[thedoc (OP)]

Henry Duncan asked the Naked Scientists:
   A lawn bowls question. Bowls come in different sizes and weights The debate is : if the same force (delivering the bowl) is applied will the different size bowls end up at the same distance from point of delivery? What about balls of a different material eg a marble or tennis ball or a ping pong ball? Henry Duncan
What do you think?

[RD]

Thrown with "same force" and leaving the bowler's hand at the "same speed" are not equivalent. More muscle force will be required to make a heavier bowl leave the hand at the same speed as a lighter one.
At the same speed the heavier bowl will have more kinetic energy.

Once thrown, rolling friction & air friction will slow the bowl down.
If the goal is maximum-distance for rolling a solid ball of a specified diameter, on a given surface, with the same initial speed , there will be an optimum density for the material the ball is made from.

If the surface cannot be deformed, like a hard road , the denser the ball better ...

https://youtu.be/mQnZCOXNADA?t=1m28s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_road_bowling