How No Dead Ends Changes Bowls

At one of the lawn bowling clubs to which I belong, we have, since 2013, implemented the rule that there would be no dead ends. If the jack is knocked out of play it will be centered two meters from the front ditch and play will go on. As usual, if the bowl that knocked out the jack ends up in the ditch within the boundaries of the rink it will be a toucher.  The professionals use multiple re-spot positions in their sets play, but this adds additional work setting up the rink before play begins.

This rule change increases the probability that a drive will have a successful outcome because the drive bowl will very likely end up in the ditch or very near the repositioned jack. Bowling to short jacks becomes even more complex because there is now a new possibility to evaluate. Back bowls have a heightened importance and the bowl(s) closest to the re-spot position(s) can be most important of all.

If a very close bowl becomes shot against you, playing no dead ends the odds are improved for the tactic of simply starting to accumulate back bowls near the respot position(s) if your skip is skilled at driving. Hitting the jack, which formerly just blanked the end, can now win big for your team if you have several well-placed back bowls.

As a corollary, where re-spot is implemented, the block shot can be expected to become more important. This should be true particularly on slower greens where bowling angles are narrower. In these cases, once a bowl has been placed close up to the jack, the team that owns that fortunate bowl may be more induced to try to place block shots to dissuade the opposition from driving to get a re-spot. The alternative is to match back bowls early on once a good draw shot has been obtained.  Your back bowls perhaps should be near the re-spot position(s). This is called 'running for cover'.

This rule change will also impact another popular form of lawn bowls. Under re-spot rules, the drive will become part of the 4-3-2-1 game, because a re-spotted jack can completely change the count; for example taking a player from a shutout position to dominance in an end. Prepare for some long measures!