In the process, a friend suggested he start lawn bowling. Brady was not familiar with the sport, although he is originally from Australia, the country with more lawn bowlers than other.

Brady was game though and gave it a try, because it was an activity that both he and his wife, Helen, could participate in together. They became what he referred to as "social bowlers" and began to learn the game.

Three years ago his approach to the game took a significant turn when Helen invited him to join her in Walnut Creek, where she was scheduled to compete for the 2001 Pacific Intermountain Division (PIMD) Women's Singles Championship.

He went to serve as an umpire for the women, but was invited to compete in the men's bracket when it was one bowler short. Brady finished in third place in the division and the rest is history.

Now Brady is the PIMD's two-time men's singles champion. He recently won the 2004 event.

After bowling his way to the PIMD Men's Singles Championship in 2003, he earned him the right to compete in the U.S. Championships held in North Carolina for the title of U.S. Lawn Bowling Champion. Brady bowled against seven other division winners from across the country.

"I was a little nervous in North Carolina," Brady admitted. "I did not bowl as well as I could have."

He ended up winning three of four games and placed fourth in the nation. That experience stirred Brady's competitive juices. His victory this year marked the first time in 20 years that anyone has repeated as the PIMD singles champion.

This year Brady defeated champions from San Francisco, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Oakland, and Sunnyvale. The tournament featured the top 30 players in the division, which stretches from the Oregon border through the central valley of California.

Brady will be traveling to Sun City, Ariz. at the end of October to once again compete in the U.S. Championships. He knows what to expect this time and hopes those nerves will be a little more steady giving him a chance to vie for the title.

The two division championships have opened the door for another possibility. Because of his success, Brady now has a chance of making the U.S. international team which bowls against the best in Europe in the Olympiad of Lawn Bowling.

It's not all about competition for Brady though. He thoroughly enjoys the opportunities to meet other bowlers and the travels involved in competing.

Brady and his wife are members of and bowl out of the Bramhall Park Club in Willow Glen. Lawn bowling has proven to be fun for all ages. The San Jose club's members include men and women ranging in age from 12 to 96 years, according to club president Terry Hause.

Club members bowl year round, sometimes as much as three to four times a week, and compete in tournaments throughout California.

The game of lawn bowls is played on a grass green that looks like a golf putting green. The object of the game is for players to roll each of their bowls as close as possible to a single small white ball called a jack. The jack looks like a billiard ball. Bowls are not completely spherical, but have one side slightly flattened. This does not allow them to roll in a straight line, but in a sweeping arc.

A game begins with one player rolling the jack onto the green. Players then alternately roll four bowls each, which completes an end. The bowls may hit the jack or the opponent's bowls. Points are scored by having bowls closest to the jack at the completion of each end. Each game consists of 20 ends. Games are played between singles, doubles teams, and triples teams.

Brady has competed in tournaments across the U.S. and all over the world, traveling to Australia, Canada, Scotland, England, New Zealand, and China where he was on the first U.S. team to ever play there. The sport is popular around the world. It originated in Scotland and went wherever the British Empire expanded.

Next time you are at Bramhall Park in Willow Glen, take a few minutes and poke your head over the fence surrounding what looks like an oversized putting green. You may find something that is interesting and fun and leads you to unexpected adventures.

Ken Brady sure did.