A Tactic at Lawn Bowling Triples When Your Vice Can’t Get the Right Weight

The Greenbowler blog has regularly expressed a preference for playing your second-best player and, wishfully, your best draw bowler in the lead position. When this is the choice you have made, you probably have a lead who is also able to deliver a jack within a meter or two of where the skip asks.

A situation can sometimes arise when really no player on the rink is bowling particularly well, with the effect that each side is winning its share of ends. What you sense is holding you back from moving in front in the game is that your vice is all over the place with respect to weight control. You feel that if your vice could get some bowls decently close to the jack, it would make a consequential difference.

The skip will have been noticing how far down the rink these vice—delivered bowls predominantly finish, and when in possession of the mat, he/she can indicate to the lead to deliver the jack to that length. This is an instance of using jack length to support the member of your own team experiencing the most difficulty. Often, this required jack length will be an intermediate length because that is often the vice’s natural length.

This use of jack length contrasts with the more common ones I usually recommend, whereby I call for very short or very long jacks to try to interrupt superior play by the other side that is defeating, to that point, your best efforts. 

Watch the Grass an Opposing Lawn Bowler Takes in the First Two Ends

 

In Canada, whether in open tournaments or club rollups, there are no practice ends. Consequently, at the start of play, lead bowlers have no evidence upon which to assess the correct grass for their first deliveries in the first two ends. Even so, more often than not, I see the lead given the advantage of playing the second bowl, paying no attention to the line taken by that opponent who is required to play first. Sitting on the bench, chit-chatting with other bowlers, arranging the bowls in neat lines, polishing bowls, or wetting a bowl’s cloth; all of these are more frequently witnessed than a lead who conscientiously stands a few meters behind the bowler on the mat and carefully notes that opponent’s aim line and that bowl’s finishing position, to learn from it.

Yes— different makes of bowls have different biases, but no rule forbids one from learning the model and the manufacturer of your opponent’s bowls. If this can not be interpreted at your stage of experience, your skip can tell you whether the player whose position opposes yours has wider or narrower bowls than yours. Furthermore, on slow greens, like we too often encounter in Canada, the aim line will not vary a whole lot among makes. 

With proper attention, the lead, who bowls second, should more often than not, outperform with the first bowl in either of the first or second ends!  

Helping a Teammate without saying a Word

I think it is bad form to offer another player advice during a roll-up game of bowls. But sometimes it is possible to improve a person’s performance without saying a word.

Recently, I was skipping in a game of drawn triples. I had no knowledge about my other team members. In fact, I hadn’t ever met them. In the first end, I signalled my lead to deliver forehand and he brought his hand across his body in the follow through and the bowl almost left the rink after it cut across the centre line. This was repeated twice more, even though I was giving him grass with an allowance for this difficulty.

I never signalled for another forehand the whole rest of the match— always backhand, no matter what the situation in the head. Intuitively, people do not bring their arm across when bowling backhand. His weight was good, and he made a significant contribution in the remainder of the game!

Only afterwards did I tell him what he needed to fix on his forehand.

Another Reason to Move the Mat

 

James Gardens Lawn Bowling Club has an outdoor sand-filled carpet. This is the second season of play since its installation and much of the fine whitish sand has worked its way into the carpet fibers as they are supposed to; however, most bowlers release their bowls slightly above the carpet surface and this leaves a series of dots where the bowl has bounced ever so slightly. This is caused by the re-emergence of sand where the bowl hits. The result is that one can see clearly the track of a prior bowl.

A first bowler who finds a good line gives away that line to the opposing bowler who bowls next. Furthermore, subsequent bowlers are gifted with increasingly well-marked paths on both forehand and backhand.

The remedy is to move the mat so that these paths no longer apply.

Only a small forward or backward change will do the job while leaving plenty of marks from the previous bowling to obscure the correct line.

Why Whether the Opponent’s Bowl is Above or Behind the Jack Matters

 

Observing from the mat, a bowler often cannot be sure whether an opposition bowl that has finished to the side of the jack is partially in front of the jack or is distinctly behind it.  You will often hear top bowlers asking the marker about this.

Why is it important? The questioner wants to know whether his bowl, if it finishes resting squarely against that opposing bowl, will be the closer of the two. If the opposition bowl is partially short of the jack, it will be better so long as it isn’t pushed back. If the target bowl is behind jack level and the delivered bowl comes to rest against it (or moves it further back) the delivered bowl will be closer.

So if the marker responds that the opponent’s bowl is short of the jack, the questioner is more likely to bowl the other hand. If the competitor’s bowl is reported to be behind the jack, bowling on the same hand as where the opposing bowl rests has advantages, mutatis mutandis.

Notice that this is one situation where being a tiny bit short of jack-high is better than finishing behind the jack!

Lawn Bowling Tactics: Removing Opponent’s Best Bowl

 

At Valverde LBC the other day, I was watching a pairs match and a tactical situation arose where repeatedly the skip bowler of an experienced team played what seemed a lower probability shot when something significantly better was available. 

The side that missed the opportunities was lying one; they had a bowl close up to the jack- within a few centimeters. The opponents held the second shot about a bowl in front of the jack but about 12 inches to the right.  What made the situation special was that the side holding shot also had the 3rd and 4th best bowls located about 18 and 24 inches behind the jack and 18 and 24 inches to the left.

There were other shorter bowls blocking approaches down the center of the rink. 

The skip of the side holding shot delivered two bowls down the right side trying to add a second shot. There was a path to the jack but in my opinion, both bowls should have been delivered down the left side trying to push out the opponent’s best bowl because if it were removed they would have scored 3 or 4 depending upon whether the delivered bowl remained in the count. The path leading to the opponent’s best bowl was equally open.

Other good outcomes that would have been possible coming from the left side would be a jack trail back to those waiting 3rd and 4th catchers on the right and a dead draw to the jack. 

The only negative would have been to knock the opposing bowl in for shot but considering how close the shot bowl was to the jack, this would have been unlikely. 

The lesson: Even if your side already holds shot, consider the contribution to the score if the opponent’s best bowl gets removed.  

Bowling Into Danger: Ezra R. Wyeth

I wanted to write a blog article about 'bowling into danger' but in searching for what had already been written I found this article by Ezra R. Wyeth from 1966. It is my pleasure to reproduce it here where such good advice can be found more easily!  

https://www.bowlsusa.us/uploads/7/5/9/0/75903269/1966-02.pdf

I find two important differences between bowling in the U.S.A. and elsewhere, and they both amount to the same thing - an unbelievable waste of bowls by many of our players. The first is the use of the block and the second is the attempt to match a catcher. I have never consciously played a block and only in dire extremity have I tried the other-both for the same reasons. Firstly, they require more skill than I possess; secondly, there are usually easier and more productive shots available. If you will be patient for a while, I will try to explain about matching the catcher. 

Let me start with a head like this. 

Playing the forehand, the lead has drawn a jack-high bowl, slightly wide, six inches from the jack. His opponent has followed with a bowl a foot behind and to the left. It is a safe bet that in 99 cases out of 100, the player by choice ( or at the direction of his skip ) will change his hand. He does this for three reasons. He believes the jack will be shifted; he can anticipate the direction it will go; and lastly; he thinks he can draw to a spot on the green. If he is completely honest he would admit to himself that he has little right to believe any of these reasons. If, on the other hand, he is stubborn and refuses to face the facts he will just have to count the number of times during a game that his beliefs are proved true. 

Only a superman could do what hundreds of players try to do each time they play. For any player the choice is simple. Either he plays like a superman or he assumes human status and plays an easier shot. The thing to do in the situation described above is to play the shot his opponent must play. His opponent has the choice of three shots:

 

• draw the shot anywhere within a twelve-inch circle 
• play to reach the shot with enough strength to take its place or to turn in off it 
• try to trail the jack 

The second is by far the best shot to play as it offers a greater margin for error. Our player, therefore, tries to play just that shot-  and for about seven good reasons. 

Examine all the possible outcomes. If he is short he can draw a second shot in a semi-circle, 24 inches in diameter. If shorter, he can well finish on a line that appears to be in his opponent's draw. If he gets his objective, he will have two shots. If he manages to turn his own bowl in or to wick off it, he will have an excellent position. If he has the right weight, or slightly less, and misses his first bowl he can draw a shot in a position to the right or left of his opponent's bowl. 

If his weight is right and he trails the jack he may lose the shot. Even so, he still has two bowls close to the shot, and his chances of losing more than one shot are reduced. There are other possibilities. If he is heavy he can take his other bowl out or shift the jack, or he can have a bowl behind the jack. If you are one of the stubborn ones and feel that in this last paragraph, I have undermined my position, please remember that these things can and do happen if a player changes his hand. 

Before you dismiss everything I have said, let me offer the most important reason of all. One of the delights of playing lead or singles is that a player can usually play the better side of the rink. The greens we play on rarely draw the same on both sides and one side is often faster than the other. It is usually much easier to play either the wide side or the narrow side consistently. A change of side means a change of green and a change of pace with a consequent increase in the chance of error. If you want more convincing proof than my arguments, you'll find it on the green. Borrow two bowls and place them in the positions shown above and try all the shots you like. The results will amaze you. 

More Comprehensive Lawn Bowls Signals Can Produce Better Game Results

Most novices know no more about signals than those indicating which hand to bowl on. This is because the single objective for beginner leads is to place at least one bowl close to the jack, and preferably it should become the shot bowl. Leads are actually only rarely asked to change hands, and niggling to obtain shot is frowned upon. (Niggling is trying to knock away the other lead’s bowls.) They should leave the takeout for the more experienced team members. When the opposing lead has clearly delivered a bowl that will almost certainly be shot, your skip is most likely to ask you to place receiving bowls or ‘catchers’. Your bowls should not be short, where they will obstruct your team’s effort to change the head. The saying is “when down be up.”

All team members should be able to read a variety of signs from the skip. Before stepping onto the mat, each person about to bowl should stand behind the mat and look down at the skip to receive signalled messages. The bowler can also signal questions for the skip, such as, “Are we up or down?” “Which hand do you recommend?”

Stop

At first, your skip will need to start every communication with this signal. Otherwise, the person on the mat may deliver a bowl before information is exchanged. The skip places both hands in front of his/her chest, palms facing towards the boiler on the mat. Like a traffic cop, the message is STOP.

Catcher Bowls

A proposal for a signal to place receiving bowls and make a sustained effort not to be short could be cupped hands. The hand on which the bowl should be grassed can also be indicated, or the lead can signal to be advised about the best side to bowl. Usually, the skip will not ask for a change in hand when asking for a catcher bowl.

Put the Bowl in this Spot

Sometimes the skip will want to signal that a bowl should be delivered to a particular spot. The skip may be worried that the jack could be knocked in among a group of opposing bowls. This can be signalled by pointing the index finger towards the ground at the desired spot and rotating in an inward spiral motion.

Put another Bowl in the Head

This signal must be delivered without fanfare. Unlike other signals, the object is to hide from the opponents what is being signalled. If the skip is concerned that a big count against is possible, if one of his team’s bowls is knocked out, the call will be for another close bowl in the head. The signal is to place the index finger on the side of the head as if scratching. The bowler should aim to draw to the jack, but not close to that single potential counter. In particular, the bowler should be especially cautious not to drive out that important bowl himself!

Cover the Back

A lead is unlikely to need to receive this instruction, but if the opposing lead delivers two or three bowls that are all good receiving bowls, a skip might call for these to be ‘covered’ by placing a bowl in their midst to prevent the opposition from trailing the jack into the cluster. The signal for a covering bowl could be both hands cupped over the head like a hat. Most often, covering will be required by the vice. Another form of cover asks for what is termed the ‘backest bowl’. This is the bowl closest to the ditch that is still in play. If the respot rule is in effect, the cover may be indicating a respotting location. The signal has a special meaning when playing under conditions where there are no dead ends and the jack is respotted. Covering in this situation requires bowling to one of the re-spotting locations in anticipation of an on-shot or drive to break up the head.

Jack or Bowl

When a bowl is jack high and there are 6 inches or less between the bowl and the jack, the pair presents a most enticing target. A skip may want to go after this target early, before the opponents can nudge either the jack or the bowl into a more protected orientation. The skip would signal jack or bowl, meaning that a controlled weight shot should be directed at the head, where hitting either the jack or the close sitting bowl would produce a great result. A possible signal for this would be for the skip to stand up close and directly behind the pair with both hands pointing down and with both palms away from the mat and alternately raise and lower each hand in turn while maintaining the palms open, hidden from the mat.

Run-On through X Meters

Signalling this tactic is very frequently encountered by players who are vice skips. What is being requested is that the bowler should deliver a shot that will pass through the head and continue on for several meters after making contact. The skip points with his index finger at the side of his head and then indicates, by raising some fingers, how much more weight should be placed on the bowl. A run through can also be called from the lead or second if one of the team’s bowls can be promoted onto the jack. If the bowl misses, it becomes a good catcher for future tries.
 

Drive or Up-Shot

Disrupting the head with sufficient force that the end is often killed or the jack respotted is the most frequent purpose of the drive shot. The drive is almost always played by the skip. Very occasionally, when the vice is a better driver, a skip may call for a drive from him or her. When a drive is called for, it is important that the opponents also know what is coming because the bowls on nearby rinks need to be protected, and there can be a danger of the jack flying through the air. When a signal is needed, it can be the person at the head holding an imaginary bowl with a straight arm above the head as high as he can reach. Everyone in the head must recognize that a runner is coming. Since most drives are delivered by the skip, signalling is rarely needed, but the signal is used as a warning. The skip makes this decision.

Block

When a novice is playing skip, there will be many occasions when he has the second last bowl still to deliver, but the best course is not to go near the head but take one’s chance that the opponent cannot convert it to their advantage with their single remaining bowl. In this situation, the novice skip may be called on to place a block shot to challenge the last bowler even more severely. This can be done by placing a short bowl that would interfere with either a drive or a run-through shot that could disrupt the head, whichever is most likely. A signal calling for a block shot could be tracing a square figure in the air with the index fingers of both hands used simultaneously.

A block will be most effective if one hand and the center drive are completely blocked by rather short bowls that cannot be promoted. Then, a very short blocker at about 14 meters in the path of the remaining draw shot would be most effective. It should be delivered inside out to keep it off the neighbouring rinks.

Do Not

Sometimes the skip wants to signal what (s)he does not want the bowler to do. The signal is forearms crossed in an X in front of the face. This signal, for best effect, should be preceded by the ‘stop’ signal because otherwise the partner on the mat may not give it the attention required.

STOP

The stop signal is sent by the skip waving two arms to get attention and then extending both arms horizontally in front, fingers together and palms facing the mat as if his/her hands were a traffic stop sign. The very important signal then follows once attention has been gained.

I would love….

Skip places hands one on top of the other over his/her heart. What follows this signal conveys what the skip wants the bowler to try. For example. I would love… followed by the sign for a blocker. Then followed by the signal Bowl to here. 

Bowl to here

This signal is used by the skip to ask the bowler to place his bowl as close as possible to a particular spot that is different from trying to bowl to the jack.. This signal is used for placing a blocker, placing a catching bowl, or bowling to a ‘false jack’. The skip hangs his bowling towel down over the spot (s)he wants the bowl to stop.

Chop & Lie on this Bowl

Sometimes your side would like to move an opposing bowl and take its position. This is called chop & Lie. The particular opposing bowl is the target and a little extra weight is needed. The skip can point close over the target and then make a repetitive sharp chopping motion with both hands.

If you regularly play with the same teammates, use these ortogether devise your own signals for what your team most often wants to communicate. 

Don’t Deliver the Jack Your Opponent’s ‘Natural Distance’ at Lawn Bowls

 

Each individual bowler has a particular ‘natural distance’ under a given set of green and weather conditions. This ‘natural distance’ is the number of meters his/her bowl will travel when delivered with a smooth, effortless, thought-free swing, on that rink, at that time.

Only players who have developed a grooved delivery after playing thousands of bowls have a ‘natural distance’. Tyros vary everything- position on the mat, posture, starting elevation of the bowl, degree of backswing, and length of step. With some or all of these shifting around, no natural length is possible: nor is any real control of length achievable.

Consequently, in this blog I’m talking about experienced bowlers playing against each other.

If there are practice ends most bowlers when they get them will deliver the jack to the length they are planning to play most often. Initially you can assume that this is their natural length. If you have the mat at the start of the match, do not deliver the jack this length! As play continues identify and remember any length at which the opposition seems particularly accurate. When you have the mat, remember and don’t play that length. In team bowls it is the skip who needs to be watching this, since it is the skip who calls for a particular length jack.

If you know nothing about the opposing side, assume that their natural distance is a medium length jack. Play longer or shorter instead.

Head Analysis: When the Jack is Really a Wider Target at Lawn Bowls!

    ➡︎  

The jack is only 64 millimeters in diameter. No wonder trailing the jack intentionally is so difficult. But sometimes it would seriously help your side if it were moved back a bit. Fortunately, there are situations where the target for moving the jack is significantly enlarged.

Suppose the head looks as in the figure above. Certainly, it would be very beneficial if the jack (lemon yellow circle) could be rolled a bit further down the rink since your bowls are the orange ones. The black bowls belong to your opposition.

You need not despair because the target to achieve jack movement is actually as wide as the cluster of bowls immediately in front of it. That is to say, if you can strike at any point on those two front bowls there is an excellent chance that the jack will be displaced backward towards your waiting catcher bowls.

Try practicing a running shot through the cluster with about 4 meters of weight!

Block Shots Made Easier

Delivering an effective block shot is one of the most difficult skills in playing lawn bowls. One reason: the target is not a real visible object. One is trying to place a bowl onto an opponent’s bowling path which is an approximate and imaginary curve. There are two ways to make delivering a block shot a bit easier.

Skip/Vice Stand at the Target Location

The Laws of the Sport of Bowls do state that placing an object onto the green to guide a bowler’s delivery is not allowed (Section 34) but this does not mean that the person directing the head cannot stand anywhere he/she wants on the rink (Section 12.1.3). It is only required that once the bowl has been released that person must immediately withdraw to a position behind the head. Therefore, the Greenbowler recommends that the person directing play should first visualize the path that the expected opposition bowl is likely to take when it attacks the head and then stand, with heels together and toes apart as pictured above, at the exact spot the block is needed, as a target for the bowler at the mat. Then, when the bowl is released the person directing the play should immediately and directly move back behind the head. In this way delivering a block shot becomes no more difficult than drawing to a displaced jack because the target spot has been made visible!

Place Your Blocker to One or the Other of Just Two Lengths

A blocking shot can be effective at any position along the opponent’s bowling arc from mat to head; however, the shot is easier to deliver if it is delivered with a weight that is as reproducible as possible. Furthermore, a blocking shot is more obtrusive the closer it is to the mat, but to still be a live bowl, a bowl must travel a minimum of 14 meters “from the center of the mat line” ( Section 17.1.3 ).

The Greenbowler recommends that the first distance that should be attempted is just a bit over 14 meters. This distance is reproducibly achieved on many Canadian rinks by taking a stance with the feet positioned as they would be after stepping in a normal draw shot and then pushing the bowl firmly forward but with no backswing. That is to say with neither any stepping forward nor elevation of the bowl to accelerate it. The only momentum delivered to the bowl will be the arm push. With only that one element contributing to the velocity, consistency is easier and the required length can be achieved.

The second distance the Greenbowler recommends for a blocking shot is 21 meters, which is the distance to the hog line in Canada. In other countries, the hog line may be at 23 meters and then that should be the target distance.

The person directing the head should stand, heels together and toes apart as illustrated, at the spot where the imagined path of the opponent’s bowl and the hog line intersect. The bowler on the mat should visualize a path (usually choosing the inside-out path) from the mat to where the person directing the head is standing and then bowl with the same weight as for a jack at the minimum distance. Once the bowl is released the person directing the head must promptly move back behind the head.

Who and When

It is the skip or the person directing the head who must decide, first, that a block shot should be played, and second which delivery, forehand or backhand, draw, running shot, or drive the block shot should be attempting to thwart. A block shot should not be considered unless it is pretty clear what the opponent is likely to do. 

Getting Weight Right: Standing on the Aim Line 2/3 of the Way to the Jack

I have discovered a way to avoid short bowling by my lawn bowling team members. I do not understand why it works, but it does seem to work with a variety of different subjects.

To do it you must learn the correct aim line for the bowler you wish to assist. The easiest way to do this is to make some deliveries with that team member’s bowls before the match starts and compare the draw with your own.

Then stand at a spot on that aim line, 2/3 of the way from the front of the mat to the jack, and ask the bowler on the mat to bowl at you. For some mysterious reason, the bowl gets delivered with a weight appropriate to get it to the position of the jack!

I don’t know why this works, but I can hypothesize. The bowler senses that at least a certain velocity is needed to take the bowl to you along the aim line without substantial bending away, and that is quite a good approximation to the velocity required for the bowl to curve towards the center line and arrive at the jack. 

 That is to say, your request asks two things of the bowler:

1. Bowl along the proper aim line, and
2. Bowl with sufficient weight that the bowl does not curve away from me very much

These two demands actually indirectly define the perfect draw path. The bowl must start out on the required aim line, and it must not curve to any substantial degree until it is 2/3 to 3/5 of the way down the rink!

If you adopt this methodology in a match, the opposing skip may claim that your positioning is illegal, and the rules require that you stand at all times behind the head. This is not correct. The applicable rule from The Laws of the Sport of Bowls, Crystal Mark Fourth Edition is:

12.1.3  As soon as a bowl is delivered, a player who is controlling play from a position that is either level with or in front of the jack must take their position as described in law 12.1.2.

12.1.2  Players at the head-end of the rink and who are not controlling play must stand: 

12.1.2.1 behind the jack if they are members of the team which is in possession of the rink; 

12.1.2.2 behind the jack and away from the head if they are members of the team which is not in  possession of the rink; 

12.1.2.3 on the surrounds of the green if the jack is in the ditch; or

12.1.2.4 well clear of the head if it is not possible to stand on the surrounds.

This means that once the bowler, whose play you are controlling, releases that bowl, you are required to move immediately to a position behind the jack and then, once that bowl stops, away from the head. 

When, at Set Play, You Need a Big End to Win a Set and You have the Last Bowl

 

I am not a fan of set play at lawn bowls. Set play was devised to make the game more suitable for television broadcasting. When there is no such media necessity, I see no reason why we should abandon the traditional 21-up game.

But, if the authorities select set play and with repotting centered on the forward T of any jack out of bounds, then strategy should be directed to take advantage of these rules.

At set play, it doesn’t matter by how much you lose a set. When your side is behind by more than 1 point going into the last end, you should play to do whatever is required to position yourself to win. If you fail, it doesn’t matter by how much you lose.

Your objective is to get a multiple in the end. To achieve that, you need to retain the maximum number of ways this can happen. Having the last bowl in the final end is the better situation when you need multiple points to win or tie.

The opposition has the choice of mat position and can try for a preferred jack length. If the mat is taken up the rink to try for a short jack, get ready to ask for a measure to see whether the jack has been rolled the requisite length. An extraordinary outcome would be if your side gets the jack back (if so, see an appropriate different blog article).

Another possibility is that they try for a long jack. If you see the opposition placing the mat at the 2-meter line, say out loud, “Here comes that long jack.”  The idea is to convey the idea that your worst nightmare is a very long jack. Actually, what you would like the opposition to do would be to ditch the jack or throw it out of bounds so your side could choose the mat position and jack length.

Once the mat position and jack length are settled, the bowl deliveries begin. Your goal is to be in a position where you can secure the required multiple with your last bowl. Hopefully, this can be done with a simple draw, but often this will not be enough. If your deliveries are not very close to the jack, they should be grouped together and behind the jack. Be particularly careful to get enough length because short bowls most likely won’t finish in the count.

When it comes down to your last bowl, you need to:

• Draw to the jack if that will win or tie the end as needed
• Displace an opposition bowl if that will give you the required multiple
• Trail the jack to a grouping of your bowls if that will give you the required multiple
• Knock the jack out of bounds if that will give you the required multiple
• Push the jack into the ditch if that will give you the required multiple

No matter how difficult the shot that will give you the required multiple, there is no point in playing a simpler shot that, even if successful, will be insufficient.

When, at Set Play, You Need a Big End to Win a Set and You have the Mat

 

I am not a fan of set play at lawn bowls. Set play was devised to make the game more suitable for television broadcasting. When there is no such media necessity, I see no reason why we should abandon the traditional 21-up game.

But if the authorities select set play and repotting of any jack out of bounds centered on the forward T, then, strategy should be directed to take advantage of these rules.

At set play, it doesn’t matter by how much you lose a set. When your side is behind by 3 or more bowls going into the last end, you should play to at least tie the set if it is the first set and a win if that is what is needed to reach a tie breaker. If you fail, it doesn’t matter by how much you lose.

Your objective is to get a multiple in the end. To achieve that, you need to retain the maximum number of ways this can happen. You have the mat in this scenario, but your opposition has the last bowl. Your goal is to have at least the required shots to tie the set when your opponent comes to the mat to deliver that last bowl.

To retain the most chances for this to occur, you need a short jack, and you need to have the respot position about 2 meters behind this jack. To do this, you should place the mat about 5 meters behind the closer hog line and deliver the jack to about 2 meters in front of the forward respot position.

You play the end trying to score in the usual way. If the opposition delivers a very close bowl, you should prepare to remove it, but you do not need to try the removal immediately. All your side’s bowls need to be behind the jack, either scoring or as potential catchers.

The idea is that when your side comes to its final bowl, you want to have several alternative plays:

• Draw the shot for the required multiple
• Remove their closest bowl for the required multiple
• Trail the jack for the required multiple
• Knock the jack out of bounds with repotting for the required multiple
• Push the jack into the ditch for the required multiple

No matter how difficult the shot that will give you the required multiple, there is no point in playing a simpler shot that, even if successful, will be insufficient to win.

Then you must just cross your fingers and hope the opposition's last bowl doesn’t destroy your work.

Remember that if you are playing the first set or if you have already won or tied the first set, all you need is a tie to still have a chance.

The Lead Bowler in Triples

For the lead bowler delivering the first bowl in the end, it needs to be emphasized,: line is not the most important concern, weight is.  If you are within three feet on either side of the jack, that is probably not going to get you a reprimand, but being three feet short may. What one must emphasize is proper depth, and it is your first bowl in the end that is most likely to be wrongly weighted. It is OK to be a yard past the jack, and one should err on the side of being past rather than short. Four feet short is a bad bowl; four feet long can be useful for the development of the head. Four feet short cannot be promoted easily, so it is likely to stay out of the scoring, since the jack has an overwhelmingly greater chance of being moved backward rather than forward during the end. Grassing two bowls three feet past gives the vice and skip some things to work with in developing a scoring situation. A close bowl by a lead in triples rarely survives as the shot bowl. There are too many good bowlers to follow, and a bowl close to the jack makes an excellent target for up-shots. Even if both of the opposition lead’s bowls are 1^st and 2^nd shot, your side’s situation is not too bad so long as your lead bowls are behind the jack!  

When Your In-Match Performance Starts to Crumble— Do This

Suppose you are competing in a lawn bowling competition and doing fine when suddenly both your line control and weight control collapse all at once. What has happened? What should you do?

Don’t just push on, bear down, and try to concentrate harder mentally. This is a good way to continue losing— end after end. That is what I did last week. 

Don’t start telling yourself that you just don’t know how to bowl, and you should make a mental note to give up the game. No. You can play well. You were doing so just a few ends ago!

It is my experience that when your game just suddenly collapses, it is one of two things. Either (i) you have suddenly made a small change in your delivery motion or (ii) you have started leaving out steps in your predelivery routine.

I have already written blogs about the frequent mistake that I fall into with respect to delivery motion. For me, that mistake is failing to get my forward-stepping foot firmly grounded before I start my bowling arm’s swing forward.

Instead, when both weight control and line control fail suddenly in the middle of a match, the problem probably relates to a deviation from your pre-delivery routine.

The first thing to do is to slow everything down. Step off the mat. Signal that you need more information from the skip. Take off your jacket. Put on your jacket. Do something to give yourself time to mentally review all the individual items that are part of your pre-delivery routine. Then, slowly and methodically perform those individual steps.

For the purpose of example, I will list all the steps in my pre-delivery routine:

•  Standing about a meter behind the mat, I receive any instructions from the person controlling the head
• I identify an immovable object on or behind the forward bank that will mark one end of my imaginary aim-line
• I adjust my position depending upon the shot (forehand or backhand, or drive) so that I am standing on the aim line
• I check my bias
• Assuming a semi-squatting position (a la David Bryant) I look along the imaginary aim line that runs to the preselected object at the forward ditch, and I pick a point 3-5 meters in front of the mat on my aim line to be my stare point 
• I adopt the Shooter’s stance with my feet
• I grip the bowl comfortably with my regular grip
• I adjust the elevation of my body so my non-bowling hand can rest comfortably on the knee of my stepping leg
• I visualize the path of my bowl as it travels to its planned finishing point 
• Waggling my bowling arm, I make slight swinging motions along and over my aim line
• I relax the muscles in my bowling arm
• With my eyes, I stare fixedly at my stare point
• With my mind, I concentrate on drawing my bowling arm back along and over my aim line

As you can see, my predelivery routine is rather extensive. Perhaps that is why I am regarded as an annoyingly slow bowler. Perhaps you can find better advice that can simplify and accelerate your preparation. I can’t help there. What I can say is that by doing this recalibration, I have been able to get back into the groove required for consistent good bowling!

Speed of Play as a Strategic Consideration at Lawn Bowls

When readers are in serious competition, the Greenbowler blog has consistently advised them to use variations in jack length and mat position in their tactical and strategic planning. But it appears there is another variable that I haven’t mentioned adequately.  I just didn’t consider it that important. When other literature mentioned it, I discounted those claims.

Today, at Valverde LBC, I played a 21-up singles match in which my opponent acknowledged to me after the match that what I had discounted up until now was what seriously upset his game- more than any other aspect. At the same time, he sportingly acknowledged that the practice was completely within the rules.

What had happened was this. My strategy, whenever I had the mat, was to never play an end from the 2-meter line; and never play two ends in succession from the same mat position; but almost always play either short or medium-length jacks. I managed to execute this plan but according to my opponent, the reason it worked was that it slowed the game down “more than any game I have ever played.”

I have no doubt that his observation was truthful. Even in a game where every end is played without the mat shifting off either T, I am a slower player; and that is when only 4 stare points and a single weight need to be identified and remembered. So, a slow delivery added together with constant moving and centering the mat (he nearly always placed the mat back as far as possible and delivered long jacks ) and a closely matched competition in a 21-up match would all conspire to draw it out. 

The take-home lesson from the match was that steadily playing a different pace game can upset an opponent’s concentration far more than I would ever have imagined. That slowing of play can substantially and fairly be achieved with mat movement.  

“After Four a Meter More” at Lawn Bowls

The Greenbowler blog has recently researched the effects of rain and wind on the delivery and rolling characteristics of a lawn bowl. There is another environmental factor which has some importance but it does not depend upon the weather from day to day— it changes from hour to hour.

I was reminded of the significance of this factor while watching a video from the 2023 Australian Bowls calendar. The commentators noted during the match that the competitors were increasingly leaving their bowls a bit short. They quoted an Australian saying, “After four a meter more.”

I had never heard this but it encapsulates in a memorable way an important bit of lawn bowling lore. When the bowling surface cools down its resistance increases modestly but quickly and the weight that was perfect earlier in the day, when for example it was sunny, becomes insufficient.  Even in overcast conditions, the high temperature for the day often comes between 3 and 4 o’clock. After that time you need to instruct your subconscious control mechanism that a little extra push is required!