How Green Speed Affects Your Game
— and How to Adapt Instantly

Walk into any bowls club after a match and you'll hear the same conversation: "The green was playing very fast today," or "It was so heavy, I couldn't get the weight right at all." Green speed is one of the most talked-about variables in lawn bowls — and one of the least systematically understood by the majority of club players.

Most players adapt by feel and instinct, making adjustments delivery by delivery without a clear framework. Elite players do something different: they have a systematic process for reading any green quickly and making precise, predictable adjustments. This article gives you that process.

What Green Speed Actually Means

When bowlers talk about a "fast" green, they mean a surface where the bowls travel a long distance for a given amount of force — where the surface is smooth and offers minimal friction. On a fast green, a bowl bowled gently will travel far. On a slow (or "heavy") green, the same delivery will stop much sooner.

The practical consequence is significant: green speed affects not just how hard you bowl, but where you aim. Understanding this relationship is the key to adapting quickly to any green.

What Makes a Green Fast or Slow?

• Moisture: A wet or damp green is slower. A dry green is faster. This is the single biggest variable.
• Grass length: Shorter cut = faster green. Most greens are cut to 5–6mm for competition.
• Temperature: Warmer temperatures dry the surface and firm the ground, producing faster greens.
• Time of day: Greens typically play faster in the afternoon as dew evaporates.
• Direction of play: Many greens play slightly faster in one direction due to slope or the direction of grass growth.

How Green Speed Changes Your Line

On a fast green, your bowl travels further before the bias takes full effect, so the arc of the bowl's path is longer and wider — the peak of that arc is reached later. This means you need to aim further out from the centre line to allow the bowl to curve back.

On a slow green, the opposite happens: the bowl slows faster, so the bias takes effect sooner and harder. The arc is tighter and shorter. Aim too wide and the bowl will curve past the jack before it arrives.

How Green Speed Changes Your Weight

On a fast green you need to deliver the bowl with less force — the surface will carry it further. On a slow green, you need considerably more weight. The key adjustment is your backswing height.

Higher backswing = more weight. Lower, shorter backswing = less weight. On a fast green, consciously shorten and lower your backswing. On a slow green, lengthen and raise it. Resist adding weight by pushing or muscling the bowl — this destroys line and feel simultaneously.

The Trial End — How to Use It Properly

Most competitions allow one trial end before play begins. This is not a warm-up — it's your primary data-gathering opportunity. Use it systematically:

1. Bowl to two different jack lengths to calibrate weight at both short and long distances.
2. Bowl both forehand and backhand to check if the green is consistent across both hands.
3. Note your aiming point for each draw that worked — memorise it precisely.
4. Check for any slope — many greens have a subtle cross-slope affecting the draw differently on each hand.

Adapting Mid-Game When Conditions Change

Green speed doesn't stay constant. On a sunny summer day, a green that started at 14 seconds at 10am may be playing at 17 seconds by 2pm as the surface dries. After rain, a fast green can become slow within minutes.

The warning signs: your line is consistently finishing inside or outside where it was; your weight is running long or short despite no change in your delivery. When you notice this pattern, don't keep bowling the same way hoping it improves — make a conscious adjustment and observe the result.