What Line do you take ? (AMem)

Under development - Basic texted now photos to come.

If you have not been rolling bowls for more than three years this blog,which is long, will make no sense to you. Some rambling idiot going on.. If you are approaching five years and ready to move on to "Muscle Memory" instinctive performance; you will find yourself making a decision on the subject.

First, One of the raison we go get a course on a subject we know little or nothing about is very often with a new subject we don't know what we need to learn or what questions to ask. 

This blog is a part of my Post-Novice Course for developed players who roll a good bowl but seem to be at a point which they define as being stuck. 

At this point, they are reviewing the teaching they had as a beginner and comparing it or the recent video they watch; and are comparing it all to what they are doing at the club or on the green. Asking "Why ?" or "What do I change ?"

Over the month past, the local clubs had an top-of-Line athlete giving talks as a teaching tool to club members. The information given was well worth the small fee for his two or three hours talk. I know that it pushed a lot of the participants to look deeper into what they heard as compared to what they do.  A problem with experience talks is that depending upon the course participants, there are a lot of questions ask. With such a talk the medal winning individual, whom is well informed; is directed from question to question for the complete durations of the course.

I will call it a course, but a  good coach in preparing a course after educational preparation of how to organize information and how to be aware of the signs of saturation of the listener; would work his talk toward his course objectives. With a Question and Answer type course sometimes too much information is covered and not enough coverage given to the intended point of the course. 

When a lawn bowler decides to follow an umpire course they know that there are different levels of umpires and they are coming in to the basic level one umpire teaching. They also know after a few year experience they can move up to a higher level umpire with major competitions and even the opportunity to work and mentor with very good umpires. Bowls on the green learning is not like this.

Last week as I entered the club grounds and approach the green a very good player left the green to greet me and within minutes he was asking a basic question. 

"I am hearing a lot about "Taking Line" and seems most of the Youtube videos have some version of the three or four basic teaching on "Taking Line". What do you do in "Taking Line?". If this had been a new club member I would have answered with a two or three line of describing the teaching of "Taking Line". But I have seen this individual play and all is good in his style and performance.

Because I consider this person as a " Post-Novice" player and knew his question was more a survey  of  "Find the Line" types, than looking for another method to try. Also when a player asks about your technique, which they have probably seen you perform and have not yet actually classified your method of "Taking Line" in their Survey groups. He was probably noticed that could be looking any where,because I am in a "Blind Muscle Memory" when I do my delivery. If I have released my mind to Muscle Memory then I  often am not looking anywhere. Maybe at the ground in front of me.

Normally a third year bowler would have their delivery style developed  and they believe that their style is the one that best serves them; I know that with developing any skill you can become just so good and seem to freeze at that level. Also, without a mentor to follow, or another courses to instruct you; we all continue by  trying several different things to better your performance.  In the end after your new idea to try, you will probably return to the original method which you use. I seen this point where the individual  had reached a Point of maximun perfection and  become discourage and abandon Bowls for another sport. Sort of if saying that is as good as I can become in this sport.

Lets explain it this way.  When you started to drive a car and had your basic skills establised you hit the road at a greater speed. At first you seem to always watching the center line, or as with me in my old 1957 Ford, which had the big bumper circular lights on each side of the hood;  you watched that the edge of the road was in line with the edge of the hood.

Your Lawn Bowl "Taking the Line" was like that as you learned to bowl and check if your delivery and Line was correct. Each time you missed your attempted draw; you went back to checking or changing your "Taking the Line" reference.  Today after many years of driving the car you no longer watch the center line pass near the edge of the hood or bumper, you just instinctive drive and have confidence. 

 Also, I heard so many Novice say "With a longer Jack you need a wider line" This is so wrong. the Bowl's Bias takes the bowl out  wider for a longer Jack because the Bias take effect and turns when the bowl slows to a certain speed. Remember that rolling tire which went straight until it was slow enough to fall over. Your bowl will come back to "Center Line" if your direction of delivery is correct; when the bowl is leaving your hand at the mat.

Your "Bowls Delivery Development" after a point is going to arrive like that. You just know you have the right line and finding the spot on the back bank or the green in front you is part of your Pre-Mat Routine before your delivery Routine. Once you have your body direction and feet properly placed on the mat and always the same, you have your line. The coaching course which teach you to "¨Picking your line" was to help you align your body in the proper direction.

 In Australia the bowls mat which are used have several holes and lines on it service this purpose. Those marks on the mat in Australia were also to establish a method of pointing your body in the proper direction for delivery of your bowl. Change the bowl and it's bias and your will have to work again to find the line for that bowl.

  In Australia the bowls mat which are used have several holes and lines on it. This does the same thing. I have seen instructions to place your foot on the corner of the mat, seen coaches chalk a line for your feet on the mat and even draw the foot print. All experience bowlers know their established foot on the mat placement. Some want their bowl to greet the green on center line, others look at the line their bowl leaves on the line and see if it points where you "Take your Line".

I teach that your mind can not be occupied with "Line of Delivery" and your "Delivery Weight" at the same time. Some athletes place their body line and forgot about it and work to know their "Delivery Weight". Others athletes are so good with their delivery weight they work with a good delivery into the "Line of Delivery". Students which do the sport of Curling in the winter have a very good feeling of Delivery Weight.

Even during a game by great athletes, they with each delivery decide if " Line" or "Weight" is more important for that shot performance. These individual now know and can see, in his mind's eye his bowls Bias Curve of delivery. Called Visualization of their Shot. 

What does a top of the line athlete do ?. He no longer has a Pre-Mat Routine where he prepares his bowl makes his decisions as he stands behind the mat. He no longer has a Pre-Mat Routine except to may check his body direction or apply a Draw strategy on the performance he is going to do, (several Draw Strategy are mention in the nearly 150 blogs). The good athlete goes to the mat with a decision does a few micro-second checks and goes into his Delivery Routine where Muscle memory take control and performs instinctive a perfect delivery.

What is he looking at as he looks up the green. His visualize the Delivery Line of their bowl and it's " Delivery Bias". Their visualize line see their bowl line as it leave his hand and then take it Bias swings in toward the jack. Except it is so instinctive to them now that they are looking at various "Check if Line is Right Marks" on the back board or green. They are most likely seeing that visual memory line as it passes a bowl "In your Eye" or how the "Tap Back" is being hit by the "Near finished Shoulder" of  the Bias Line.

What I am saying is "As you no longer check the center line or the edge of the road when driving; so also you're ready to allow Your Pre-Shot Routine and "Muscle Memory Delivery to do your bowl Delivery.  A you no long throw a Off-Bias bowl and never think of the small parts of your Pre-Mat routine; so also your Pre-Shot" or Pre-Delivery"  routine is now so short you seem to don't think about it.

A sport psychologist will tell you to prepare a routine because the subconscious mind will place everything into that routine. I see bowls bounced in the hand, or several swings of the bowl arm; Today at the Canadian National Gold Medal Game I saw the "Rub your Cap Peak Edge" start of the Pre-Mat Routine. Australian Coaches teach to "Touch your bowl arm elbow" as the Pre-Mat start.

So now your have Visualization of your Bowl Bias. You have almost perfect "feeling of Delivery Weight for any distance. You Delivery should now be the final part of your "Pre-Shot" routine. A routine where you do quickly may small remainder to the subconscious mind of things of important on that delivery. If you have been developing "Mind Set Routines" for handling a bad delivery it may be as short as a vision of flower for calm in a difficult game shot.

This blog will now be build with photo and detail but the teaching is just one important point. You are at a point in development where you are no longer learning to bowl or do a good Delivery. You are learning to build a confidence performance with a structure like "Pre-Shot Routine". This first and basic instruction Pre-shot Routine is later followed by a  "Pre- Delivery Routine. Also called the Pre-Shot Routine, this usually is rather short and probably a bit different every game; as you work on a new Mental Strength or Physical Ability. 

What's the Shot - Percentage View (AMem)

 This blog based upon a photo/question of the Boulingrin Quebec Bowls website, is to explain my opinion on calculating the percentage of success when a chosen shot decision is made by the skip or team. Looking at some of the basic indicators of the skip success or ability to perform difficult shots; realizing that each bowls-in-the-head setup is different for each skip. Also the location in the game and how the success or failure will affect the final score must be considered.

Not all information is given by the photo as a jack this  close to the ditch must have been moved from the it's "Respot" position. Especially. with it still on center line, it would have been moved twice. Very likely a short jack was placed on the "respot" and in this Single's match, the lone frontal bowl (yellow/blue)  probably moved the jack a few feet left which was then pushed to it present position by the now (Blue) Frontal Bowl. In my opinion this is the only way a "Respotted Jack" can be moved 2 meters toward the ditch and arrive afterward on the Center line at Ditch edge.

Now to attack this problem as these two possibilities. 1-that the blue Point bowl and the far frontal bowls are  both touchers and 2- that there is no touchers behind the jack..

My Reply to Website

My reply to the website inquiry with  photo above and reply (left image) and suggest that due to the Percentage of Success the Yellow bowl's player decision should be a foot overdraw to the jack. I will explain this method of percentage calculated by "Bowl Size Error Percentage" or chance of success.

With this type of calculation it assumes that if you miss your draw for shot or jack roll your luck within a few bowls off shot will still give you a good result. There is another factor used in these decisions which does not apply in this analysis. "Percentage of Success Failure". Yes, sometime we are able to try a shot or strategy because if we fail the missed performance will do no damage or increase the total points lost.  Here we have three points and the objective must be to gain the point or make a change which only loses one point.

After I have explained farther this method of Percentage Success, I will take a few paragraphs to explain the "Player's Success Percentage" on certain types of deliveries. Every Skip usually knows his abilities and even will question his state of performance on the day of game in making his decisions. DON'T TRY WHAT YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T DO.

 The three yellow circles are 3 possible bowl rolls in the draw from the left (back hand for righthander) and most important is the draw weight. Although 2nd and 3rd possible rolls can stop on the opponents 2nd shot giving shot or cutting to 1 point. If first bowl was to hit the jack left it is still only one shoot as the rolled bowl would stay in as 2nd count.

The single yellow bowl circle show the Unsuccessful percentage hole which could give extra points but one bowl in four bowls is a 25% Failure Percentage.  But also how the bowl was to hit the point bowl it could replace it and capture the point. Most important is the weight. Enough to be in the head but not more than a foot overweight. The single yellow bowl circle could cause a hit on the point bowl moving it to the jack and send the jack to the ditch or it could keep the 3 points active as the jack move closer to 2nd and 3rd.

Because of the 3 possible bowls rolls directions the actual shot is to try to draw for point at the black #1 bowl position and even if a bit heavy it will draw up to 2nd shot leaving only one point. If the jack was to be moved by a runner the "respot of the jack"  would come forward for two points but unless the jack was to hit one of the back too bowls it would not go out of bounds but go to the ditch, which is why a Runner is not the choice shot unless it is the winning points on the green and it is runner or lose. 

Because not all skips are good draw bowlers on each hand of delivery, and almost all lawn bowlers have a different draw weight for a Forehand Delivery and a Back hand delivery;  this Shot Decision has a lot to do with the skips performance percentage.  If it is end game and knowledge of the green's draw potential as well the skip's last few ends Performance Percentage; this is a High Success Percentage.

CW 2026 Gold Medal Game's Tie-breaker (gift)

 Todate, a few days after the games;  I have not found on Youtube or elsewhere the video of the Commonwealth 2026 Gold Medal Game.  so with my CBC sport coverage link, I make this gift to my readers.. It shows the last two end of the 2nd set and the tie-breaker which was won by Northern Ireland against England.

N Ireland
Gary Kelly

The distribution and noise during play is from the Bronze Medal game being played on the neighbouring green. They also were into their tie breaker but almost finished. The loud crowd noice is because of Ryan Bester doing his "Blasting Runners" to win. (and which he seldom is missing). For this reason that British Skip (Walker) steps of the mat during his last bowl of the tie-breaker as well as the Commonwealth Staff were moving equipment behind the Gold Metal green and the jack being played. Also most of the crowds were changing sides to see the end of the Gold Medal Game.

For those wanting to see the Commonwealth game I know it is still available on the Canadian national Television (CBC) at  https://gem.cbc.ca/bowls-para-bowls-bronze-and-gold-medal-matches-rink-1-glasgow-2026-36783?autoplay=1 

Enjoy.

P.S,  I add for you the readers, a little something unique here.

Gary Kelly is the only Lawn Bowl's athlete that I have seen todate, that is doing total visual projection for his "Muscle Memory". To understand "Total Visual Projection" it is best to explain it from an archery athlete's view.  In some Archery "Zen" teaching, it is taught to become the arrow or the target and project yourself as the arrow to the target. 

In Muscle Memory  of Lawn Bowls, we make sure we have a constant like our line or our weight and with this fixed variable; the athlete either fixes it line and lets Muscle Memory adjust the needed data like, distance, weight and fine adjustment with their instinctive "Muscle Memory" performance. Some athletes do the constant as weight and use a small line change. (either visual or mat walking); while others fix presentation line in their Pre-Shot Routine and relax into allowing it do be done.

 Having won two gold and a bronze medal at the Canadian National Archery in late 20th century in Instinctive shooting; I did all my shooting as a Total Visual Projection to the target. When in a Muscle Memory Total Visual state, the arrow hitting the target scares you because you believe it has struck you. (Draw the arrow to you is the concentration projected image)  

Gary Kelly does that in his Pre-Shot and is unique as he adjust for very find mental tuning of his shot and weight.  Amazing to see and appreciate.  Enjoy.

No, at 80, I can't apply this concentration and Muscle Memory to Lawn Bowls. The archery target (indoor) distance is 18 meters where bowls is 21 to 31 meters. I do use Projective Muscle Memory for recalling previous Jack distance data. I watch the memory of the bowl roll to a jack in memory and if not the correct distance I change the memory. (always release on 3rd projected distance as my Pre-shot routine "Trigger").