At Honolulu Lawn Bowls Club, it’s a game of finesse and friendship

In the game of life, we all expect a few curveballs, but in lawn bowls, there’s a curve in every ball you throw.

Imagine bowling a ball that isn’t perfectly round, but is slightly heavier on one side – it’s the kind of challenge that hooks avid players like Nancy Miller, president of the Honolulu Lawn Bowls Club in Ala. Moana Beach Park. (In fact, the technical name for the ball is “bol”, hence the name of the club.)

It’s much more difficult than regular indoor bowling because of the bowl’s built-in bias, she said, and the ever-changing conditions of the grass.

Miller and her husband, Ray Yourchek, joined the club more than 10 years ago and have been active members of its upkeep ever since. The small pavilion with its well-maintained bowling green is “a beautiful little gem here in the park”, she said.

It is somewhat hidden in plain sight as the game is played by so few and it is the only club in the state. Unless passers-by were curious enough to look over the white concrete wall that surrounds it, they would hardly know it was there. Located near the tennis courts, the green was established in 1935 as part of the original city park, which is included on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places.

The club’s 40-odd members are asked to volunteer at a monthly cleanup day or whenever something needs to be done, as the club is largely maintained independently of the city’s park department, Miller said. .

The club relies on donations from players to cover the costs of a gardener who mows the grass three times a week – just $600 a month – and for repairs and upkeep of signs, equipment and from the clubhouse.

Miller has noticed that since the pandemic began, more and more local residents looking for other avenues of outdoor recreation have tried lawn bowling, or, as some say, “lawn bowls.” The club is more than happy to give them a few free lessons to get them off the ground, Miller said.

“It’s not hard to learn,” she said. “But hard to master like golf.”

The game requires good hand-eye coordination, finesse and strategy to roll the balls down a 120ft long and 15ft wide lane or rink, marked only by lines on a sign at each end .

A bowl typically weighs about 3-1/2 pounds, but there are many different brands or types of bowls that have very little bias, and some with a heavier bias that can deviate two or three feet, Miller said. The bowl usually curves towards the side of the bowl that is heavier before coming to rest, but this can be influenced by a player’s skill and other factors.

Besides the built-in bias, Miller said lawn bowling is much more difficult than lane bowling because the target (a small white ball called the “jack”) can move if a player’s ball hits it, while in regular bowling, the target (the 10 pins) is fixed.

Each player on a team receives four balls and scores a point for each ball that is closer to the jack compared to that of his opponent. The basic strategy is to push an opponent’s bowl away from the jack or push the jack itself away from an opponent’s bowl.

“Every time a player bowls, the balls surrounding the jack create a new challenge. Every game is different, every end is different,” Miller said. (After all, players on two teams take turns at one end, they go to the other end to bowl, back and forth about 14 times per game.)

“The hardest part is determining the rink: how it plays can vary depending on when the grass was last mowed, rolled (with a heavy roller) or how wet it was or dried. During the game, the grass can change,” Miller said. For example, if the wind picks up and dries it out, it affects the speed of the bowl. It is therefore vital for the player to adjust the weight to be put into the delivery of the bowl, she said.

Many part-time members of the club come from other countries, such as Phil Westcott and his partner, Hetta Danford, from Sydney, Australia, where bowls is a hugely popular and well-resourced sport. Longtime Hawaiian resident Gene Wasosky spends half the year in Thailand, where he also bowls. Many players come to Canada every year to escape their freezing winters.

Brian Flynn, originally from Scotland, where he worked on the greens as a youth, has been a full-time member of the Honolulu club for 20 years. He remembers when, more than 10 years ago, the dress code required members to wear white in keeping with its genteel country club image, but the policy was scrapped when so many travelers who discovered the club arrived without their traditional whites, he said. . Now all you need are flat shoes.

Flynn, who bowls two or three times a week, said the game is great exercise for older people, but it’s also good for younger people. He’s going strong at 73, even with his bad knees. All you need to play is reasonably good eyesight and reasonably good health, Flynn added.

California’s Vern Rodriguez, who is about half Flynn’s age, recently came over for a pickup game and immediately took off his sandals to play barefoot. A regular at her club in Santa Barbara, Rodriguez said she’s become addicted to the outdoors, a great way to spend a summer day with friendly people. She finds it much more complex than pétanque, an Italian version of lawn bowling. Rodriguez searched the internet for clubs in Hawaii while there and was surprised there was only one in the state. “Everyone seems to be so nice!” she added.

The club usually holds its biggest tournament, Aloha Barefoot Bowls, in February, which attracts an international roster, but it was canceled for the second straight year due to COVID-19. However, there are always smaller tournaments throughout the year, which are organized by Judy Rasmussen, the club’s director of activities.

“It’s about having fun and building camaraderie,” Miller said.

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Honolulu Bowls Club

1141 Ala Moana Blvd.

>> Games available at 10 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

>> Free lessons and use of balls at 9:30 am on Saturday.

>> Compulsory flat-soled shoes; no dress code.

>> Suggested donations: $10, one day; $30, per week; $50, monthly

>> For more information, email [email protected]