Golf or Lawn Bowling? . . . It’s a Major League Dilemma

“I must ask,” writes Suzanne B. Carpenter of Balboa Island, “what has come of your new interest with the game of golf? Granted your approach is a bit bizarre. I doubt that the great golfers of the world planned their games around a ‘Good Eats’ place that is close to the links.”

Carpenter refers to my recent account of having breakfast at a diner called EAT beside the first green of the Los Feliz Golf Course, a pretty little three-par course on Los Feliz Boulevard in Glendale.

I was breakfasting with my friends Duke and Shirley Russell, and the proximity of the tee to the diner’s terrace sparked a reawakening of my interest in playing golf.

I received several invitations to play golf at various courses with various people, but strangely I received more invitations to try lawn bowling. I had no idea that there were so many bowling greens in Southern California and that the sport’s adherents were so gung-ho.

I have an idea that I was considered a fair prospect for bowls because it is thought of as a game for older persons. However, my correspondents assured me that it is enjoyed by young and old alike.

“Soon,” wrote George B. Seitz Jr., chairman of the greens and parks committee of the Holmby Park Lawn Bowling Club, “you’ll discover that lawn bowling is a young person’s game that older persons (even golfers) can play.”

That was good to know. I certainly do not want to take up a sport simply because it is thought suitable for seniors. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that I was playing basketball.

“Its appeal is broad as well as deep,” wrote Brig. Gen. Jack Williams, USMC (ret.). “Within my acquaintance, bowls is played by cobblers and carpenters; by admirals and actuaries; by generals and journalists; by the young and the not-so-young, male and female. Surely you belong in there somewhere.” (Well, yes.)

Dick Cole invited me to stop by the Pasadena Lawn Bowling Club, in Central Park, for a free lesson. I stopped by one morning after my workout at the Pasadena Athletic Club. No one was on the greens. Ralph Kennon, president of the club, was there to supervise some maintenance work in the clubhouse.

He got out some bowling balls and a jack and gave me a lesson. A jack is a white ball somewhat larger than a golf ball that is rolled up the rink to serve as a target. The object of the game is to roll your bowl closest to the jack. This is made more difficult by the fact that the balls bulge a bit on one side. One must learn to compensate for this bias. I bowled two balls. They missed the jack by several feet. That pleased me. I do not want to get into a game that is too easy. One must always have room for improvement.

A couple of mornings later I dropped by to watch the regulars bowl. They were both men and women. They wore leisure clothes with rubber-soled shoes and seemed to be having a good time. One or two were experts. Their balls went wide then curved back in toward the jack with uncanny accuracy. I was encouraged.

I am still torn, though, between bowls and golf. I did notice that there was no diner next to the bowling greens. I also dropped in at the Arroyo Seco par-three golf course not far from my home on Mt. Washington. James Harrington of Glendale had written that “the greens are kept in tip-top shape, it has its own driving range, a miniature golf course, a 19th hole and a cafe with the best and prettiest waitresses in town.” I had a tuna melt in the cafe. The waitress indeed was pretty. However, I’m not sure that my back and legs are strong enough for golf.

But I am tempted, especially by a letter from Jill Slavin, who identifies herself as a professional instructor at Encino-Balboa Golf Course in Encino.

“I am going to make you an offer you cannot refuse,” she says. “How would you like a tall, long-legged, warm, friendly, fun-loving, sexy red-haired woman to personally, and very gently, introduce you to the wonderful world of eagles, birdies and pars?. . . .

“Not only will you be learning to play golf, but you’ll be able to live out your fantasies as well. As you probably know, more women are learning to play golf than ever before. . . . And being out in the sunshine, away from telephones, traffic, work and other distractions, I guarantee you’ll feel at least 40 years younger than you really are. Forget lawn bowling, Jack. . . .”

You can see my dilemma. I am attracted to bowling as described by Gen. Williams. On the other hand I’m seriously tempted by Ms. Slavin’s invitation.

I’m waiting now to see if lawn bowls makes a counter offer.