If You Accept that Length is More Important than Line, You Should Take the Mat in the First End

I

In the first end of most lawn bowling matches in Ontario, Canada, there there are no trial ends.  Everything about the rinkmay be unknown. as a consequence, your first bowl is  least likely to end up as a counter. Still, because many experts believe that length is 9 times more important than line, you should take the mat and bowl the jack because delivering the jack will give you an good idea of the best opening weight. A bowl rolled with the same velocity as and immediately following the jack almost certainly will end up behind the jack and even if you misjudge the line badly your bowl will be in place to catch a displaced jack. Moreover, because the proper line is not yet known by either side, narrow bowls are more likely in this opening end and it is narrow bowls that can knock the jack backwards.