Lawn Bowls Rules Made Simple — Lawn Bowling USA

The object of the game

Each end, someone rolls a small target ball, the jack. Players then take turns rolling their bowls toward it. When all bowls are played, the side with the bowl nearest the jack scores. It scores one shot for every bowl closer to the jack than the other side's nearest bowl. A game is a set number of ends or shots, or a fixed time, as the organizers decide.

Bowls are not round: they have a bias that makes them curve as they slow down. The side with the smaller rings is the bias side, the way the bowl will turn.

The green, rinks and ditch

The green is a flat square or rectangle of grass or approved synthetic surface, 31 to 40 m long in the direction of play.
It is split into strips called rinks, 4.3 to 5.8 m wide outdoors. Each rink's sides are imaginary lines between boundary pegs on the banks at each end.
A shallow ditch (20 to 38 cm wide) surrounds the green, with a raised bank behind it.
Ends are played in turn from opposite directions, up and down the rink.

The mat

At the start of each end, the player who goes first (the lead in team games) lays the mat lengthwise on the rink's center line.
Under the World Bowls Laws, the front edge of the mat (the mat line) must be at least 2 m from the ditch behind you and at least 25 m from the ditch in front. Bowls USA Domestic Regulations change the 25 m to 23 m.
Feet: before you deliver, stand on the mat with all or part of at least one foot on it. At the moment you let go of the jack or a bowl, all or part of one foot must be on or above the mat. (Wheelchair players: one wheel, the same way.)
Once the end has started, the mat stays put, except to straighten it or put it back if it is moved. You can flip it over for better grip in bad weather.
After the last bowl of the end, the mat is lifted off the green.

Delivering the jack

The player who goes first delivers the jack, then it is centered: moved sideways onto the center line, at the same distance from the mat.
Minimum length: 23 m from the mat line under the World Bowls Laws. In the U.S., Bowls USA uses 21 m. Your club may post its own conditions.
Too long: if the jack stops less than 2 m from the front ditch, it is placed on the center line 2 m from the ditch (often marked by a "T").
Improper jack: it goes in the ditch, stops completely outside the rink, is short of the minimum length, or comes back after hitting the bank or something outside the rink. The opponent then places the mat and delivers the jack, but the original player still bowls first.
If both sides deliver an improper jack in the same end, it is not delivered again: it goes on the center line 2 m from the front ditch.
Winner of each scoring end places the mat and delivers the jack next end. After a tied end, the same side goes first again.

Live bowls, dead bowls and touchers

Touchers

A bowl that touches the jack on its way down the green (its "original course") is a toucher. It stays live even if it rolls into the ditch, as long as it stays inside the rink's side boundaries. Mark a toucher with chalk as soon as it stops, before the next bowl stops; otherwise it is no longer a toucher. A toucher in the ditch is marked with a small colored marker on the bank. Remember to wipe off old chalk before you bowl it again.

Dead bowls

A bowl is dead and taken off the rink if it:

is not a toucher and ends up in the ditch, or bounces back onto the rink off the bank;
ends up less than 14 m from the mat line;
is knocked completely outside the rink's boundaries; or
on delivery, goes outside a side boundary curving the wrong way to come back, or stops outside the side boundary.

A bowl that swings outside the side line but curves back and stops inside the rink is still live.

When the jack is moved

If a bowl knocks the jack into the front ditch inside the rink's side boundaries, the jack is still live. Its spot is marked with a white marker on the bank. Only touchers can be "shot" there; a bowl that is not a toucher and goes in the ditch is dead.
The jack is dead if it is knocked completely outside the rink, into a hollow in the bank, or to less than 20 m from the mat line (Bowls USA: 18 m).
A dead jack means a dead end: it doesn't count and is replayed, usually in the same direction. Some events instead re-spot the jack and play on, if their Conditions of Play say so. Players in the U.S. and Canada often call it a burnt end.
If a jack hit against the bank bounces back onto the rink, play carries on.

Scoring each end

When the last bowl stops, count the bowls of one side that are nearer the jack than the other side's nearest bowl. Each is one shot. Only one side scores per end.

Worked example

Red's bowls are 10 cm, 40 cm and 90 cm from the jack. Blue's nearest bowl is 60 cm away. Red's 10 cm and 40 cm bowls both beat Blue's best, but the 90 cm bowl does not. Red scores 2 shots; Blue scores nothing.

If both sides' nearest bowls are touching the jack or are exactly the same distance away, or there are no live bowls left, it's a tied end: no score, but it still counts as an end played.

Don't move any bowls until both sides agree the count. The last player doesn't have to bowl their final bowl, but must say so before counting begins.

Measuring

No measuring until the last bowl of the end has stopped (either side can ask to wait 30 seconds to see if a leaning bowl falls).
Measure from the nearest point of the jack to the nearest point of the bowl. For a jack or bowl in the ditch, use a flexible or string measure where possible.
In fours the third usually measures; in singles a marker can measure if asked. If players can't agree, an umpire decides, and that decision is final.
A leaning bowl can be wedged so it doesn't fall while you measure.

Foot faults

Not having part of one foot on or above the mat when you let go is a foot fault. An umpire first gives a warning. After that, each foot-faulted bowl is stopped and declared dead. If it can't be stopped and it disturbs the head, the opponent chooses to put the head back, leave it as it is, or call the end dead. In casual club play there is often no umpire, so just keep that back foot on the mat.

Formats in brief

Singles: one against one, two to four bowls each.
Pairs: lead and skip, two to four bowls each.
Triples: lead, second and skip, two or three bowls each.
Fours (rinks): lead, second, third and skip, two bowls each.

The skip is in charge of the team and keeps the scorecard. For how each format and position is played, see Advanced Bowls.

Etiquette basics

The rink belongs to the side whose bowl is being played. Wait until the previous bowl has stopped before you deliver.
When you're not bowling, stand at least 1 m behind the mat, or behind the jack at the head end, still and quiet.
Don't walk on or into a neighboring rink while someone there is bowling.
Leave the head alone until the count is agreed; stand back while a measure is taken.
Wear flat-soled shoes that won't damage the green. Your club will tell you its dress and shoe rules.
Be a good sport: the Laws ask players to use common sense and fair play where the rules don't cover something.

Sources

All sources checked 2026-10-28. This page is a plain-English summary, not the official Laws. Bowls USA, your division and your club can set different details. For the full terms, see the Glossary.

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