The Delivery at Lawn Bowls: Bowling to the Shoulder

Aim for the Shoulder

Playing lawn bowls, I have never understood one recommended method for choosing a stare point. Many instructions teach to aim for the ‘shoulder.’ The shoulder is the point on the bowl’s anticipated path where it starts to significantly bend in towards the jack.  This point is advised as being 2/3rds to 3/5ths of the distance between mat and jack. The reason I have been unable either to understand or benefit from this teaching is that, as I understand it, the bias is acting all the way down the rink (with effect inversely proportional to the speed) and so if one aims at this so defined 'shoulder' your delivery must go narrow.

Why this May be Taught

I now have a hypothesis for why this method is taught.

It has been said with good reason that bowling is 90% length control and only 10% line control, so if aiming at the shoulder only causes an error of ½ meter (1/4 of the half-width of the rink), this technique will still give the best overall result if it can improve your estimate of length by ½ meter. This only requires an improvement of [ ½/23]X100 which is just 2%. But why would this method of aiming improve length at all? I can hypothesize a potential reason. This method may take into account the jack length better.

If you take a stare point 5 meters out from the mat, as I do, then during the delivery motion one’s only knowledge of the jack position is in one’s immediate short-term memory. Similarly, if you stare at a point on the front bank you are also not looking at the jack. If you see the jack at all it is only at the periphery of your field of vision. In contrast, staring at the shoulder of your intended delivery does present a good proxy for the jack position. That is, its distance away is always the same fraction of the jack length. Consequently, during delivery, you are being fed a reminder of the correct jack length. So, according to this hypothesis, you might be more likely to deliver the proper length. 

I think that there is a price to pay for this method of aiming. In another blog, I explain that if one aims using a stare point about 5 meters in front of the mat, it is easy to determine whether a poor bowl was caused by (a) missing your stare point or (b) choosing an improper stare point. If you missed your stare point on the inside, this will explain finishing narrow; if you missed outside, it is the explanation for your finishing with a wide bowl. Consequently, there is insufficient reason to believe that your stare point is the problem. On the other hand, if you did successfully roll your bowl over your stare point; then, if you miss narrow or wide, the problem is with the position of your stare point. This determination is easier with a stare point 5 meters or less in front of you since it will be blatantly obvious whether the bowl rolled over that exact spot. If you are looking 2/3rds to 3/5ths the way down the rink to the jack, it is not so easy to determine the difference between just missing your line or having the wrong line. 

P.S.

Whether you choose a stare point at the 5 meter length or at the shoulder has another consequence. The further down the rink your stare point is, the more erect your bowling stance needs to be to prevent neck strain, particularly if you wear corrective lenses.

P.P.S.

It is the "theoretical shoulder" that one should use as stare point. As explained in another blog, the "theoretical shoulder is the same distance down the rink as the actual shoulder but is on your aim line.