The correct arm movement when delivering a bowl is a gentle pendulum swing from the shoulder. Do not let your arm bend. Your elbow should be gently locked straight.
And don’t jiggle your body or jerk around while delivering the bowl or you will lose your “line”.
Your “line” is the path you have visualised that your bowl should take. The swing of your arm should be directed straight into the desired “line”.
The player in the photograph has her eyes fixed on her “line” and is delivering her bowl directly into it.
Delivery faults in lawn bowls
Are you guilty of one or more of these faults when delivering a bowl? Correct your faults one by one and your accuracy will improve tremendously.
- Flicking your wrist in an attempt to control the weight of the bowl
- Bending your elbow as if you are hitting a tennis ball rather than bowling a bowl straight into the desired line
- Not following through with the swing of your arm. Make sure you finish the delivery with confidence
- Jerking or wriggling your body, or engaging in any sudden movements such as whipping your head back or going down on one knee. This interferes with the path your bowl takes
- Having no or limited back swing. You need a consistent back swing in order to control the weight i.e. the strength of your delivery
- Standing rooted to the mat with both feet throughout your delivery. You should take a gentle step forward with your non-anchor foot as your bowling hand starts to move forward from the back swing. (Your anchor foot is the foot you step onto the mat with first and is the same as your delivery hand i.e. left foot if you are left-handed and right foot if you are right-handed.)
- Not delivering your bowl with a clear plan in mind i.e. the path your bowl should take and its ultimate destination
