A Very Old Game

      More Letters From Paradise
          A Very Old Game
I had walked past this small building in Ala Moana Beach Park, surrounded by a low brick wall, many times. I never took much notice of it. There was a sign on the building which read "Hawaii Lawn Bowls Club." I thought that it was another example of Pidgeon English. I had seen others: "No climb tree," and "No vote no grumble." Probably a bunch of Hawaiians who get together to play ball on grass. How very wrong I was.

The Hawaii Lawn Bowls began in 1939, when some servicemen from Australia, and missing their game, created the present court. They dug the length of the court and filled it with crushed coral. That way the lawn on the top would drain quickly and dry out. The court they built is still in use today. The club members are visited often by people from Australia and New Zealand,where lawn bowls is a very popular game.

The game is said to have originated in either Scotland or England. The oldest site still in use is Southampton, England 1299 A.D.

Bowling with a ball against pins can be traced as far back as the Egyptians. But lawn bowling is very different. The story told is that the Duke of Suffolk was bowling with wood balls, and his boll split. He took a knob from wood stairwell and used it instead. The side with the knob caused the knob to roll with a curve.

Today each bowl is less rounded on one side which results in the bowl being "biased" in one direction due to the extra weight on one side. The bias of a correctly rolled bowl ensures that it follows a slightly curved path, as it rolls which accelerates as it comes to a halt.

If you were not asleep in World History class, you may remember that in 1588, when King Philip II of Spain sent his great Armada of ships to invade England, Sir Francis Drake, was notified while he was bowling. He is said to have remarked, "Let us complete our game, and finish them off later."

The sport of lawn bowling was brought to America by the British.There were several lawn bowling clubs in Boston. George Washington was such an avid fan, that he had a lawn bowling court built. But alas, today there are trees planted where the old court once was.

Simply put, lawn bowling differs from ten pins and other forms of bowling on grass. Not only are the bowls used  different, but the object of lawn bowling is not to knock down a bunch of standing pins, but to try a get a correctly rolled bowl, as close as possible, to a small white ball which is called the "Jack."

Lawn bowls today are a far cry from the stair knob used by the Duke of Suffolk. They are not weighted. Their shape is formed by a composition material under great pressure in molds. They are sold in sets of four. Each player uses four bowls.

Lawn bowling can be played by anybody. People with physical disabilities, including people with wheel chairs, enjoy the game.  I  now know what those letters on the club house mean, because I am now a proud member.

      Aloha
      Grant