🧠Turning a beginner into a bowler
Somebody has joined who has never bowled. The first six weeks decide whether they are still here next season — here is the run through it.
1Point them at Learn to bowl on day one
When you send their welcome email, tell them the members’ app has Learn to bowl and that the first three tutorials take ten minutes. Somebody who has read “what the game actually is”, “your first hour on the green” and “which way does it curve” arrives knowing what is about to happen, which is most of what makes a first evening go well.
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2Add whatever is specific to your club
Under Members → Coaching Tutorials, write one or two of your own: where to park, which green is used in wet weather, what happens at the Tuesday roll-up, who to ask about coaching. These are the questions nobody thinks to answer, and they are the ones that stop somebody coming down.
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3Their first evening
Somebody shows them the grip and the delivery on the green. Do not try to teach the rules as well — they are in the app, and they will read them that night if they enjoyed themselves.
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?Do they own bowls?
Almost nobody does at this stage.
No → lend them club bowls and point them at “choosing your first set”, which tells them to borrow for a season before buying anything. | Yes → check the size and bias suit them — an inherited set that is too big for the hand undoes everything else. |
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5Keep an eye on the group, not the person
Pavilion counts how many tutorials have been ticked off across the whole club and no more than that. There is no list of who has read what, on purpose — a beginner who thinks somebody is checking will not start at the beginning.
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6Get them into a game
Put them in a friendly or a club competition as soon as they can deliver a bowl the length of the green. “Playing in your first match” and “club competitions and leagues” tell them what to expect, so the invitation is not frightening.
💡 Tip: Add
[pvl_tutorials] to a public page on your website too. Somebody deciding whether to try bowls at all can read what the game involves before they ever ring the club — and the ones who arrive having read it are the ones who stay.