An Introduction To Bowls

Beginners are always welcome to Forest Hill Bowling Club because they are the future of the club. Bowls can be played by people of all ages up to 90 and beyond! There are aids so that people who are disabled can play.

The Game of Lawn Bowls - The Basics

Bowls is played between two people (singles) or between two teams of two, three or four. The aim of the game is to bowl your bowl, or wood, closest to a small white or yellow target ball, the jack. The woods do not follow a straight path but have a curved trajectory as they have what is called a bias. See  BBC website' A beginners Guide to Bowls here.  You will find in the next section a copy of Bowls England "Guidance For New Bowlers"

Equipment

Woods or bowls – These come in sets of four and range in sizes, from  0000 to 6 as well as different biases and weights. The club has sets of bowls or woods you can use and try out before you decide to get your own. A set of new bowls cost from £400 upwards, although there are lots of second hand bowls that can found much cheaper than that. We would not recommend you to buy bowls  until you have tried a few different ones. 

Our coaches can give you advice on which bowls to buy.

Shoes – To prevent damage to the green these have to be flat with little or no tread.

Clothing – When you are on the green you are expected to follow a simple dress code, see below. You will need white tops/shirts/blouses and white & grey or black  trousers/skirts/shorts.

There are other things like, measures and wet gear,  (yes bowls is played in the rain sometimes!),  which you may want to buy later, but these are not essential for beginners.
 

Dress Code

The Club, like other Bowling Clubs, has a dress code for when you are playing on the Green. The Club now play in "blacks". The Club has its own Club shirt which can be bought from the Club.

The Dress Code for the Club is.

All players should dress appropriately and ensure they know the dress code for each event, game or match in which they are participating.

For Club matches, including Finals, players shall wear black trousers, cropped trousers, culottes, skirts, skorts or shorts.

For Club matches and competitions, including Finals, players should preferably wear the Club shirt. (If the player does not have a Club shirt, then they should wear a white polo shirt, shirt, or blouse). 

For roll-ups players may wear smart casual wear in any colour.

Players, markers and umpires must wear flat-soled bowls footwear when on the green.

To obtain a Club Shirt please contact David Herbert , Club Secretary.

Suppliers of bowling equipment

Bowls Wear Direct trade only on line.  http://www.bowlsdirect.com/.

John Forsey Bowls had  shop in Welling but ceased business 31 Dec 2025 

New bowls are expensive but you can find many second hand on ebay.

Other Links

Bowls England is the National Governing Body for the sport of Lawn Bowls - Link to website  https://www.bowlsengland.com/ 

The English Indoor Bowling Association - The association that governs indoor bowling. Link to http://www.eiba.co.uk/index.php

Kent County Bowls Association

Organises bowls in Kent.  Forest Hill, Sydenham and Lewisham are historically in Kent

Link to Kent Ladies website http://kcwba.co.uk/

Link to  http://www.kentbowls.com/  http://www.kentbowls.com/..

Link to The Laws of Bowls 4th edition   

http://www.worldbowls.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Laws_of_the_Sport_Fourth_Edition-1.pdf