Cleanup done on March 19, 2026
A video series of 12 Tiger Wood's Coaching by Golf Digest shows Tiger suggesting that the "Tee" depth be changed at "Tee off" depending upon the wanted flight height of the "Off-the-Tee" drive. (Video 2). This player's change in their starting performance is to gain an advantage by the golfer. In the same way, when the lawn bowler has a good delivery style, we suggest that they apply their development toward "Walking the Mat". Where in golf, the athletic want to keep his golf ball down so also the lawn bowler may want to go around a "Block".
In the first years we should develop a delivery which is consistance and then maybe work to understand a few variations of where on the mat to stand for a different delivery result. Although an experience lawn Bowler are not really worried about "Blocks", in learning to "Walk the Mat" they will also learn how to simply move a bit on the mat will change the final placement of their bowl.
The photo (left) is a screen capture of the video and shows Australian Jackaroos team member, Barrie Lester; taking his normal stance on the mat. Immediately afterward, in the video, we see him position himself a bit to the left (photo below) as he "walks the mat"..
We can also see the result of such a movement on the mat as his bowls (photo below) has a different final resting position. This video is build by Australian Bowls for windy conditions but, here, I hope to shows that there is a lot more of an advantage for moving "around" on the mat. Also, it is important that a bowler who is "Walking the Mat" know from experience where his bowl will finish. Later in the blog, I will give an exercise to allow you to know from practice, where your bowls will finish.. Remember, any change that a player makes must be with an expectation of the known results. In a game there is no place for guess or "I think"
In all games of rolling, or throwing a ball or bowl to a target, there is the requirement that all players perform their delivery from the same position. There are many games like Bowls (Petanque, Bocci, Curling) where as the play advances the previous bowls or Balls, stones; seem to block the delivery to the target. (Jack, Button, Cochon,etc).
These game have developed, over time with equipment and rules, to allow the player to go around these placed blocks. Lawn Bowls now have a bias or swing of several feet, Curling (the Canadian equivalent) has a stone which can by rotation and by sweeping be made to swing a couple of feet. The French Game of Petanque with it delivery modifications allows the player to throw the ball through the air. If the Petanque ball can not be thrown over the block then it can be removed by a take-out shot. The exception is Bocci (the Italian game of Bowls) where the players do not stand tn the same position but must always remain behind a "Fault Line" when doing their delivery. Also, to go around a "Block", in the social of Bocci player can bounce their ball of the rinks wooden boundaries or wall.
In Bowls as the speed of the green increase, the bowler`s line of delivery seen to require a wider stance; which means you are not now square on the mat and therefore you will find it harder to move much on the mat. (as per the photo below of Matthew Ayres who has a acute angle of delivery on a Australian (fast) Green).
A reader wrote recently "The foot fault rule has been changed so that only a part of a foot needs to be on or above the mat. Could you comment on how this change might be affecting how we are using the mat.". In reply
Yes, there is a lot of place for
you to place your feet on the mat: as an individual with an average size foot, (Most feet are about
6 inches wide by a 12 inches (foot) long). However, when the greens get really fast and you change your delivery angle to almost 40 degrees, (photo of Matthew Ayres, Australia) the advantage of the new rule can be seen. (Note how important the "a part of the foot" on or over the mat; becomes as we respect the rule of Foot faulting).
As we turn ourself away from the Center Line for a wide stance and delivery Line; as often happens when a moved jack is moved off centre line to the side of the head; or necessary for fast greens; we must be careful of "Walking the Mat". (When talking about faster greens we are making reference to the extremely wide final bias swing on the last few inches as your bowl stops).
Remember, the "Center Line" goes up the center of the green and passes through the jack which is at end start in the center of this line. The back and front edge of the mat runs left to right parallel along the "Mat Line" . (You can not turn your mat toward the jack or have it moved off the center line)
If you place yourself too tight to the edge of the mat and the rules of your country does not allow your "mat foot" to be off the mat ( because some countries accepted if over the mat); you are very likely to be called for "Foot Faulting"(foot is not correctly over the mat when your bowl touches the green).
From the 2016 Men's Singles Final Canada v New Zealand and a look at Canadian Bowler Ryan Bester, we can see that his style of delivery is rather tight to the left side of the mat. Front and Back view show his "Mat foot" properly placed and the far right photo show his bowl arm at the "Mat Center Line".
Another aspect of "Walking the Mat" is to correct your "Receiving Area" for your bowl. Sometimes when the mat is placed by the lead, at the beginning of the end, their absence of "checking the green" in front of the mat and the "receiving Area" of the bowls is over looked.
The location where the bowl first makes contact with the green, called "Receiving Area" usually changes from player to player. Often a bad delivery by a player has caused a poor "bowl receiving area" or debits for you and your bowl. If when you are about to roll your bowl and find that your placing of the bowl to the green, arrives in a bad or damaged area of the green; you need to have a way to avoid that damaged green. Ok. Not in competitive games but all greens eventually get damaged due to club games. We all would like to place the bowl just in front of the mat so it will cross immediate the center line. If you move on the mat, it is good to know what happens to your bowl if you must change your "Receiving area" because of your new position on the mat.
So let us take an example of "Walking the mat" We have a photo from the net with bowls all deliver from the left side. ( notice the standing direction of bowls) and I have modified the photo to show a skip doing a delivery from the other side. (Photo right)
As the skip rolls his bowl he finds he has passed the jack a few centimeters to the right of the jack and tapped back the black bowl (Photo 3). As he now sits on the black bowl and only has the yellow bowl in the count there is a chance for a few points to be made. ( see photo 3 further below).
When a bowl has been placed in your line to the jack , often called a "Block"; there seems to be nothing to do but to change your delivery. (go from forehand to backhand or otherwise). An experience athletic will tell you that "no Bowl is really a Block" because of tricks which good Lawn Bowl athletics use.
Often called "Walking the Mat"; the experience athletic will move left or right from their original position, and there by do a different delivery.. Of course, One is required by the rules, to always having a foot on (of over) the mat until the Bowl has been delivered and is rolling up the green.
 |
| Video of Mat Walking |
First, one of the few YouTube video on "Using the Mat" is shown in the Coaches Den where Brett Wilkie, Australian Queensland Coach ;suggests it as a trick for use on a Windy green. This shows the movement of the feet on the mat to allow for a different final bowl result.
The photo (left) is a screen capture of the video and shows Australian Jackaroos team member, Barrie Lester; taking his normal stance on the mat. Immediately afterward, in the video, we see him position himself a bit to the left (photo below) as he "walks the mat"..
We can also see the result of such a movement on the mat as his bowls (photo below) has a different final resting position. This video is build by Australian Bowls for windy conditions but, here, I hope to shows that there is a lot more of an advantage for moving "around" on the mat. Also, it is important that a bowler who is "Walking the Mat" know from experience where his bowl will finish. Later in the blog, I will give an exercise to allow you to know from practice, where your bowls will finish.. Remember, any change that a player makes must be with an expectation of the known results. In a game there is no place for guess or "I think"
In all games of rolling, or throwing a ball or bowl to a target, there is the requirement that all players perform their delivery from the same position. There are many games like Bowls (Petanque, Bocci, Curling) where as the play advances the previous bowls or Balls, stones; seem to block the delivery to the target. (Jack, Button, Cochon,etc).
These game have developed, over time with equipment and rules, to allow the player to go around these placed blocks. Lawn Bowls now have a bias or swing of several feet, Curling (the Canadian equivalent) has a stone which can by rotation and by sweeping be made to swing a couple of feet. The French Game of Petanque with it delivery modifications allows the player to throw the ball through the air. If the Petanque ball can not be thrown over the block then it can be removed by a take-out shot. The exception is Bocci (the Italian game of Bowls) where the players do not stand tn the same position but must always remain behind a "Fault Line" when doing their delivery. Also, to go around a "Block", in the social of Bocci player can bounce their ball of the rinks wooden boundaries or wall.
However, even with the rules developed and modified to allow the delivery to get around a frontal bowl, the movement on the mat (or in the petanque circle when playing French Bowls) has always been with certain limitations. The photo at the right is the movement of Brett Wilkie (above photo) as he moves to his far left. The bowls final position can be seen as they have been delivered to the same distance apart as the step "walking" on the mat.
The rules define the size of a
traditional “Mat” of lawn bowls , as (
Rule 7) “ is 600 mm long and 360 mm wide”. In Canada where we still often talk
in the old imperial measurement, that is about 2 feet by 1.5 feet where the imperial foot is
304.8 mm. ( see note below) So in any size foot, there is plenty of space to move around the mat depending upon your normal delivery style. Delivery should always be done with the feet placement on the mat always the same for each delivery; unless you know and want to move from your normal strance position.
If (as photo below of Ryan Bester) your style places you close to one side of the mat, which many great players do so they place their bowl to the green on center line; then you have limited movement away from that tight mat edge stance. The bowls bias out from it point of contact to the green and then as it slow down come back to the center line at the jack. Of course, you should be easily able to move 3 shoe sizes around the mat. (from side to side of the mat or front to back). Asked why would you move back? The only answer is to do the same delivery and have your bowl finish the length of the mat closer. (probably to follow a bowl which finished a mat length behind the jack)
A reader wrote recently "The foot fault rule has been changed so that only a part of a foot needs to be on or above the mat. Could you comment on how this change might be affecting how we are using the mat.". In reply
 |
| Matthew Ayres on a fast green |
As we turn ourself away from the Center Line for a wide stance and delivery Line; as often happens when a moved jack is moved off centre line to the side of the head; or necessary for fast greens; we must be careful of "Walking the Mat". (When talking about faster greens we are making reference to the extremely wide final bias swing on the last few inches as your bowl stops).
Remember, the "Center Line" goes up the center of the green and passes through the jack which is at end start in the center of this line. The back and front edge of the mat runs left to right parallel along the "Mat Line" . (You can not turn your mat toward the jack or have it moved off the center line)
If you place yourself too tight to the edge of the mat and the rules of your country does not allow your "mat foot" to be off the mat ( because some countries accepted if over the mat); you are very likely to be called for "Foot Faulting"(foot is not correctly over the mat when your bowl touches the green).
 |
| A close look (front/back) of Ryan Bester's delivery stance |
From the 2016 Men's Singles Final Canada v New Zealand and a look at Canadian Bowler Ryan Bester, we can see that his style of delivery is rather tight to the left side of the mat. Front and Back view show his "Mat foot" properly placed and the far right photo show his bowl arm at the "Mat Center Line".
Game Rules state that “once the mat is placed”, at the beginning of play, Rule 20-A says
“The mat shall not be moved”, and the center of the mat must be in a direct
line with the Jack which is on the “Center Line”. If the jack moves of "Center Line" and the mat stays on "Center Line" you may find your style of delivery turning your body enough to create "Foot Faulting" problems. When practicing your delivery from a tight foot-mat position; be sure to practice your delivery from the mat to a moved jack. In this way, if it happens; your new delivery line will allows for your foot to be "over the mat". Photo right from Blog 2/2 shows how much a green can be damaged.
"Walking the mat" is a tool intended to allow for
fine adjustments when you know the previous line but you need a few inches (or centimeters) adjustment in order to arrive directly on the jack and/or to roll it. (as is explained in the example at the end of
this blog) . However, each of us have our style of delivery. Depending upon your method of Line, your bowl will move left or right on it final position. Practice will help you to know but principle is: "If you are a Point Line bowler then the bowl will move opposite to your movement. If you are using a Visual Line the your bowl will move the same direction as your movement".
The experience from practice is important as you can move your feet a few inches but if Point Line method, you can not change the point of your line by a few inches. Do not think that you are going to slightly modified a new “line of roll”. Simple know from practice that your a new delivery line will give the result it does. As a beginners, you should not be moving around on the mat until you have a good and proper delivery. You can still practice to know left or right on the mat does what to the final bowl position. In time you will see it as a unique tool.
 |
| Example of Damage to green |
Another aspect of "Walking the Mat" is to correct your "Receiving Area" for your bowl. Sometimes when the mat is placed by the lead, at the beginning of the end, their absence of "checking the green" in front of the mat and the "receiving Area" of the bowls is over looked.
The location where the bowl first makes contact with the green, called "Receiving Area" usually changes from player to player. Often a bad delivery by a player has caused a poor "bowl receiving area" or debits for you and your bowl. If when you are about to roll your bowl and find that your placing of the bowl to the green, arrives in a bad or damaged area of the green; you need to have a way to avoid that damaged green. Ok. Not in competitive games but all greens eventually get damaged due to club games. We all would like to place the bowl just in front of the mat so it will cross immediate the center line. If you move on the mat, it is good to know what happens to your bowl if you must change your "Receiving area" because of your new position on the mat.
So let us take an example of "Walking the mat" We have a photo from the net with bowls all deliver from the left side. ( notice the standing direction of bowls) and I have modified the photo to show a skip doing a delivery from the other side. (Photo right)
Standing at the mat he notices a signal from the mate, in the head who is holding up two hands with a finger of each hand only a few centimeters apart. He is showing how close he passed the jack. and saying that the skip has missed the jack by a few . If he can adjust that few centimeters he will touch the jack. As he does not want to roll the jack very much but a short distance roll of the jack would mean extra bowls in the count. With the same weight as the previous bowl,
the jack movement will add these back bowls to the count formaybe 4 points. You see in photo 3 that the red bowl has taken the place of the black bowl and is now behind the jack and you can imagine how close he came to the jack.
 |
| photo 2 |
Yes if he has less weight on his delivery the finish of the bowl bias will move the jack. But taking weight of the next bowl will cause the finis of the bowl to be too soon and probably touch the frontal block (bowl line in Photo 2 above). To keep the same weight as the last bowl and the same delivery line this is a questionable shot. Is there another way?.
Yes, if he walks the mat to the right, (the same distance that the jack was missed) and keeps the same line of delivery, your bowl will pass the frontal block bowl tight and if the same weight will just touch the jack and move it away from the front yellow. If he has drawn to his last bowl he still has two. Because he has moved left it is possible that the bowl will touch the yellow on passing. But touch on the side will not advance the yellow bowl but push it right.
This is not something to try in a game unless it has been practice or developed during club games and the skip and mate know what can and might happen. They have worked to use "walk the mat" ( Photo 4) with the final bowl. An example of how a small change which has given a big gain. A tool in the toolbox of skills and which maybe will only be used once a year, but which has been practiced and both (skip and mate) know the results of such a movement on the mat.
( Mat size mention above has an interesting fact. The English inch is 25.4 mm and a
French inch is 27.07 mm. Since the French word for inch is “pouce” and also
the same word in french is used for “Thumb” we could say that the French has bigger
thumbs them the English.)
Yes, if he walks the mat to the right, (the same distance that the jack was missed) and keeps the same line of delivery, your bowl will pass the frontal block bowl tight and if the same weight will just touch the jack and move it away from the front yellow. If he has drawn to his last bowl he still has two. Because he has moved left it is possible that the bowl will touch the yellow on passing. But touch on the side will not advance the yellow bowl but push it right.
 | |
| photo 3 |
This is not something to try in a game unless it has been practice or developed during club games and the skip and mate know what can and might happen. They have worked to use "walk the mat" ( Photo 4) with the final bowl. An example of how a small change which has given a big gain. A tool in the toolbox of skills and which maybe will only be used once a year, but which has been practiced and both (skip and mate) know the results of such a movement on the mat.
 |
| photo 4 |
(Update March 2026 - I noticed that a comment of this blog was not answered in 2016, so I will now take this cleanup time to answer it.)
Answer to Comment = In the blog Rain and Wind Bowls Play 2//2 where "Walking the mat" might be a solution for the windy condition of play and mention the blog of Green player (discussed the math of bowls); I explain here for the Advance players my understanding of the bias of a bowls construction as:
"However, this also explains what makes a bowl as a narrow bias. If the bowl has narrow running surface, like a car tire or a disk, when it become slow enough to begins to fall to its side, it will drop without rolling any farther. But because on either side of the running surface of the bowl there is another curved surface to catch the green and continue it to roll, the bowl does a "Finish" bend. How wide is this 2nd surface is what makes a bias narrow or wide. The closer this 2nd surface is to the running surface the bias will begin at a faster speed. And if the 2nd surface is wide it becomes an extension of the running surface and prevents the bowl from falling and is a bowl with a narrow bias."
I really find this fascinating as our greens in the UK are very heavy in Spring and Autumn and don't swing. But in summer they swing when the greens get faster. I lead and play with a fairly narrow bowl, but as the greens get faster, wonder if a bowl with a bigger bias would give me a better margin of error. What do you think please? Great site by the way, needs a bit more content may I say?
ReplyDeleteYep. I play with wider bowls - classic heavy II the faster the green the more it swings and the margin for error is increased
ReplyDeleteThis blog is so nice to me. I will keep on coming here again and again. Visit my link as well.. rapid city sd lawn mowing company
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoy it but at 76 I find less time to play and blog.. Glad it stays available and may be helping bowlers with ideas of how to better their games.
ReplyDeleteYou write about movement on the mat and effect as "If you are a Point Line bowler then the bowl will move opposite to your movement. If you are using a Visual Line the your bowl will move the same direction as your movement". What do you mean by Point Line Bowler ?
ReplyDeleteGood Question. Point Line Delivery are what beginners learn as they take some "Point" for their Line. In time the 2nd or 3rd year bowler is now seeing their bowl's Bias as it goes out on Line and comes back to the jack. This "Visual" line is now instinctive and will adjusted without effort. (by "Muscle Memory") Think of your movement on the mat as a point mid-way up your delivery line which pivots with the point at each end. Your Delivery at one end and the Bowl's finish position at the other end of your Line. (you move left the final placement of the bowl will be to the right). On the Visual Line which is instinctive you bowl will move the same way as you do on the mat because your delivery is instinctive. But learn by practice and what happens.
Delete