The Bournemouth Bowling Club, founded in 1903, is the forerunner of all the clubs within the Bournemouth & District Bowling Association.

In 1901 a Bournemouth councillor visited Scotland where he first encountered the Game of Bowls. He spent the majority of his holiday that year learning and playing the game. On his return he persuaded the local Croquet club to release one of their playing areas for one Friday afternoon per fortnight. Within 3 months there were more than 50 regular players and this equated to half the Croquet membership. In January 1903 permission was granted for the second croquet area to be re-designated as a "proper" bowling green. Thus Bournemouth Bowling club was born! The cost, unbelievably, was less than £200.00.
To celebrate this, the then Council sponsored the first event - an open tournament that attracted 23 entries.
From this small beginning the world -renowned Bournemouth Open Tournament was established and today Bournemouth bowling club remains its Headquarters.