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?
A healthy retiree discovers Lawn Bowls, a sport he can compete in for 20 years! After 12 years of playing year-round, he tells what seems to work. What doesn't. What can be changed quickly; what slowly, and what must be apparently left to chance.
I wrote this blog article eight years ago. It is now 2021. At the time I had just taken up bowls and it was a fair question. Starting bowlers must try to control length consciously; that is they need to know the distance and then they apply some algorithm to choose some height of backswing or length of step.
ReplyDeleteAfter about six years of practice and play one will not and should not think consciously about one's swing. Your subconscious knows how to bowl the correct weight so long as you have looked carefully at the jack and make sure your grooved delivery is smooth.