and the size is about one and a half inches. In golf a par four hole is around 400 meters, and you are meant to take four strokes, from tee to green, to put the little white ball into a 4-inch hole. No kicking throwing or carrying the golf ball is allowed. You have 14 clubs to use so confusion sets in! Golf is considered to be the most difficult game in the World!

All you need for golf

Lawn bowls

All you need for bowls

The rink is about 40 meters long by about six meters wide and a bowl weighs about 1500 grams (1.5kg). The aim here is to role the jack within the rink confines to where the Skip requires it and it must be not less than 21 meters long. You then need to get your bowl close to the jack or where the Skipper has asked you to put it.

So now this is where the science of these two games become so much like each other. In bowls you play backhand and forehand and the upshot/drive. In golf you play the draw shot (the forehand) and the fade (backhand) and the straight shot (up shot).

Similarities and differences

In both games you must • Keep your head down, stay down and follow through • Look for slopes, contours, and breaks and how much grass to take when putting or bowling, • Adjust for the wind factor and conditions • Pay attention to the speed and quality of the green • Your lie on the course and the quality of the grass on the green • Pick your line to putt to the hole or to draw to the jack

In bowls once you have picked the correct line for your grass and the bias of your bowl and hope you have the correct weight all you need to do is to just let it rip.

In both games you can change your stance to achieve different ways of playing your shot for the correct outcome. You can also change your grip in both games to get the desired results.

Now the really big issues with these two games is the cost of buying equipment and the annual and green fees. • Lawn bowls membership $250 per year. A set of bowls is about $650, a bowls bag $150, shoes $120 and money spent at the bar!!! • Golf membership per year starts at $3000, clubs, bag and buggy $4500 and money spent at bar !!!!!!!!!!!!

I have drawn so much from my golf that has helped me a lot in my bowls. They are both about “SCIENCE” and that’s what we need to appreciate and to help us understand this sport and, if possible, to make this sport easier.

Did you know that the famous golfer – Bobby Locke – built his success around his outstanding putting ability, coining the phrase "You drive for show, but putt for dough."? Wearing his trademark knickerbockers, white shoes, and stockings, Locke played the game at a slow and deliberate pace just like we need to do when we bowl!

At the end of each game comes the frustration generated by each game. The percentage of each game is probably the same and yes we all look forward to the next game “challenge”. However, an interesting thing about both golf and bowls is that no matter how badly you play it is always possible to get worse!

– Gary Bobridge

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