Lawn Bowls Rules
Explained in Plain English

The official Laws of the Sport of Bowls runs to over 50 pages of carefully worded legal language. For competitive referees, this precision is essential. For the rest of us, it can be baffling. This article covers everything you need to play a proper game — explained in plain, simple English.

The Basic Objective

Lawn bowls is elegantly simple: roll your bowls as close as possible to a small white ball called the jack. The player or team with the bowl closest to the jack at the end of each "end" scores points. What makes the game complex and endlessly fascinating is that the bowls are biased — they don't travel in a straight line but curve as they slow down.

Equipment You Need

• The jack: A small white (or yellow) sphere, 63–64mm in diameter, 280–290g. It's the target.
• The bowls: Biased spheres, approximately 1.5kg. Each player uses a matched set of 2 or 4 depending on the format.
• The mat: A flat rubber mat (600mm × 360mm). All deliveries are made with at least one foot on or over the mat.
• Flat-soled bowling shoes: Required to protect the green. Standard trainers are not permitted.

Setting Up — The Mat and the Jack

Placing the mat: The mat must be placed centrally along the rink. The front edge must be at least 2 metres from the rear ditch. The mat cannot be moved once the jack has been cast.

Casting the jack: The jack is rolled to whatever distance the player chooses, with two restrictions: it must travel at least 25 metres from the mat and must stay within the rink boundaries. If it goes out of bounds on the first cast, the opponent gets to cast it instead.

Centring the jack: Once the jack comes to rest in a valid position, it is moved to the exact centre line of the rink. The jack is now the target.

Delivering Your Bowls

• Foot on mat: At the moment of delivery you must have at least part of one foot on or above the mat. Stepping off completely is a foot fault.
• Rolling only: The bowl must be rolled along the green surface. Throwing or pitching is not permitted.
• Order of play: In team games, players must bowl in the set order on the scorecard. Playing out of turn means the opposing skip may declare the bowl dead.
• Drive warning: When playing a full-speed drive, you must clearly warn players at the head: "I am firing."

Touchers — What They Are and Why They Matter

A toucher is a bowl that makes contact with the jack during its original journey down the green. Touchers are crucial because of one rule: they remain in play even if they enter the ditch. Touchers must be marked immediately after coming to rest with chalk or a coloured disc.

Why does this matter? If the jack gets knocked into the ditch, a toucher in the ditch next to the jack is still alive and can score. This is why experienced players always try to create touchers — it gives them a huge tactical advantage.

Dead Bowls and Dead Ends

A bowl is dead (out of play) if it: comes to rest in the ditch (unless a marked toucher); comes to rest outside the rink boundaries; or ends up on the bank.

A dead end occurs when the jack itself goes out of bounds. No score is counted and the end is replayed from the same end.

Scoring — How to Count Shots

Only one side scores per end. They receive one point for each of their bowls that is closer to the jack than the opposing team's nearest bowl. Scoring must not begin until all bowls have come to rest. If it's too close to call visually, a measure is used.

How Many Points to Win?

• Singles: First to 21 shots
• Pairs, Triples, Fours: Most shots after 18 or 21 ends
• Sets format: First to win a set (usually 7 shots)

The Most Common Rules Disputes

"Who has the shot?"

Use a measure when it's too close to tell. Never move bowls to measure — always measure from the bowls' positions as they came to rest. If players can't agree after measuring, call an umpire.

"Is that bowl a toucher?"

If a bowl that touched the jack was not marked before the next bowl was delivered, it cannot be claimed as a toucher and becomes a regular bowl.

"Was that a foot fault?"

The umpire must first warn the player on the first observed foot fault. Only on subsequent foot faults can the bowl be stopped and declared dead.