A sign of a great sport is that even if you don’t know the rules, you want to step onto the field and join in anyways. For me, that now has to include the sport of lawn bowling played at Murphy Park in Sunnyvale.
Year ‘round, several afternoons a week (as well as some weekends, mornings, and evenings depending on their schedule), you can find teams from the Sunnyvale Lawn Bowling Club competing on the Vargas Bowling Green. The green is a fenced off, manicured lawn in the park, surrounded by benches for spectators.
So what is lawn bowling?
High-level, executive summary: Imagine shooting marbles as a kid and then growing up and doing it on a field with wooden balls the size of grapefruits. Or think of bowling, but outside and minus the lanes, fees, and ugly shoes. Oh yeah, and just to make sure you're paying attention, the balls aren’t quite round so you can’t roll them in a straight line.
Slightly more complicated answer: Go to their website and look at the rules. Essentially the sport consists of two teams, typically with two or more players on each side. The players (called bowlers) take turns rolling an asymmetrical ball (the bowl) towards a white ball (the jack) on the other side of a marked off area of specially prepared lawn (the rink). Points are determined by which team ends up with the most bowls closest to the jack.
Here’s why you should see a game or three
- It’s part of history. Lawn bowling dates back to at least 13th Century England.
- It takes a deal of strategy and skill to make the bowl curve into the area near the jack.
- At its best the sport has a lovely back and forth rhythm that is a lesson in both sportsmanship and finesse.
- People of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to join. If you don’t know how to play, they’ll teach you. And because it’s a game of skill and experience the best players are as likely to be retirees as college kids.
- It’s free to watch and they’d love you to come by. These players are seriously nice folks. How often do you attend a ball game where the players come off the field in the middle of play to chat with you, tell you about the sport, and mention how pleased they are you’ve come to see them?
How this compares to pro football
Let’s compare this to some other sports you watch. Sure, you can go the easy route and watch on TV. But how about watching in person?
I’m checking for tickets at the big game coming up. (I’m serious—the following numbers are taken directly from Ticketmaster’s NFL site.)
You say you want to sit near the sidelines so you can get up close to the action? No problem. I’m looking at some decent seats a few rows back that go for $13,070. There doesn’t seem to be a family discount, so that’s going to be $52,280 for a family of four. Plus Ticketmaster’s handling charge of $5,228.00. Oh, don’t forget the $4218.64 tax. And $25 to mail it to you.
Let’s just round it up with parking and sodas to $62,000. In other words, one game equals one college tuition.
Bet it’s a great game though.
My suggestion
If you’re on a budget, I’d say take your lunch to Murphy Park, sit on one of the benches at the edge of the lawn, and watch the bowlers go at it. Schmooze with both teams after the game (during if they feel like it). And have enough money left over to send your kids to college.
Try that with the Green Bay Packers.
If you go
Sunnyvale Lawn Bowling Club
Vargas Lawn Bowling Green in Martin Murphy Park
130 East California Avenue, Sunnyvale
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