The Delivery at Lawn Bowls: Creating a Distinct Stare Point on your Aim Line

Apparently, most bowlers choose their aim line by looking for an aim point on or behind the forward bank. I also gauge the bias for my delivery using such a distant point, but then I go further and imagine a line from that point back to the centre of the mat and choose as my stare point a spot on that imaginary line about 5 metres in front of the mat line. I do this so that when I release my bowl I can clearly see whether I have managed to roll my bowl over that chosen stare point or whether I have been either wide or narrow of it. Based on where my bowl ends up I then know, when it is an unacceptable result, whether that poor result arose because I missed my stare point or alternatively because my stare point was itself just incorrect!

This post is directed to those who use a stare point that is close to the mat like I do. 

I have found that my consistency in rolling my bowl over a stare point about 5 metres in front of the mat line is improved if there is a real visible mark at that spot. A well-maintained green does not have many clearly visible marks on it; however, there are two ways that even a single mark on the rink can be used.

First, if there is a mark about 5 metres out but it does not fall on your aim line, moving your foot position on the mat can sometimes bring that spot onto your aim line and it can become your stare point. This is illustrated by (A) in the Figure.

The second method is more flexible. Suppose you can see a clearly visible mark on the green but it is too far forward to work as your stare point. When you get possession of the mat you can move the mat so that this visible stare point, your aim point on or beyond the front ditch, and the centre of the mat line fall on a straight line. This is illustrated by (B) in the Figure.

Using one of these tricks can make your stare point visible.