At Forfar Indoor Bowling Club we operate a six rink bowling arena and new members are always welcome. Coaching can be organised and equipment provided to get you off and running.

As with golf and curling, the game of Bowls, with more or less the same world-wide Laws, owes its existence to the Scots. Following on a meeting in Glasgow in 1848, attended by about two hundred players from various clubs all with different Laws for playing the game, W.W. Mitchell of Glasgow, drew up a "uniform code of Laws", and these are the basis of all subsequent Laws.

In 1892, the Scottish Bowling Association was formed and in 1893, it drew up rules or Laws based on Mitchell's Code and also published a Code of Ethics. Bowls historians believe that the game developed from the Egyptians. One of their pastimes was to play skittles with round stones. This has been determined based on artifacts found in tombs dating circa 5,000 B.C.

The sport of lawn bowls is the forerunner of curling, a tremendously popular winter sport (see our curling pages). The oldest lawn bowls site still played on is in Southampton, England. Records show that the green has been in operation since 1299 A.D. There are other claims of greens being in use before that time, but these are unsubstantiated by proper or sufficient documentation.

It's believed that the "bias" was introduced inadvertently in 1522 by the Duke of Suffolk. Apparently his bowl split in two after striking other bowls and he took a knob off of a stairway banister post for a replacement. The flat side of the knob caused it to roll with a bias and he experimented by curving his bowl around others. The word spread and bias bowls gradually came into use.

A warm welcome awaits guests and friends with coaching sessions and assistance always on hand come along and try it for yourself.