I Can’t Even Accurately Estimate the Length of the Jack in Lawn Bowls

It takes a novice, like myself, several years to learn to control one’s body sufficiently to more often than not deliver a bowl with the proper grass, even on a perfectly level rink; however, in my opinion, this is child’s play compared to the difficulty of delivering with controlled weight. The fact is that standing on the mat I cannot even accurately estimate how many meters down the green the jack has been thrown. If my brain cannot determine that distance how can I instruct my muscles how much force to apply to my bowl? This inability to estimate the distance is more severe if I am playing on a middle rink. The closer I am to the edge of the green the easier it is to gauge the distance helped by looking at the closer side boundary. Often the edge of the green has its own calibration used when the bowling is proceeding cross-wise.

In this respect, the skip has an advantage over colleagues since when (s)he bowls (s)he knows from being at the head exactly where the jack sits. I would appreciate a skip who tells me (1) how many meters behind the hog line, or (2) in front of the front ditch, the jack is. On the occasions when I have asked, skips look at me quizzically or grudgingly. Sometimes they pace it off as if it was unnecessary information that I ought to acquire by myself. How can I be expected to deliver a bowl within a meter of the correct length without knowing that distance?

Perhaps this is a particular deficiency in me but what can I do to improve it or hasten the acquisition of this skill?


 

Again Remember--Plant that Forward Foot then Begin Your Swing

Whether just practicing or in a tournament the same problem recurs. I know what the correct line for delivering my bowl is, but I can’t seem to consistently hit it. It would be comforting if the solution were difficult and one had to investigate a long checklist to find the culprit. The truth is that 80% of the time it is the same thing. Why can’t I simply understand that it is the most import element of a precise delivery? Get that foot you step out with completely planted before you start the forward swing of the bowl. Then stare at your stare point and you will hit it!

I know I’ve written this before, but, if I can’t get myself to do it how can I expect another novice to keep it top of mind.

The Tested Advice of the Delivery Doctor

I tried the grip recommended by the Delivery Doctor in the video clip with the appended link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anEr9-wYtR0

It feels so much more comfortable! My wife, Tish, who is a first year novice bowler, also tried it. Our bowls hit their line more consistently and they ended up in a tighter group at the head! The advice seems to be easier to apply with narrow bowls with distinct grip circles on either side. Tish and I use Taylor Vector VS bowls but every manufacturer has narrow bowls. As the Doctor says you don’t want your thumb or little finger along the side of the bowl as 'training wheels'. You want the bowl to roll off your two middle fingers.

The conventional wisdom is that you want your index finger alone on the center of the running surface to be in contact with the bowl last. This does not seem to be best experimentally.