The Bowls Shot You Can Only Make on Slow Greens

Suppose you want to set a blocker against a normal draw shot. The minimum length you must deliver a bowl is 14 meters measured from the center front of the mat to the bowls location. The closer an intended blocker is to that 14 meters the more space it effectively protects; therefore, you most preferably want to deliver a block shot the minimum distance but still in the normal path of the opponent’s anticipated shot. At the same time, you do not want to risk sending your intended blocker out of bounds.

When the mat is set at two meters from the back ditch on a fast green you probably need an aim point at least as wide as the number on the adjacent rink, then  the optimal position for a blocker is very close to the side boundary and so it is too risky to attempt. (See the red line in the picture.)

In contrast, when the mat is set at two meters from the back ditch on a slow green where you need to choose an aim point no wider than the front side boundary marker, then there is little risk in delivering a bowl that is about 14 meters out and still in the path of your opponent’s anticipated draw shot (the green line).

This consideration does not apply to defending heavier run-through shots or drives. Because these aggressive shots are delivered with much narrower lines there is much less risk in setting short blockers against them. 

Avoiding Big Ends Against at Lawn Bowls

A bowls match is often lost because of one big end. Suppose you can foresee the onset of such an end; can you do something to mitigate it or reduce its probability?

I think you can. A big end against you occurs most often when:
Your lead bowls more than one short bowl
Your lead doesn’t get any bowls within 4 feet of the jack
You are shot but they have two or more seconds
You have no bowls in the head and your vice is erratic
What can you do? Stop your bowler when he or she steps on the mat with the stop sign. Signal that you need a bowl in the head. Signal for special concentration. Indicate the safer hand. The beauty of team bowls is that an indication of a critical situation is not a criticism of the bowler on the mat because it is not he or she that caused it. For this reason it does not increase anxiety it just urges more intense and better concentration and delivers better bowls when they are needed most.
What your side does not want to do is just leave it up to the skipper to get the side out of trouble. That is always possible but the solution needs to start before those last bowls.