The Delivery at Lawn Bowls: Weight Consistency and Line Consistency All in One Magical Step

I have achieved a quantum leap in my lawn bowling performance that has not been matched by anything since I adopted the Shooters’ Stance several years ago.

Here it is. Clear and simple. Look at my diagram (I am left handed-so you will have to adjust for right-handed delivery).

From the Shooters’ Stance, I select a stare point about 5 meters in front of the mat line on my aim line. Nev Rodda in his second video explains that the Shooters’ Stance teaches that you should ‘aim’ with your forward stepping foot.  What I have found is that you don’t just generally point that foot along your aim line, you carefully point it precisely at your stare point and when you step you step out placing that advancing foot right on the line running to that stare point. Then, two good things happen. First, your bowl passes more consistently over that stare point, and second, more amazingly, because your advancing foot is completely aligned with the stare point your body smoothly rocks forward. Your weight transfers smoothly first to your heel, then the ball, and then the toes of that foot as you walk off the mat. The result is remarkably improved weight control!

Previously, I was stepping forward but my foot was sometimes not properly pointed. The result was that I couldn’t smoothly roll my body weight forward into the delivery so I got a varying contribution of body momentum for each shot. This meant I couldn’t control the initial velocity of my bowl.

There is more good news! Because line and length are so much improved my confidence is over the top and this allows me to think authentically positively about the outcome of every shot and when you believe you can do it, you just do it!