Lawn bowls today are made from a hard plastic called Phenolformaldehyde, they are perfectly round one way (fig. 1) and oval shaped the other (fig. 2). The bias is produced by making the bowl lopsided (fig. 3), however it is so minute that it can't been seen with the naked eye. When the bowl is delivered along its running surface, there is sufficient momentum to keep it running straight along its course. As the bowl slows down it attempts to find its true centre of balance, forcing it to curve. The running surface of the bowl is the part of the bowl which is in contact with the green when in motion.

Lawn bowl sizes range from size 00 through to size 7. Only 1 to 2 millimetres in diameter seperates the sizes of bowls, the differences are small but considerable when gripping various sized bowls.

Every bowl has an emblem engraved on each side. One side has a small emblem with the bowl's size, weight, serial number & the manufacturer's stamp around it. The other side has the same emblem, but larger. The small side is the bias side. This means it is the side that it will turn towards when in motion.

The shape of the bowl varies among brands and models. The visible differences are small, but play a large role in the behaviour of the bowl.

MODELS

• Drakes Pride Excel

• Drakes Pride International

• Drakes Pride Special

• Henselite ABT 2000

• Henselite Classic II

• Henselite Dreamline

• Thomas Taylor Ace

• Thomas Taylor Vector