Lindfield Bowling Club

Note: The Club Competition byelaws have been revised and updated for the 2026 season. Click here to download them (PDF file, read from page 4 onwards for the competitions rules).

In all matches each player will have four bowls unless otherwise stated, and the formats are as follows:

a) Men's / Ladies' Championship
Winner is first player to 21 shots.
The Championship winners get an automatic entry into the following season's Sussex County Champion of Champions and Mid-Sussex Champion of Champions competitions. If they wish to enter the National Champion of Champions competition the qualifying member pays the entry fee.

b) Men's / Ladies' Backbone Singles
Winner is first player to 21 shots.
Open to Members who have not won a Lindfield singles competition in the last 5 years.

c) Men's / Ladies Handicap Singles
Winner is first player to 21 shots.
Each entrant will have a handicap and the scoreboard is set to reflect this at the start of the game.
For example, a 6 handicap vs a 2 handicap the scoreboard will read 6-2.

d) Men's Two Wood Singles
Winner is first player to 21 shots.
Played with two woods using a 'Roving jack' ie bowling to the jack without straightening it and bowls must finish within one yard of the jack, otherwise they are dead bowls. Marker not obligatory.

e) Men's Veterans Singles
Winner is first player to 21 shots.
Open to men who have reached the age of 70 on or before April 1st of the current year.

f) Men's 100 Up Singles
Same format as the Butfoy (see below)

g) Men's Handicap Pairs
Entrants are divided into leads and skips and then drawn for partners. Match is played over 18 ends or 4 hours, with an extra end as necessary if the scores are tied. Each pair is allocated a combined handicap by adding the two singles handicaps together.
Before the game starts the scoreboard is set to reflect the handicap difference eg if Bill and Ben have a combined handicap of 12, and their opponents have a combined handicap of 8, the scoreboard will read 4-0 before a bowl has been delivered.

h) Ladies' Two Wood Singles
Match consists of 21 ends with the winner being the player with the higher score.
Extra end played if scores are tied after 21 ends.

i) Ladies' 100 Up Singles
Same format as the Butfoy (see below).

j) Ladies' Pairs
Entrants are divided into leads and skips and then drawn for partners.
Rounds played over 18 ends or 4 hours, whichever occurs first, with extra ends as necessary if scores are tied. The final is 18 ends and no time limit, with extra ends as necessary if scores are tied.

k) Whetstone Cup (Two Wood Mixed Triples)
Mixed competition in which entrants are divided into Leads, 2s and Skips and then drawn for teams. Play consists of 15 ends, with only one to be scored on each of the first two ends. This competition will be played on fixed dates unless mutually agreed by the players of that particular game.

l) 'Butfoy' Mixed Singles
10 points available on each end, which are applied in order (4 for shot, 3 for second, 2 for third and 1 for fourth). Shot wood takes the jack. Winner is the player who reaches 100 first. This means, for example, if Player A is on 94 points and Player B is on 96 points at the start of the end and, after all the bowls have been delivered in the next end, Player B scores shot (4 points, making 100) then the rest of the points are not awarded even though Player A might have had second, third and fourth shots (6 points).
The 'Butfoy' competition is open to Members of the Club who have not won a Lindfield singles competition in the last five years.

m) Mixed / 'Drawn' Pairs
Pairs are drawn randomly. "Mixed" pairings cannot be guaranteed - sometimes it might be two men, or two ladies. Played in the "Aussie Pairs" 2-4-2 format, so that players skip alternate ends.
No visiting of the head.
This competition is played over 15 ends or 4 hours, whichever occurs first with extra ends as necessary if scores are tied.

Any queries/clarification please speak to the competition secretaries - Kath Honeysett and Peter Colbourne - prior to the game being played.