Despite Appearances, Lawn Bowling No Walk in the Park
Fountain Valley’s Ed Quo knows lawn bowling is a tough sell in the age of adrenaline. These days all ages of people are attracted to high-energy sports, some more extreme than others. Roller hockey, mountain biking, triathlon and surfing, et cetera, have a certain reputation.
Lawn bowling has another.
“There’s not a whole lot of danger in lawn bowling,” Quo said, “but you know how you feel when you hole a fast, tricky downhill putt in golf? You know the sense of accomplishment you feel? There’s a whole lot of that in lawn bowling.”
Quo should know. At 65, he is the reigning U.S. men’s singles champion in the sport. He is also co-chairman of the greens committee at the Newport Harbor Lawn Bowling Club, an organization that is always looking to make converts.
Lawn bowling, which is played on a 120-by-120-foot expanse of grass mown shorter than a golf green, looks like a simple game. The object is to roll hard plastic balls called “bowls” closer than your opponent to the “jack,” a smaller white ball.
That task is made more difficult because bowls are lopsided and impossible to roll straight. Bowlers must play the break.
The Official Lawn Bowls Almanac calls it “the trickiest sport ever devised by the mind of man.” Quo agreed, saying it requires as much strategy as chess, and though it’s not a high-impact sport, it’s not sedentary.
“It’s more than a walk in the park,” Quo said. “It’s about as physically demanding as golf is if you play 36 holes in a day. Well, maybe 27 holes.”
It’s also an inexpensive pastime. Annual membership to the Newport Harbor club is $100. The daily green fee is $1.
Tuesdays at 10 a.m., the club offers free lessons for beginners at its greens in Corona del Mar. Call (949) 640-1022 for more information. There are also lawn bowling clubs in San Clemente, (949) 492-8186; Santa Ana, (714) 639-3577; and Laguna Beach, (949) 494-1811.
SCORE TIME
Off-road enthusiasts are in Laughlin, Nev., this weekend for the first event of the SCORE off-road racing series, the seventh Laughlin Desert Challenge.
It is the opening round of the five-race SCORE series that includes the Baja 1000. The 16 classes will be divided into six racing groups that will take the 13-mile course separately on both days.
Several of the more than 200 entrants are from Orange County, including defending class winner Jerry Penhall of Costa Mesa in SCORE Lites.
Notably absent will be Jeff Lewis of San Clemente, the defending champion in Class 7 who is a casualty of Team MacPherson closing its doors.
“This is the first race I’ll miss in 15 years,” Lewis said.
The runner-up to Lewis last year, Craig Turner of Brea, will be competing, as will other second-place finishers from Orange County, Don Hatch of Anaheim in Class 10, Bob Land of Lake Forest in Stock Mini and John Griffin of Mission Viejo in Stock Full.
Racing begins Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 a.m.
HAWAIIAN MONSTERS
The world’s most prestigious big-wave surfing competition, the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, went off last week at Waimea Bay on Hawaii’s North Shore with Australian Ross Clarke-Jones winning the $50,000 first-place check.
The event is held only when a huge swell hits Waimea Bay during the winter waiting period. That has happened only four times in 15 years.
Last Friday, with waves reaching 20 feet on the Hawaiian scale (35- to 40-foot faces), an invitation-only group of 24 of the world’s best big-wave surfers went at it. Surfers had the chance to surf two rounds, with their four best rides totaled to determine placing.
Clarke-Jones, 34, had the two highest-scoring rides of the day, 91 and 92 points out of 100, and finished with 319. Hawaiian Shane Dorian was second with 292. Six-time world champion Kelly Slater was fifth.
EVEREST TALES
Sierra Club mountain climber Randall Danta will narrate a slide show of an amazing day on Mt. Everest Tuesday in Mission Viejo.
Danta was among an international team of 14 that forged a route up Everest on May 12, 1993, paving the way for a record 30 climbers to reach the summit in a single day.
Danta will recount his experiences trekking to base camp, climbing through the ice blocks of the Khumbu icefall, braving the elements in the upper camps and making the push to the highest spot on the planet.
Tuesday’s free slide show will be featured at a meeting of the Sierra Club’s South Orange County group, the Sierra Sage, at the Unitarian/Universalist Church of South County, 25801 Obrero Drive, Mission Viejo. For more information call (949) 661-9505.
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Staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this report.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
BICYCLING
Saturdays
* Orange Coast Velo cycling club meets at Worthy Park, 17th and Main Street in Huntington Beach. Rides vary from 25 to 50-plus miles and begin at 7:30 a.m. with periodic regrouping and rest stops. After-ride socializing at Noah’s Bagels on Main Street. For further information call Jerry, (714) 960-4214, or Peter (714) 848-7618.
* Orange County Wheelmen training, 8 a.m., Food Park, MacArthur and Main, Irvine. Beginner and intermediate training group will ride and stay as a group. Informal lectures will cover stretching, nutrition and hill climbing. Led by Fred and Peg Bauer, (714) 997-0892.
* Bicycle Club of Irvine rides, 9 a.m., meet at Deerfield Park, Irvine. Three routes, 10-15, 15-25 and 25-35 miles, each with a stop midway for breakfast. Rides finish at about 11:30 a.m. Ride leaders Scott and Sandy Angle, (714) 960-4068.
* Velo Allegro Cycling Club meets at 8 a.m. at Long Beach Marina off Second Street for 24-mile ride at 14-18 mph pace. Those with paceline experience meet at 7:30 a.m. for warmup and speed training of up to 50 miles. Details: Julio, (562) 988-8117.
RUNNING
Jan. 28
* Pacific Shoreline Marathon starts and finishes near the Huntington Beach Pier. Also includes half marathon and 5K runs. Details: (949) 766-1428 or (714) 536-3525.
SAILING
Today and Jan. 26
* Orange Coast College’s School of Sailing and Seamanship is holding a two-part seminar, the “Extraordinary Voyage of Ernest Shackleton,” presented by Dave Grant, the college’s president emeritus. Grant will show footage of Shackleton’s failed 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition and subsequent struggle for survival. Fee for the two two-hour seminars is $11 and reservations recommended. Details: (949) 645-9412.
ADVENTURE TRAVEL
Jan. 29
* REI’s Santa Ana store presents “Winter in the Backcountry: Snowshoeing, Ice Climbing and Backcountry Skiing.” Three REI outdoor adventurers will discuss gear, clothing selection, basic technique and local destinations and an ice climbing slide show. 11 a.m. Details: (714) 543-4142.
