Lawn Bowling Glossary

Draw shot – bowl is delivered with just sufficient weight to reach the Jack or to match up with an opponent’s bowl

Block Shot – bowl delivered with less weight than the basic draw, calculated to come to rest at a position which will impede an opponent’s delivery

Drive Shot – bowl played with greatly increased weight and speed in order to break up and disturb the head

Wick Shot – bowl delivered at a slightly faster pace than the basic draw shot, to hit and deflect off, or wick off, a bowl or bowls in the Head

Wresting Shot – bowl delivered at a faster pace than the basic draw shot in order to “wrest” an opponent’s bowl from its position and replace it with your own

Weight – the amount of energy necessary to propel a bowl from the mat to the target in the head

Line of Aim – the line along which your bowl would be delivered

Point of Aim – the spot chosen as the point along the line of aim where the bowler will align themselves and eventually bowl towards

Centre Line – an imaginary line which divides the rink equally into 2 parts and extends between the rink numbers markers at each end of the rink

Wide Bowl – a bowl delivered well outside the bowler’s normal grass line

Narrow Bowl – a bowl delivered inside the normal grass line

Wing Bowl or Jack High Bowl – a bowl which comes to rest in a lateral position to the right or left of the jack

Light Bowl – a bowl delivered with less than the required weight to reach its objective

Port – an opening between 2 bowls which will permit another bowl to pass through

Shot Bowl(s) – the bowl or bowls of one team that are closer to the Jack than those of the opposition

The Head – means the Jack and such bowls that have come to rest within the boundary of the rink and are not dead

Wrong Bias – when delivering a bowl, the large rings should always be toward the outside, and the small rings should always be facing inside. If this procedure is reversed a wrong bias delivery will result

Mat Line – means the edge of the mat which is nearest to the front ditch. From the centre of the mat line, all necessary measurements to Jack or bowls are taken