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Sunday, October 13, 2024

Knowing How to Drive is Crucial to Avoid Being Defeated by Long Jacks


The most popular strategy in lawn bowls is to consistently play long ends. The smallest deficiency in a person’s bowling delivery is exaggerated when the shot that must be played is a heavy one. Moreover, many bowlers just don’t have the physical strength to bowl one long end after another.

The best defense is to get very good at rolling the jack very short and getting very good at drawing to very short jacks, to keep possession of the mat so you can make most ends short. But there is another element to this strategy that is too frequently ignored.


No matter how skilled your side may be sometimes your opponents will get the closest bowls. On these occasions, you must be able to dependably deliver a weighted shot to break up that head.


This is how to get it right!


First, delivering a weighted shot that disrupts a head does not demand great strength. When they try to break up a head, even a head only 21-23 meters beyond the mat, as the ones we are talking about will be, most players swing too hard. The bowl then misses and finishes in the forward ditch. You should deliver the bowl that will disrupt a short end with the weight required to travel somewhere between 27- 32 meters, whatever is comfortable for you, BUT that weight, whatever you choose, must be precise and consistent.


Second, you must study, before you need the information, by what fraction you must narrow your normal draw angle so it crosses the center line at a distance of 21-23 beyond the mat. depending on the surface this will be between 1/3 and 1/4 of your normal draw angle.


And Third, least appreciated and the cause of most failures, you must walk off the mat following your bowl. This is important because it forces you to keep your body weight moving smoothly forward along your aim line and eliminates any jerkiness that would throw off your line as you release the bowl. 


 Even with normal draw shots, I try to remember to walk off the mat but it is the most frequent element of my delivery that I forget. When delivering a weighted shot to a short jack it is crucial to not forget

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Delivering a Useful Back Bowl is at least Five Times Easier than a Useful Blocke



Recently I wrote a Greenbowler blog article on the subject of making block shots easier. Afterward, in some practice sessions following this advice, wherein I assessed whether these attempts actually provided the protection sought, I discovered that only a small percentage of the blocking bowls I tried delivering were effective.


On the other hand, putting in strategically placed back bowls was at least five times easier than bowling a successful block shot.


Covering the respotting position ( on the center line two meters out from the forward ditch )seemed to be the action of choice if the opposition otherwise would have the closest bowl there.


In addition, I found an unexpected advantage in delivering any back bowls that were aimed to finish midway between the centre line and one of the boundaries. When delivering these, I sometimes found that the draw needed to reach these locations was quite different from what I would have guessed. This information would prove useful in playing to displaced jacks later in a match!


Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Block Shots Made Easier







Delivering an effective block shot is one of the most difficult skills in playing lawn bowls. One reason: the target is not a real visible object. One is trying to place a bowl onto an opponent’s bowl path which is an approximate and imaginary curve. There are two ways to make delivering a block shot somewhat easier.


Skip/Vice Stand at the Target Location


The Laws of the Sport of Bowls do state that placing an object onto the green to guide a bowler’s delivery is not allowed (Section 34) but this does not mean that the person directing the head cannot stand anywhere he/she wants on the rink (Section 12.1.3). It is only specified that once a bowl has been delivered that person must immediately withdraw to a position behind the head. Therefore, the Greenbowler recommends that the person directing play should first visualize the path that the expected opposition bowl is likely to take when it attacks the head and then stand, with heels together and toes apart as pictured above, at the exact spot the bowl is needed, as a target for the bowler at the mat. Then, when the bowl is released the person directing the play should immediately and directly move back behind the head. In this way delivering a block shot becomes no more difficult than drawing to a displaced jack because the target spot has been made visible!


Place Your Blocker at One or the Other of Just Two Lengths


An effective block shot can work at any position along the opponent’s bowling arc from mat to head; however, the shot is easier to deliver if it is delivered with a weight that is as reproducible as possible. Furthermore, a blocking shot is more obtrusive the closer it is to the mat, but to still be a live bowl, a bowl must travel a minimum of 14 meters “from the center of the mat line” ( Section 17.1.3 ).


The Greenbowler recommends that the first distance that should be attempted is just a bit over 14 meters. This distance is reproducibly achieved on many Canadian rinks by taking a stance with the foot positions as they would be after the stepping in a normal draw shot and then pushing the bowl firmly forward but with no backswing. That is to say with neither any stepping forward nor elevation of the bowl to accelerate it. The only momentum delivered to the bowl will be the arm push. With only that one element contributing to the weight, consistency is easier and the required length can be achieved.


The second distance the Greenbowler recommends for a block shot is 21 meters, which is the distance to the hog line in Canada. In other countries, the hog line may be at 23 meters and then that should be the target distance.

The person directing the head should stand, heels together and toes apart as illustrated, at the spot where the imagined path of the opponent’s bowl and the hog line intersect. The bowler on the mat should visualize a path (usually choosing the inside-out path) from the mat to where the person directing the head is standing and then bowl with the same weight as for a jack at the minimum distance. Once the bowl is released the person directing the head must promptly move back behind the head.


Who and When


It is the skip or the person directing the head who decides, first, that a block shot should be played and second, which delivery, forehand or backhand, draw, running shot, or drive the block shot should attempt to impede. A block shot should not even be contemplated unless it is pretty clear what the opponent is likely to do. 

Saturday, June 29, 2024

Getting Weight Right: Standing on the Aim Line 2/3 of the Way to the Jack





I have discovered a way to avoid short bowling by my lawn bowling team members. I do not understand why it works but it does seem to work with a variety of different subjects.


To do it you must learn the correct aim line for the bowler you wish to assist. The easiest way to do this is to make some deliveries with that team member’s bowls and compare the draw with your own.


Then sand at a spot on that aim line, 2/3 of the way from the front of the mat to the jack, and ask the bowler on the mat to bowl at you. For some mysterious reason, the bowl gets delivered with weight appropriate to get it to the position of the jack!


I don’t know why this works but I can hypothesize. The bowler senses that at least a certain velocity is needed to take the bowl to you along the aim line without substantial bending away and that is quite a good approximation to the velocity required for the bowl to curve towards the center line and arrive at the jack. 


 That is to say, your request asks two things of the bowler:


  1. Bowl along the proper aim line, and
  2. Bowl with sufficient weight that the bowl does not curve away from me very much


These two demands actually indirectly define the perfect draw path. The bowl must start out on the required aim line and it must not curve to any substantial degree until it is 2/3 to 3/5 of the way down the rink!


If you adopt this methodology in a match the opposing skip may claim that your positioning is illegal and the rules require that you at all times stand behind the head. This is not correct. The applicable rule from The Laws of the Sport of Bowls Crystal Mark Fourth Edition is:


12.1.3  As soon as a bowl is delivered, a player who is controlling play from a position that is either level with or in front of the jack, must take their position as described in law 12.1.2.


12.1.2  Players at the head-end of the rink and who are not controlling play must stand: 

12.1.2.1 behind the jack if they are members of the team which is in possession of the rink; 

12.1.2.2 behind the jack and away from the head if they are members of the team which is not in  possession of the rink; 

12.1.2.3 on the surrounds of the green if the jack is in the ditch; or

12.1.2.4 well clear of the head if it is not possible to stand on the surrounds.

This means that once the bowl, whose play you are controlling, is released you are required to move immediately to a position behind the jack and then, once that bowl stops, away from the head. 


Wednesday, June 26, 2024

When You Need a Big End to Win a Set and You have the Last Bowl

 


I am not of set play at lawn bowls. Set play was devised to make the game more suitable for television broadcasting. When there is no such media necessity, I see no reason why we should abandon the traditional 21 up game.


But, if the authorities select set play and with repotting centered on the forward T of any jack out of bounds, then strategy should be directed to take advantage of these rules.


At set play, it doesn’t matter by how much you lose a set. When your side is behind by more than 1 point going into the last end you should play to do whatever is required to position yourself to win. If you fail it doesn’t matter by how much you lose.


Your object is to get a multiple in the end. To achieve that you need to retain the maximum number of ways this can happen.Having the last bowl in the final end is the better situation when you need a multiple to win or tie.


The opposition has the choice of mat position and can try for a preferred jack length. If the mat is taken up the rink to try for a short jack get ready to ask for a measure to see whether the jack has been rolled the requisite length. An extraordinary outcome would be if your side gets the jack back (if so see the close by blog article).


Another possibility is that they try for a long jack. If you see the opposition placing the mat at the 2 meter line say out loud, “Here comes that long jack.”  The idea is convey the idea that your worst nightmare is a very long jack. Actually, what you would like the opposition to do would be to ditch the jack or throw it out of bounds so your side could choose the mat position and jack length.


Once the mat position and jack length are settled the bowl deliveries begin. Your goal is to be in a position where you can secure the required multiple with your last bowl. Hopefully this can be done with a simple draw but often this will not be enough. If your deliveries are not very close to the jack they should be grouped together and behind the jack. Be particularly careful to get enough length because short bowls most likely won’t finish in the count.


When it comes down to your last bowl you need to:


  • Draw to the jack if that will win or tie the end as needed
  • Displace an opposition bowl if that will give you the required multiple
  • Trail the jack to a grouping of your bowls if that will give you the required multiple
  • Knock the jack out of bounds if that will give you the required multiple
  • Push the jack into the ditch if that will give you the required multiple


No matter how difficult the shot that will give you the required multiple, there is no point in playing a simpler shot that even if successful will be insufficient.

When You Need a Big End to Win a Set and You have the Mat

 

I am not a fan of set play at lawn bowls. Set play was devised to make the game more suitable for television broadcasting. When there is no such media necessity, I see no reason why we should abandon the traditional 21-up game.


But if the authorities select set play and repotting of any jack out of bounds centered on the forward T, then, strategy should be directed to take advantage of these rules.


At set play, it doesn’t matter by how much you lose a set. When your side is behind by more than 1 point going into the last end you should play to at least tie the set. If you fail it doesn’t matter by how much you lose.


Your object is to get a multiple in the end. To achieve that you need to retain the maximum number of ways this can happen. You have the mat in this scenario but your opposition has the last bowl. Your goal is to have at least the required shots to tie the set when your opponent comes to the mat to deliver the last bowl.


To retain the most chances for this to occur you need a short jack and you need to have the respot position about 2 meters behind this jack. To do this you should place the mat about 5 meters behind the closer hog line and deliver the jack to about 2 meters in front of the forward respot position.


You play the end as best you can trying to score in the usual way. If the opposition delivers a very close bowl you should prepare to remove it but you do not need to try the removal immediately. All your side’s bowls need to be behind the jack either scoring or as potential catchers.


The idea is that when your side comes to its final bowl you want to have several alternative tactics:


  • Remove their closest bowl for the required multiple
  • Trail the jack for the required multiple
  • Knock the jack out of bounds with repotting for the required multiple
  • Pushing the jack into the ditch for the required multiple
  • Draw the shot for the required multiple

No matter how difficult the shot that will give you the required multiple, there is no point in playing a simpler shot that even if successful will be insufficient.


Then you must just cross your fingers and hope the opposition's last bowl doesn’t destroy your work.


Remember that if you are playing the first set or if you have already won the first set, all you need is a tie.

Monday, June 24, 2024

The Disadvantages of Lawn Bowling from a Fixed Stance

 


No top-flight lawn bowler that I have seen, either professional or on a national team’s squad, bowls from a fixed stance. By fixed stance, I mean delivering a bowl without taking a step forward of some length- small or large.  This suggests to me that this technique has some inherent disadvantages that cannot be completely overcome even by relentless practice.


Not all bowlers who use a fixed stance exhibit all the disadvantages and all of these bowlers do deliver many excellent shots. The problem comes from the inherent disadvantages of the technique causing increased inconsistency.


The first difficulty is that a fixed stance almost completely curtails the opportunity to contribute the body’s momentum to any shot. Every delivery depends upon arm strength for all the velocity transferred to the bowl. For this reason, extra effort is required to reach long jack placements.

Nevertheless, fixed stance bowlers often have excellent arm strength, so if you are trying to take advantage of this potential problem do it at least at the end of a match or even better at the end of a full day of bowling.


The second shortcoming of fixed stance bowling is less obvious but cannot be overcome with strength. For a bowler who takes a stride as part of a delivery, the pendulum arc of that bowl has a greater amplitude than for a fixed stance delivery. By this I mean the length of the horizontal traverse of the bowl, from the top of the backswing to the point of release of the bowl from the hand, is longer for the person who takes a step. The increase in horizontal traverse corresponds to the length of the step. The result of this difference is that for any given deviation of the backswing away from the backward extension of the aim line, the error in bowling angle is less for the bowler who steps forward.


The result is that the bowler who takes a step makes smaller errors in the angle of delivery. This difference is most consequential in delivering to short jacks because with the necessarily shortened backswing, any step is a greater part of the horizontal traverse and the step contributes more to overall angle accuracy. So to take advantage of an opponent's fixed-stance delivery deliver short jacks!


I have tried to illustrate this in the Figure above wherein the fixed-stance bowler is right-handed and the stepping bowler left-handed to keep them out of each other's way in the figure. Each is trying to bowl the same line and each has the same magnitude error in the backswings.