Learn from Paul Foster’s Bowls Delivery

After the 2019 World Indoor Bowls Championship, Paul Foster was ranked fourth in the world. It is interesting fo bowling enthusiasts to examine his delivery.

Stance

Foster bowls from the ‘shooters’ stance’. This style was first popularized by Nev Rodda in his blog. This is not to say that Rodda invented the stance although he certainly coined its name. All Rodda says is that he brought it to wider attention that top bowlers were using it.

The Greenbowler author has adopted the Shooters’ Stance himself.  

Foster is a tall man and he starts his on-mat delivery routine from the erect athletic stance. Once he has secured his grip, he holds his bowl hanging loosely at his side.

Grip

Paul’s grip is the classic claw grip. Furthermore, he does not bend his wrist in a scoop as recommended by New Rodda. His wrist remains straight, relaxed but locked.

Foster’s Opposite Hand Position

The ‘opposite hand’ refers to the hand that does not do the bowling. This hand in the cases of most bowlers participates very little in their deliveries.  His free hand never touches either his thigh or knee but moves from supporting his bowl when first standing on the mat to hanging loosely at his side during his swing.

 Foster’s Back-Swing

Foster has no backswing. As a consequence, he does not need to tuck his anchor knee in behind his forward heel because his anchor leg is well clear of his swinging arm. This is attributable to using the shooters’ stance. The bowl ends up next to his anchor leg’s knee as he strides forward; his bowling arm only moves down.

Forward Stepping

 Foster’s entire body moves forward with his bowl swing. His forward stepping foot first contacts the bowling surface heel first and then he rocks forward onto his toes. The bowl is not released until his advancing foot is solidly grounded as is the case with all top bowlers.

Both his draws and drives use the exact technique of the ‘running shot.’ Greenbowler has completed blog articles covering the running shot and comparing it with the yard-on and drive shots. For clarity, I will quote the pertinent part from one of those articles:

“The delivery of the running shot begins with the delivery arm holding the bowl hanging vertical and the body bent at the waist to bring the bowl close to the ground. Some players use a little backswing for this shot but no backswing is preferred."

Because he has essentially no backswing he moves his whole body quickly forward with a large forward step.

Following Through

Foster has one of the most reproducible follow-throughs in the game. He does not stay down like others….as the bowl leaves his hand it sweeps forward and upwards as if his fingers were giving some extra spin to the bowl. But his fingers all remain straight. They do not spin the bowl. Foster’s bowls, more than other top bowlers, drop onto the carpet. The sound is distinct. His arm elevation and even his finger positions are consistent. This is seen in an image captured from a video.

Walking Off the Mat

Foster walks off the mat in methodical juggernaut-like steps with a distinct hesitation after each step. This in combination with his athletic stance is his most characteristic feature. He shares this walking off the mat with his doubles partner Alex Marshall.

Positioning on the Mat

Foster does not use ‘walking the mat’ much. He seems to take up positions at the front of the mat with his anchor foot on the mat and his stepping foot about one foot in front of the mat.

Learn from Stuart Andersen’s Bowls Delivery

After the 2019 World Indoor Bowls Championship, Stuart Andersen was ranked second in the world. It is interesting for bowling enthusiasts to examine his delivery.

Stance

Stuart Andersen bowls from the ‘shooters’ stance’. This style was first popularized by Nev Rodda in his blog. The Greenbowler author has adopted the Shooters’ Stance himself.  

The distinctive aspect of Stuart Andersen's ready position is that he holds the bowl already twisted. In other words, Anderson does not use a Bryant twist but starts with the bowl’s running surface at an angle to his aim line! At the beginning of his delivery action, he lowers his body but does not begin his backswing until the bowl is at ankle height. 

The shooters' stance & Anderson's bowl angle together

Grip

Stuart Anderson’s grip is the claw grip. He does not bend his wrist in a scoop but it remains locked. It is the angling of the bowl in his ready position that sets him apart!

 Anderson’s Opposite Hand Position

The ‘opposite hand’ refers to the hand that does not do the bowling. This hand in the cases of most bowlers participates very little in their deliveries.  Stuart Andersen uses his free hand to steady his bowl even as he sinks down by bending his knees to lower his entire frame. His free hand never touches either his thigh or knee but moves from supporting his bowl to hanging loosely at his side and helping to maintain balance during the complete delivery.

 Anderson’s Back-Swing

Stuart Anderson has a short backswing, throughout which he holds his bowl at the same angle to the aim line that he had at the beginning of his backswing... essentially no backswing. He does not need to tuck his anchor knee in behind his forward heel because his anchor leg is well clear of his swinging arm both because he uses the more open Shooters’ stance and because his backswing is so short.

More than other top bowlers it appears that his delivery is shoulder motion rather than arm motion. It gives a sense of compactness.

Forward Stepping

 Stuart’s entire body moves forward with his bowl swing. His forward stepping foot first contacts the bowling surface heel first and then he rocks forward onto his toes. The bowl is not released until his advancing foot is solidly grounded as is the case with all top bowlers.

Following Through

Stuart Andersen has one of the most reproducible follow-throughs in the game. His arm elevation and even his finger positions are consistent. This is seen in the picture. It seems he lets go of the bowl by drawing back all his fingers at once.

Walking Off the Mat

Andersen doesn’t walk off the mat smoothly or consistently but his weight is completely forward at release and his anchor foot is only touching the mat with his toes.

Positioning on the Mat

Stuart Andersen does not use the mat much. He seems to take up just the two positions; one forehand….one backhand.

Learn from Robert Paxton’s Bowls Delivery

After the 2019 World Indoor Bowls Championship, Robert Paxton, who lost in the Mens Singles Final to Nicky Brett, was ranked third in the world. It is interesting for bowling enthusiasts to examine his delivery.

Stance

Robert Paxton bowls from a stance with both feet parallel and almost side by side on the mat. The foot that he will advance is one-half a shoe length forward of his anchor foot. This is close to the classic feet-together position. Most often both feet are close to completely on the mat. The modern teaching is that only the anchor foot need to be on the mat. Center-line bowlers are taught to deliver both forehand and backhand over the front center of the mat. Another recent teaching is to have the foot that is going to step forward into the shot, slightly advanced. This style was first observed among South African bowlers but is now common throughout the world. Another option very common today is the Shooters’ Stance, popularized on-line by New Rodda from Australia. In point of fact, the author  of Greenbowler has adopted the Shooters’ Stance himself. 

Grip

To identify Robert Paxton’s grip you need to run Youtube video at the slowest speed (1/4 of normal) and stop the frames when he is adjusting his grip. Paxton bowls using a grip halfway between the claw grip and what is called the gyrostatic grip.

I could find no reference to the gyrostatic grip on Google however it is taught by a booklet called The Lawn Bowler’s Manual written by Len Hyde of the Zone 9 Association of Coaches in New South Wales Australia. This grip is designed to allow the hand and forearm to remain in their normal positions, without needing to turn the hand over, as in the case with the other grips. The palm and fingers are located at the side of the bowl with the thumb on top. The gyrostatic grip may be useful for club bowlers who have very short thumbs or arthritis. Such people might model their deliveries after Robert Paxton.

In Robert’s grip, instead of his hand gripping the bowl from the side, an extension of the line of his wrist intersects the plane of the running surface of his bowl at about 45 degrees.

Although  Paxton’s overall delivery is speedy, the amount of time he takes confirming that his finger positions are precise is longer than for most. This is because, being a gyrostatic/claw bowler, the bowl does indeed roll off his fingers and hence they need to be precisely positioned.

For a reason that is not obvious Paxton tilts the upper part of his bowl towards his body in the ready position.

 Paxton’s Opposite Hand Position

The ‘opposite hand’ refers to the hand that does not do the bowling. This hand in the cases of most bowlers participate very little in their deliveries.  Robert  Paxton has a very peculiar action of his free hand. At the ready position; just before starting his delivery action, he has his hand on his thigh a few inches above the knee. An instant before he starts to move, he hitches up his pants with the fingers of this hand in a sort of scratching motion and then as he starts his delivery action he slides this hand down and cups his knee with that hand. This action is probably done to loosen his pant leg so that  he can stride forward without hindrance. Amusingly he retains the action even when he is wearing short pants!

 Paxton’s Back-Swing

Robert Paxton has essentially no backswing. His draw uses the exact technique of the ‘running shot.’ Greenbowler has completed blog articles covering the running shot and comparing it with the yard-on and drive shots. For clarity, I will quote the pertinent part from one of those articles:

“The delivery of the running shot begins with the delivery arm holding the bowl hanging vertical and the body bent from the waist to bring the bowl close to the ground. Some players use a little backswing for this shot but no backswing is preferred. “

Well, Robert Paxton uses the running shot delivery for regular draw shots and drives by adjusting to an appropriate weight.

Because he has essentially no backswing he moves his whole body quickly forward with a large forward step.

Although Paxton is not a palm bowler, his delivery is an option for palm bowlers. Since there is no backswing the bowl cannot fall out of the hand. The other option for palm bowlers is Nicky Brett’s delivery that makes use of the Bryant twist to retain the bowl during a backswing.

Forward Stepping

 Robert’s entire body moves forward with his bowl swing. His forward stepping foot first contacts the bowling surface heel first and then he rocks forward onto his toes. The illustration below shows him on the toes of his advancing foot with his arm outstretched following the bowl. His eyes are still staring at his aim point.

That the knee of his anchor foot bends in behind the heel of his stepping foot is best seen in the left-most picture under backswing. People often wonder why this is done. The reason can be understood from the slow-motion delivery.

Following Through

In the follow-through  Paxton's wrist remains locked straight and there is no flicking of his fingers.

Walking Off the Mat

Paxton doesn’t walk off the mat to the same extent as other top bowlers. Because he stays so low and his forward step is so long he is not in position at the end of his follow-through to walk normally.

Positioning on the Mat

Robert Paxton can be seen to change his set-up position on the mat to help get around bowls or to be sure that he gets back to center rink .

Learn from the Bowls Delivery of Nicky Brett

Stance

Nicky Brett bowls from a stance with both feet parallel and side by side on the mat. This is the classic position. Most often both feet are initially completely on the mat. More recently bowlers are being taught that only the anchor foot need be on the mat. This is true of what are called center-line bowlers who are taught to deliver both forehand and backhand over the front center of the mat. Another more recent teaching is to have the foot that is going to step forward into the shot, slightly advanced. This style was first observed among South African bowlers but is now common throughout the world of bowls. Another difference very common today is the Shooters’ stance, popularized online by Nev Rodda from Australia. Indeed The Greenbowler author has adopted this footwork himself. Well, none of this for the present world champion; his stance is traditional and obviously it can be part of a successful style.

Nicky Brett’s Grip

If you want to observe the champion’s grip on YouTube you will need to run taped matches at the slowest speed (1/4 of normal) and stop the frames when he is adjusting his grip. Brett places only three fingers on the underside of the bowl. Although it is not completely clear it appears that he keeps his pinky finger well off the bowl. His thumb is plainly at the side of the bowl (not seen in the picture above) as in the traditional palm grip. Brett is the premier palm bowler in the game. He can be a model for palm bowlers, who are many because many club bowlers cannot use their thumbs to grip the bowl because of hand size, minor injuries, or health problems.

Although Brett’s overall delivery is speedy, the amount of time he takes to confirm that his finger positions are precise is longer than most. This is because, being a palm bowler, the bowl does indeed roll off his fingers and hence they need to be precisely positioned.

Brett’s Opposite Hand Position

The ‘opposite hand’ refers to the hand that does not do the bowling. This hand in the cases of most bowlers participates very little in a delivery. Brett uses this hand to steady the bowl on his palm. More than most other bowlers Brett quite stops his delivery and resets. Commentators say that this is because he sees motion in the audience in his peripheral vision. This may be true sometimes but I suspect that he feels his grip slip more often. What is dramatically characteristic (when it is carefully observed at all) is that his fingers and thumb are drawn together and point straight forward as if he were trying to put on a tight glove.

Different bowlers dispose their non-bowling arm in different ways during delivery. Many have no idea what is going on with this limb of theirs. Some rest their forearm on their thigh.

Some hang their arm loosely at their side, Some place theirs on their thigh and slide it down towards the knee as they step forward. I place my hand on my knee when taking my stance because I am already in a crouch. 
Completely avoiding contact with any part of their body is characteristic of the most excellent bowlers. Their balance needs no assistance. Ordinary mortals usually have some contact with the thigh or knee of the advancing foot. Club bowlers can often be seen with this free arm flailing in the air, trying to assist to maintain their balance.

Brett’s Back-Swing

Because he is a palm bowler Nikky needs a Bryant twist during his backswing to prevent his bowl from falling. Although the bowl’s running surface is completely parallel with his line at the beginning of the delivery and at the release point, his hand turns in at the top of his pendulum swing so that his thumb supports his bowl and prevents it from falling. The only alternative to this for a palm bowler is to use no backswing at all and just push the bowl out after lowering it straight down. In the picture above at the right one can just see the edge of the green bowl at the top of the backswing which is not much further back than his anchor foot position

Forward Stepping

Nick’s entire body moves forward with his bowl swing. His forward stepping foot first contacts the bowling surface heel first and then he rocks forward onto his toes. The illustration below shows him on the toes of his advancing foot with his arm outstretched following the bowl. Notice that his non-bowling arm is constrained but not interfering with his forward stepping. His eyes are still staring at his aim point.

That the knee of his anchor foot bends in behind the heel of his stepping foot is best seen in the left-most picture under backswing. People often wonder why this is done. The reason can be understood from the slow-motion delivery. Because Brett does a Bryant twist of his bowl on his backswing and his elbow is kept close to his side, if he doesn’t tuck his back knee in he might hit it as he swings through with his bowl still turned sideways.

Following Through

In the follow-through Brett's wrist remains locked straight and there is no flicking of his fingers.

Walking Off the Mat

Yes- he follows his bowl as he straightens up from the crouch from which he delivered but it is not particularly noticeable.

Positioning on the Mat

Nicky Brett does not move about the mat to the same extent as other top bowlers are seen to do.