Page 21 - Autumn 2012

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WHICH BOWLS? 21

Choosing a set of bowls or replacing your existing ones is a very subjective topic.
Ask around and you will probably be recommended many different models of bowls and
also different makes including Thomas Taylor, Henselite and Drakes Pride. The choice
therefore can be perplexing. So the choices are indeed very personal and the skill of the
user means that some people can do things with a set that others can’t. It’s easy to say
I’ll have set X because player Y bowls great with them but this is usually down to a players
individual ability.
Generally speaking the main factors in choosing a set of bowls are a) your individual
skill level, b) the floors on which mats are laid, both home and away and c) the position
in which you normally play. Also, to some degree d) the type/speed of mat (s) you play
on. A) is impossible to assess when making any recommendations on which bowls to
use so I would go on to b). Generally speaking the faster the mat(s) you play on, the more
your bowls will turn and the slower the mat the less your bias will take effect. These of
course can be minor differences but still important.
As to c) if you are generally a lead then the straighter the bowl you bowl with the
better. Looking at the Thomas Taylor Chart, from a personal viewpoint I would say Lazers
are definitely lead bowls as are probably Vectors. Ace and International are general pur-
pose bowls, with either being a good skips compromise. I would say that Legacy and
Lignoid are strictly skips bowls only in four as they do swing strongly.
These of course are very general thoughts and it is very important that you also
need to include a) to get the right choice for you. A very skilled player can usually use
most of the models to very good effect.
As to mats, these have changed greatly over the years and have generally got faster
and faster than when I started to play 28 years ago. For those playing long enough to re-
member, Regalgrene mats were generally very slow and often needed a strong turning
bowls but these have no long since gone, as have some other makes as well, so bowls
which didn’t turn too much then will now turn more easily on today’s quicker mats.
Originally bowls makes like the original Tyrolite and Vitalite were popular as they
basically had a sharper “hockey stock finish”. The production of these finished many
years ago but of course they were really only suited for skip AND the fashion for bowls
has changed somewhat. The new Blaze model turns between the Ace and the Interna-
tional and I would class it as a general use bowl and also maybe a skips alternative.
These of course are my personal thoughts but the most important element in choos-
ing bowls is your own personal skill
level.
My two main sets are a very
old set of Lignoid’s that are straight
running and my turning ones are
Bowlstyle’s from Drakes pride. No
longer made but turn like an old Ty-
rolite would. The latter turn far too
much a leads bowls.
For those who change posi-
tions in a team and play on different
speeds of mats, two different sets
can be an advantage but we once
again come down to what is very
subjective.
Bob W