Golden Gate Park Lawn Bowling Lessons

While the Sunset District attracts visitors who want to stroll in the nearby Golden Gate Park, the events at the park range from music concerts to sports that are supervised by expertise instructors or athletic clubs.

Every Wednesday, free lawn bowling lessons are held at noon in Golden Gate Park. The lessons are hosted by the San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club.

"We've been doing [this] for the last 10 or 15 years, depending on weather conditions, of course," said Bill Ryan, a member of the Lawn Bowling Club. "We want to get people interested in lawn bowling."

The game of lawn bowling has also been referred to as bowls, lawn bowls or bowling-on-the-green and can be played competitively with up to four people on each team. The objective of the game is to roll the balls closest to a smaller bowl, which is usually white and called the "jack" or "kitty".

Ryan explained the importance of teaching people the proper form of the sport. "It's a one, two, three rhythmical thing," said Ryan. "[Lawn bowling involves] a very simple stroke... It's not like tennis or golf where you have different strokes."

The San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club is an organization that is dedicated to teaching the "easy-to-learn, yet highly competitive sport that can be played and enjoyed by people of all ages and levels of physical fitness," according to the San Francisco Park and Recreation Department website.

For more information about the lessons, The San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club or the game of lawn bowling--including the history of lawn bowling and lawn bowling game variations--visit www.parks.sfgov.org/site/recpark_index.asp?id=18817. To schedule a free lawn bowling lesson, call (415) 826-1437.