Instead, on Saturday, Edwards will line up for his 500th division one pennant game for his beloved Bendigo East Bowling Club.

The 36-year veteran is no stranger to milestones. 

His 500th division one game comes just 14 games after he played his 500th club game, underscoring his brisk progression from the ranks of division seven - or C2 as it was referred to in those days -in 1981 to division one the following year.

It's a mark of his consistency that Edwards has never been dislodged from the Magpies' top side in the years since and a feat of which he is quietly proud.

"I suppose I have always taken my bowls pretty seriously and practice when I can," he said.

"But playing at such a good club, we've had a lot of success.

"I've played 50 finals games and 18 grand finals - some blokes will never play in a grand final."

Edwards first game for the club was in then division seven against White Hills, under skipper John Wilson.

His resume includes a remarkable 12 pennant titles, meaning he has played in every one of Bendigo East's division one grand final successes.

Edwards said nothing much, save for another premiership win last March, had changed in-between his 500 game milestones.

The same could not be said about his time in the game.

"We all played in white when I started, half the people wore brown shoes and some of them even wore ties to play pennant," Edwards said.

"Everyone had a blazer they wore for photos or club events.

"All bowls were black and then they started adding brown ones and now every colour of the rainbow and even three or four different colours.

"Coloured shorts, coloured shorts ... coloured everything."

Edwards' introduction to bowls lends belief to the saying 'something good always comes out of something bad'. 

"My father-in-law died, he was a member here and I found his bowls in the back of the shed," he said.

"His son didn't want them, so I took them.

"I came over and practiced - it was a real novelty. It was largely unheard of for someone my age (33) to play bowls.

"Then another guy from the (Strathfieldsaye) shire where I worked, Ian Turk, he decided to join, so we were the two babies of the club."

Turk has since ditched bowls to focus on golf after 200-odd games of bowls, but Edwards remains a staple on the greens at Lansell Street.

He said he felt fortunate to play at a club like Bendigo East, where meticulous record keeping ensured milestones like his were identified on-time.

"Ken Gloster's effort in maintaining these player records is unbelievable," Edwards said.

Gloster, the club's records keeper and a pennant selector, said Edwards had never looked like being dropped from the division one team from the moment he joined.

"We only hope he will be in another division one pennat (flag) win this year," he said.

"It's a (huge) effort to play 500 division one games, especially in bowls, and especially these days when so many young people are playing the game.

"But Barry holds his form very well.

"Barry doesn't say very much, he doesn't get to the yelling stage like a lot of the division one's do, or bouncing down the greens slapping hands, he's one of the old school you could say."

Edwards will play his 500th game at Golden Square on Saturday, with the Magpies starting the round on top in their quest for back-to-back flags.