Backstory: Bowling on real lanes

The sport may well have roots here, too. A museum curator in Ireland, in response to a query from Powell, wrote that it is "highly likely" that Union or Confederate troops of Irish origin played road bowling as a diversion during the Civil War.

Even Powell, however, was surprised how quickly the sport caught on in West Virginia. The state's calendar of weekend festivals – Gold Dollar Days, Buckwheat Festival, the Carp Festival – has perfect venues for holding tournaments. This year's Irish Spring Festival drew more than 200 bowlers.

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Part of road bowling's popularity is rooted in its accessibility and conviviality. It's easy to pick up – and relaxed enough that this reporter joined a team without a single practice throw. Doing it well, of course, is another matter. My first bowl went off the road after 20 feet. I congratulated myself on not tossing it straight up or letting it go too early – common mistakes for rookies – and then proceeded to do just that several bowls later. Fortunately, I improved as we proceeded down the road, stopping periodically to wave cars by. My teammates seemed more interested in socializing and enjoying the crystalline day than setting any course records.

We passed weathered barns, cows, and a cornucopia of flowers, and the tournament – in which teams move along as soon as they bowl – at times seemed more like a family pickup game than an organized sport. Which is the way many players like it.

We hit the end of the 1.5-mile course in about an hour (36 bowls for my team, 25 for the winners) and headed to a nearby house for a barbecue. "Anyone who comes out and has never bowled before can learn a few general rules and play the game," says Shannon Gear, president of the West Virginia association. "But if you want to be competitive, you can."

A few West Virginia bowlers have warmed to the challenge. The "Quad S" team from Horseshoe Run plays six miles every weekend, and practiced for six weeks before showing up at the first tournament last year – and winning. The players all wear homemade orange jerseys.

"It's cheap exercise," says Guy Wayne Shaffer, a welder, who practices by throwing bowls in the parking lot at work. The Quad S men often play with their families: They once had a 2-year-old and a 92-year-old in the same game.

This year's North American Regional Championship (something of a misnomer, since the only participants are from Boston, New York, and West Virginia) will be played on the Turkey Run course. West Virginia will be represented by Travis Craig and Jerod Putnam, childhood friends from the town of Ireland. They'll compete in the Novice II category against more experienced native-Irish players from Boston and New York, but hope to make it to the international event overseas. "That's the goal this year," says Mr. Putnam, a logger who started bowling because it was fun, but now is driven by the "competition.

At this point, the sport is still carefree here: Tournaments cost nothing, state rankings are an unofficial list compiled by Powell, and there are no referees. Powell has started awarding trophies and cash prizes, but is wary of making everything too official. "It's almost like two games," he says. "One is intense, every shot is important. The other, everyone is out rolling, laughing, having fun. What we do is a little bit of both."

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