History and Rules
History: In 2005, when Ray Boylston from Wake County, NC was at Emerald Isle, NC, he grew weary of playing the traditional bocce ball in the hot beach sand and wanted more excitement. Ray thought about trying a new type of game when the tide was low and the sand was firm, to roll 3 balls into 3 holes with a small trench behind them to catch the balls and keep them from rolling down to the water. Hence, Bowl In The Hole was created. Not long after, he decided to dig a set of the holes about 13 to 14 paces apart so you could simply walk down after rolling, pick up your balls, and roll back in the opposite direction with 3 balls per player.
Ray developed rules and scoring that have had only minor alterations over the years. These rules have since been finalized and proven to be the best in terms of competition and time to complete a game. Bowl In The Hole is a simple game with easy scorekeeping rules, even for those consuming adult beverages. A few years later, Ray became friends with Mark Wilson who enhanced the game by developing a convenient traveling case making it easier to carry the balls to the beach. The case also has caps that are great for digging the holes and trench or a small firm plastic shovel will work fine. Ray and Mark are frequent players and enjoy sharing the fun of the game with family and friends. They are now partnering in the company.
Once the court is set up (it takes only 8-10 minutes), you will have hours of fun playing the game. It won’t be long before you are addicted to the game and want to play it every time you visit the beach. You can play singles (one on one) or doubles (two on two). On average, a game takes about 15-20 minutes to compete depending on the skill level of the participants.
Court Setup Instructions: See the diagram of the court below (Note: it is best if court is developed on the firmest of sand at or around low tide):
Optional Court Idea: You can also build a six-inch mound on the inland side of the back hole for also having a chance of your ball rolling up the hill and coming back into a hole. This technique tends to speed up the time it takes to reach 21 points.
Scoring Instructions:
• 1 point for ball(s) in the front holes
• 2 points for ball(s) in back hole
• 1 bonus point for all 3 balls in any holes
• 2 bonus points if all 3 balls in back hole - called a “Loggerhead Roll” which totals 8 points
• 2 bonus points if one ball in each hole – called a “Trifecta” which totals 8 points
• Youngest player is first to roll
• The first player rolls all three of his or her balls, followed by the next player rolling all three of his or her balls; no alternating
• After first roll, the player with the most points on each roll is first to roll on next roll
• First player to reach 21 points wins: however, if the first roller reaches 21 points or higher, the second roller will still get to roll to exceed the opponents score
• You determine if you play single games, best of 3 games, best of 5 games, etc, with the next player or couple taking on the winner in the next game
PLEASE REMEMBER TO FILL IN YOUR HOLES & TRENCHES PRIOR TO LEAVING THE BEACH. LEAVING HOLES IS NOT ONLY DANGEROUS TO PEDESTRIANS BUT ALSO TO YOUNG SEA TURTLE HATCHLINGS ON THEIR WAY TO THE OCEAN.