Irish Road Bowling
March 8 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Join the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia and Staunton Parks and Recreation this March 8th for Road Bowling.
Road Bowling is a traditional Irish game played with a road bowl and is on a long course. The object of the game is to get to the finish line in the least amount of throws, but be careful, if the bowl goes off course, you may lose it!
Irish road bowling has been played in the Irish countryside since the 1600s. Its origins are unclear-perhaps it was brought to the Emerald Isle from England by weavers in the new textile industry, or perhaps from Holland by the troops of William of Orange, or maybe it began when Irish patriots robbed small English cannonballs and rolled them home by light of a full moon. Irish troops traditionally have played road bowling wherever they were stationed around the world. Road bowling has a passionate following primarily in County Armagh in the North, where it is called bullets or long bullets, and in the South, mostly in County Cork, where it is called road bowling. The two regions independently developed distinct and very different hurling styles.
– Information courtesy of Dave Powell with West Virginia Irish Road Bowling
The Game
- The ball- “bowl” or “bullet”- A 28 ounce iron and steel cannonball the size of a tennis ball is rolled down a country road to a finish line. The team with the fewest shots to the finish line wins.
- The start- A chalk line is drawn across the road. The thrower stands behind this line, and his/her teammates (called road showers) go at least 20 to 30 yards down the road to show the desired path of the bowl. They stand like human croquet wickets, feet apart, straddling the “perfect path” to be taken to achieve maximum distance. Note: this is optional, intended for those experienced players. You do not have to stand in the path of the roll; you are there to advise the roller and chase the bowl when it goes off the road. Remember this is a 28 ounce iron ball you do not want to get hit by it.
- The grip- The bowl should be held in a C formed by the thumb and the index and/or middle fingers. The bowl should be thrown from the fingers, not from the palm of the hand.
- The throw- The bowler should back up 10–15 yards and take a running start to gain momentum to the throwing line. For many, however, taking two or three steps is sufficient. The thrower runs to the throwing mark and whirls the bowl underhand before stepping over the mark. The bowl may fly through the air a few yards before striking the pavement. You do not have to immediately roll it into the pavement. The bowl will hit the road with heavy topspin, rolling exactly on the path your teammates, the road showers, have pre-planned for glory.
- The shot- Wherever the bowl leaves the road surface, the bowl is taken directly to that point and a chalk mark is made. The next throw is taken from behind that mark by the next teammate in rotation, and so on to the finish line. It is customary to write the cumulative shot count on the road under each mark. (*Note: this is a house rule change due to this particular road course and the long downhill stretch. Normally the next shot is taken from where the ball stops and moved to the nearest point on the road from there.)
- The finish- The final shot to the finish line should be thrown as far as possible past the line. If two or more players or teams have an equal number of shots crossing the finish line, the winner is decided by which shot goes the farthest distance past the finish line.
— Information courtesy of Dave Powell with West Virginia Irish Road Bowling
Play in teams of 3-4 along the scenic pathways of the Frontier Culture Museum. Each team registration is $40. Register with the Frontier Culture Museum here.
Tee times vary and there is limited space in each time, so be sure to sign up today!
Thank you to McDonough Toyota for sponsoring this event!