BOWLS - A SHORT GUIDE TO BUYING BOWLS

I  PLAY BOWLS, COACH BOWLS, UMPIRE BOWLS AND SELL BOWLS SO I THINK I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BOWLS AND HOPE THE FOLLOWING ADVICE MAY BE HELPFUL IN CHOOSING A SUITABLE SET OF BOWLS.

If you are just starting to play bowls I suggest you do not rush out and buy a brand new set of bowls costing over £100. First try out a few different makes and sizes of bowls borrowed from friends or club colleagues.

You first need to decide the size that best suits your size of hand. As a rough guide, the average size for men is 4 or 5, while for women 2 or 3 is most common. A quick way of determining your correct size is to try spanning the running surface of a bowl with both hands. If with your thumbs touching, your middle fingers are just touching, the bowl is the correct fit. If there is a gap the bowl is too big and you need a smaller size. If your middle fingers overlap the bowl is too small for you and you need a larger size. Please bear in mind this is just intended as a rough "rule of thumb" and the correct bowl is one which is comfortable to hold and deliver, without putting undue strain on either your fingers or wrist.

I generally advise using a gripped bowl on grass, as this aids delivery in cold or wet conditions. Again there are various types of dimpled grips, according to the manufacturer and make of bowl, so try out a few to find what is most comfortable. There are lots of different grips (eg  deep dimples, shallow dimples with pimples, vertical grooves, crescents, etc).  Remember the grip is not just cosmetic - they are all intended to improve your grip on the bowl, so it is a matter of trying them out to find your personal preference. Indoors I think the grip really is just a matter of personal preference and many players choose to use a plain bowl.

The next consideration is weight (ie medium, medium heavy, heavy or extra heavy). I generally recommend medium weight for grass and heavy weight for indoors, but again this is an individual choice. However, if you need to use a very small bowl (eg size 0 or 1) it may be advisable to choose a heavy bowl in that size, as it will tend to hold its line on the green better than a lighter medium bowl. When it comes to indoor bowls I do think it is a little easier to make the necessary small adjustments to your delivery length on faster carpets if you use a heavy bowl.

Black is the most common colour, followed by brown and of course they are also the cheapest. Coloured bowls (eg blue, red, green, etc) tend to be about £35 more expensive and perform no better, so unless you like your bowls to stand out from the crowd, my advice is to start off with a standard black (or brown) bowl.

Your first purchase should be a used bowl, which is still in very good condition, with only minor scratches but no serious scrapes or gouges and reasonably new ie not more than 6 or 7 years old. This bowl will perform just as well as a brand new bowl, but will cost you much less and should you subsequently decide to change, it will only lose a little of its cost.    Do remember that a nearly new set of bowls will easily last you 10 years, so it is much better to buy wisely than to buy economically. Indeed penny wise & pound foolish is a good maxim when buying a set of bowls. They will give you much pleasure over a long time and are an excellent investment.

You can determine the age of a bowl by examining the oval / rectangular stamp on the bowl. This is a 10 year stamp so if the year shown is 08 it was manufactured in 98. However it may not have been purchased for  some years after that, as it may have been lying in a shop for some time before its sale. My advice is not to buy a bowl with a stamp older than 00. A World Bowls WBB stamp is preferable to a British Isles BIBC stamp, as some major competitions will insist on this particular stamp. However, as a newcomer this is of much less significance than the general condition of the bowl.

The actual make of bowl is not that important, as all manufacturers  (ie Henselite, Taylor, Almark, Drakes Pride, Greenmaster and Cotswold) produce quality bowls, which must conform to the standards laid down in World Bowls Regulations. Henselite tends to be more expensive than the others, but this difference is less marked in older second hand bowls.
Pay more regard to the actual brand name (eg Classic, Tiger, Vector, Crusader, Professional, Proline, Silverline, etc ) as this is indicative of the type of drawing line that particular bowl will take (eg narrow, wide, medium, etc) and whether it is intended for use on indoor stadium or shortmat carpets or outdoors on grass.  Bowls, with only a very few exceptions, are generally designed either for indoor or outdoor use. An indoor bowl is designed to have a much narrower bias than an outdoor bowl. An outdoor bowl has usually much too big a swing for use indoors and is too difficult to control consistently if you really want to be competitive. If you require advice on the draw line of any particular bowl please ask.            
There are now well over 30 different bowls available in UK, in 8 sizes (00 - 6), in 4 weights ( medium, medium heavy, heavy, extra heavy), and at least 6 or 7 different types of grips or plain. A buyer certainly has a wide range to select from and which choice can often be rather confusing to a beginner or novice. However bowlers are a friendly bunch and only too ready to help newcomers to the club chose a satisfactory set of bowls so don't be shy of asking their advice. As a beginner you would be best advised to start with a narrow to medium drawing bowl, as you will probably be asked to play at the front end of a rink, where your primary task is to place your bowl as close to the jack as possible. A wide drawing bowl is usually only an advantage for back end players who often have to draw around short bowls to get to the jack.
 If you require further independent advice on any bowls matter please ask. It is all part of the service which I offer free of charge and of course you are under no obligation to buy from me. Do not hesitate to ask any seller for additional information if it is not clear from the description or pictures or if you are in any doubt. The seller should include the make, model, year, size, weight and condition of the bowls in the item description. In my experience the vast majority of ebay sellers are honest, helpful and value their reputation, so you should have no concerns about buying on ebay. My eBay shop EX- SPORT UK is just one of the many choices available to you but it is certainly worth a look. Thank you for your attention and I do hope you have found this guide helpful. Good luck with your purchase and regardless of your level of ability enjoy your bowls. Finally, when you get your bowls do polish them at least weekly with a proprietory bowls product such as multigrip, grippo, etc as it will certainly improve your grip on the bowl and also help to preserve the running surface of your bowl in the longer term, thus increasing their resale value should you decide to change. 

                                                                    Morris (EX-SPORT UK)