Thoughts about Blockers at Lawn Bowls

Just because a bowl is short doesn’t make it a blocker. Usually, short bowls are wasted bowls. “When your side is down you need to be up” is a saying that means when the other side is shot it complicates your difficulties if your bowl finishes short of the jack.

Block shots are defensive shots, only contemplated when you have a favorable head to protect. A favorable head comprises a close shot bowl and at least another counter. Remember that if the opposition gains the shot after your short bowl, your blocker will block you!

When your side is up by two or more in the head and ahead in the game, and it is the latter part of the match, a skip can consider trying to block against either a draw or a drive. The usual trade-off is between trying a blocker and putting a ‘catcher’ bowl behind the jack. Choosing between these is a function of

• the skill of your opposing skip
• The closeness of your counting bowls in the head
• The length of the end
• Whether the opposing skip has tested the line on both sides of the rink
• Whether the opposing skip has back bowls
• Whether the target is wide but you need a high score

How does the skill of the opposing skip factor into this decision?  A perfect block shot confounds the perfect draw or drive line to the jack (but not both). If the opposing skip isn’t going to deliver that perfect bowl, there is no point in a block.

Blocking the Second Chance

 If the opposing skip has already tried an aggressive shot and can be expected to try again with his next bowl, a block shot is particularly recommended. Even a bowler who is just ‘good’ can often make a shot if given a second try. Attempting to ‘change things’ by placing something close to the line has a better chance of avoiding loss in such a situation.

How does the closeness of your counting bowls in the head enter into the choice between a ‘blocker’ and a ’catcher’? The word ‘close’ is relative. If it is unsurprising for the opposing skip to bowl within two mat lengths of the jack, ‘close’ is perhaps one mat length. If his average bowl is just one mat length from the jack, a ‘close’ bowl is, say, 9 inches. 

 If your side has only one bowl in the head, you should not try to block. You need another bowl in the head in case your ‘close’ bowl is driven out resulting in a big score against you.

Second  Last Bowl in a Promising Multiple-Win End

If you have a ‘close’ shot bowl and several others counting but which the opposing skip can probably beat, a block shot with your last bowl can really put pressure on the other side’s skip. The reason- if that block works and is hit, the bowl being delivered is unlikely to reach the head and your side stands to make a big count.  The alternative, putting in a ‘catcher’ bowl, does nothing to prevent the opposing skip from drawing to save so he would only go down one. Even a poor blocker in this situation may convince the opposing skip to accept the risk of changing hands just because hitting on it would be so devastating. 

How does the length of the end enter into the choice between a ‘block’ and a ‘catcher’ bowl? The shorter the end, the more likely an on-shot will succeed in disrupting the head or causing the re-spotting of the jack. Do not block against a skip who never drives! Don’t try to block against a short drive. The opposing skip has too little problem visualizing whether your intended block is actually in the way. Draw to the jack again. Or put in a catcher at the back. I estimate it is about five times as easy to deliver a useful catcher bowl as a useful blocker. When re-spotting is in effect, cover the re-spot position. It is an easy bowl to deliver and won’t disrupt the head.

Why should it matter whether the opposing skip has tested the line on both sides of the rink in deciding whether to block or set a catcher? A blocker can convince an opposing skip to change hands, even if your blocker is not perfect; moreover, changing hands is particularly prone to errors if the line on the less familiar side of the rink has to be guessed. It is a good idea for a skip to keep track of how many bowls his/her opposite delivers on each side of the rink in each of the directions. If you can cause a change to a less tested side, it will be to your greater advantage.

Why would it matter whether the opposition has a back bowl? A good skip will not drive if his side does not have back bowls. The chance of ending up in an even worse predicament will deter him. In such a situation an overweight delivery can be expected but not one where the skip would expect to lose his bowl out of bounds or in the ditch. Since no drive is tactically sensible there is no point in setting a block against it. Blocking an over-weight shot is impossible because its path to the jack depends upon velocity. Besides, it is the hardest shot to deliver, so invite your opposition to try it! The best shot is to add to the count with a bowl just beyond the head.

If you are going to try to block a draw shot, set your block just 14-16 meters in front of the mat in the draw path. The closer the bowl is to the mat the more different paths it blocks. A block shot is more likely to succeed on a slow rink. Watch to see whether your opposite moves on the mat to avoid short bowls.

A ‘catcher’ bowl cannot reduce the chance of an opposing drive hitting its target. If the target is hit usually at least one shot will be lost. A blocker can save the entire head because the blocked drive usually careens away without damage.  A blocker can convince the other side to try a draw to save shots.

Although pairs, triples, and fours are team games, a lead bowler new to the game often keeps count of how many of the points scored arise from his/her bowls. If a skip plays a block that successfully protects his lead bowler’s counter it gives a psychological morale boost, particularly if the lead is a less experienced bowler. It’s worth considering.

When you are trying to block a draw and the path is otherwise unobstructed your block should be short to cover different paths to the jack; if there is only one portal try to get your blocker into its entry. If you are trying to block a short drive your bowl should be 14-16 meters out on the center line.

If you are skipping and your side is ahead well into the game but your opponent will be presented with the chance to trail the jack into a cluster, don’t try to block. Rather play his shot. If you trail the jack your own bowl is likely to trail with it and remove the danger. It is the big score you are protecting against. 

The Forgiving Side at Lawn Bowls

 

Bowling in a particular direction on a particular lawn bowling rink may have a more forgiving and less forgiving side. This will not be visible.

If a portion of the path that a lawn bowl takes from mat to jack has a slightly concave (center lower than sides) curvature, even though this is undetectable to the eye, the effect will be to correct a delivery that is slightly miss-delivered. Such a side, whether it be backhand or forehand, is said to be ‘forgiving’. Conversely, if a portion of the path that a lawn bowl takes from mat to jack is convex (center higher than sides), this will amplify any miss-delivery and send the bowl further from its intended target. Such a hand is called ‘unforgiving’. The most frequently observed consequence of an ‘unforgiving’ hand is the failure of a bowl to come back toward the center of the rink as it slows. We say, “The bowl hangs out”. We mean the bowl can’t get back because it is on the wrong side of a ridge in the rink. Ridge is just another name for a convex surface!

Whether a rink has ‘forgiving’ or ‘unforgiving’ characteristics doesn’t matter in most instances. Both your team and your opponents usually face identical challenges. But what if your side and the opposition end up repeatedly bowling on opposite sides of the rink and your opponents are consistently getting closer to the jack. They may be simply more skilled— well, not much can be done about that! But the other possibility is that they are bowling on the more ‘forgiving’ hand of that rink.

When that might be the case, you need to switch to match the hand on which they are bowling. It is remarkable how often this is ignored. Today, for example, bowling at Valverde LBC against a visiting touring team from England, the two leads bowled 18 ends with each playing his own side doggedly, even though it seemed apparent that the side one opponent was choosing was punishing the slightest deviation in delivery.

The rules of bowls require that the team that won the previous end must bowl first in the next end. So if the player you are paired against must bowl first, you can bowl the same side and the same line. Follow him down! Beat his bowl! Don’t just stubbornly struggle when the green may be conspiring against you. 

When You Can’t Hit your Line at Lawn Bowls Do this!

 If you have been reading the Greenbowler blog for a while you could be expected to know the answer to this question: If you are missing your line— that is failing to roll your bowl over your stare point, usually a spot about five meters in front of the mat — and consequently either leaving your bowl wide of the jack or having it cross over the center line and end up a distance away on the other side, what is the most likely problem with your delivery?

If you author that blog, you would be even more likely to think by now, after more than 10 years of lawn bowling, that surely that guy would quickly analyze what was going wrong and correct it within a few ends.

No such thing! For 36 ends, here in Portugal, bowling first at Valverde LBC and then the following day at Balaia LBC, my deliveries were all over the place and I was left scratching my head, wondering what was going wrong. My weight was fine but I was wide sometimes and narrow other times.

I should have reread my own blogs! If one fails to get one’s forward stepping foot firmly on the ground before one’s forward swing is well underway, the chance to deliver a bowl along the proper path to the jack is seriously degraded. What was infuriating— well not quite, it is only a game— was that I have written at least five blog articles emphasizing this— more than about any other aspect of the delivery.

Anyway, my bowling today confirms it; that was the problem. I hope my readers catch on faster than I did when they encounter the same problem!

The Discipline of Pre-delivery Routine During Bowls Practice

 

In a good practice session, every bowl that you grass should be preceded by your consistent pre-delivery routine. If you are leaving out steps because it is just a repetition of your last bowl, then you are hard-wiring bad habits.

But let's be honest, if you get into the habit of delivering bowls one after the other to the same jack, at the same distance, from the same mat position; then, it is tempting to omit some of the steps of your pre-delivery routine because over that briefer period, your muscle memory can and will provide you an otherwise unavailable help getting your weight and line correct.

 Remember— you don’t get to grass bowl after bowl, in relatively quick succession in a game. An opponent alternates with you and not necessarily promptly!

It is better in practice to place two or more jacks (or flapjacks) at different positions on a rink and bowl to them alternately. This will cause you to follow your complete pre-delivery routine more faithfully since no two consecutive bowls will be aiming for the same target.

When I catch myself disregarding even a single element of my delivery protocol  I give myself a mental warning the first time it happens. I end my practice session if it happens again.

If you are not serious about practicing, let's agree to call what you are doing a pastime, because that's all you are doing-- passing time! 

Bowling to a Displaced Jack Near the Boundary at Lawn Bowls

 When the jack gets significantly displaced towards one of the boundary lines and you and the opposing skip each have a single bowl remaining, a special consideration applies. Tactically, it matters who sits shot and how many points are at issue.

What sets this situation apart is:

There is an increased chance that any upcoming delivery will finish out of bounds and become a dead bowl.

With any delivery to a seriously displaced jack, a bowl directed towards it is likely to pass over less disturbed fresh grass where the required bias and weight will be unknown.

If your opponent must bowl before you, you need to watch especially carefully the line taken over any of this fresh green. Your advantage is that you can learn a lot from your opponent’s bowl.

If you must bowl before your opponent, it matters greatly who is sitting shot. If your side has the best bowl already, then the most you can lose is a single point (unless that shot bowl gets removed). Although delivering your bowl inside-out is most often at least partially blocked by bowls around the jack’s previous location, there is the advantage that such delivery will not be teaching your opponent the correct line for his/her last bowl.

If you are already down in the head you probably have to risk bowling outside-in and showing your opponent the line because you need to save points by beating the bowls that are already waiting to be counted against you.

Definitions

Outside-in describes the path of a bowling delivery that starts aimed outside the boundary of the rink and curves back towards the center of the rink.

Inside-out describes the path of a bowling delivery that starts aimed closer to the center of the rink and curves out towards the boundary. 

 

Removing Strain from your Lawn Bowls Delivery

 

Every so often I deliver a very wobbly bowl often called a ‘pineapple’ or sometimes a ‘cucumber’. I ascribe this error to having too tense an arm and pushing out the bowl aggressively just at release.

In one video of a great YouTube series from the ‘Delivery Doctor’  Bowls Delivery Sequence 04 The No Backswing Backswing, he prescribes at one point the solution to this problem. The Doctor says that in the pre-delivery set-up position, the bowler should support the bowl with his free hand by placing it under that hand thereby cupping both bowl and the bowling hand. With this support by the free hand the bowling arm can then be completely relaxed since all the weight of the bowl is being supported externally. This cupping support is put in place after completing a few practice swings along the chosen aim line and just before the actual backswing is started.

Now with the bowling arm completely relaxed, the supporting hand is withdrawn and the bowling arm is allowed to naturally fall and then swing back to whatever amount flows naturally propelled by the simple force of gravity. Being set up correctly assists and even enforces the arm swing to stay over the chosen aim line. The forward swing is then subconsciously directed according to the length of the required bowl’s path, as visualized moments before during the set-up for the delivery.

Although my own delivery differs from that taught by the Delivery Doctor in some respects, this cupping of the delivery hand allowing the delivering arm to become totally relaxed is an effective modification of delivery that promotes a smoother launch of a bowl. 

Do Lawn Bowling Skips Really Think Far Ahead?

 

Commentators on professional lawn bowling videos often say that top bowlers think several bowls ahead in each end. Is this actually likely? Or, does it depend upon the tactical situation in the head? 

Remember— the situation in the head depends as much upon the location of the opposition bowls as upon the planned disposition of your own side’s bowls.

What I can believe is that certain dispositions of bowls- comprising both one's own and those of the opponents- can present such a substantial combination of positive outcomes that a skip can expect that shot to be eventually attempted either by the opposition or his own team. When such a position arises, this realization can cause him/her to prepare the head to increase or decrease its likelihood, depending upon whether successful execution would be beneficial or detrimental to the side.

What I am suggesting is that it is particular dispositions of bowls that trigger planning further ahead, while m the situation suggests nothing more than that the next bowl should be delivered as close as possible to the jack! 

A skip is unlikely to start formulating a comprehensive strategy for an end so long as (s)he is confident at outdrawing whatever has been delivered so far in the end. It is really only when a bowl is sufficiently close to the jack that it is unlikely to be bettered that both offensive or defensive longer-term strategizing is triggered. 

Nailed Down Groundsheets

 In Canada, where I mostly reside, I had never seen a groundsheet on a lawn bowling green that was tacked immovably in one place, even though I have bowled now for ten years. I have seen lots of temporary, moveable groundsheets. In fact, where the playing surface is real grass as opposed to a synthetic carpet, groundsheets are often mandatory. Lawn bowling clubs that are always trying to keep their membership participation up will always have beginning bowlers who, a certain portion of the time, create divots as well as aging bowlers who can no longer bend down like they used to and now are consistent ‘dumpers’. Maintenance of a high-quality, fast, grass green is expensive; volunteers are usually both amateur and few in number, so some form of groundsheet is a standard solution.

So, at both Valverde LBC and Balaia LBC in Portugal, I was not surprised to find groundsheets although this was the first time I had seen them at either club in the years before the Covid interruption. What surprised me was to find them permanently tacked down and consequently not moveable.

Upon inquiring at Valverde I was told that they had tried moveable groundsheets but they were being lifted by the winds. Although this is observed occasionally in Canada it has never been enough of an issue to encourage the ‘controlling body’, (as it is described in The Laws of World Bowls), to bring out the nails. The more prevalent difficulty in Canada with using groundsheets is that they can seriously interfere with the path of an incoming bowl when the jack is resting on or past the groundsheet. A bowl traveling on its inward bias can catch the edge of a ground sheet and be deflected along that edge.

When I was bowling in Australia, I never saw a groundsheet and the prevailing sentiment, as best I could estimate it, was, “If the weather requires groundsheets, it is too inclement to bowl at all.”

I hear some similar objections in the Algarve but I have not encountered, even among the best players, anyone whose delivery is so precise that the short distance of traverse of the bowl on the groundsheet can contribute in any significant way to the deviations in their performance.

My objection to a fixed groundsheet is not that it reduces the precision, accuracy, or benefit of experience for any player but that it removes one of the important strategic elements of the game itself- moving the mat. 

I know that I am in the overwhelming minority when I maintain that this is a substantial change. At the same time, I want to be clear that despite this loss, I unambiguously support using these grass protectors in whatever form controlling bodies feel is necessary. Protecting the quality of the playing surface must be our highest priority.

Although in social bowls moving the mat forward by more than say a meter is rarely seen, it is part of the game. In fact, as can be seen by watching competitive bowls either outdoors or in, moving the mat up the maximum possible distance is the most frequent tactic when trying to change the flow of a game. Moving the mat up to at least two meters from the hog line is the most dependable way to deliver the jack for a shorter end. With the mat two meters short of the hog line, so long as your jack delivery finishes within four meters of the forward ditch it will be acceptable for play. With the front edge of the mat touching a hog line you still have a target area two meters in length onto which to deliver a playable short jack!

For this reason, I prefer the moveable groundsheet-type grass protectors. They are inconvenient in high winds and they sometimes can interfere with bowls arriving at a jack but they do preserve the strategic options of our lawn bowls game.