I have been playing lawn bowls for three years now & enjoying it. I found both your videos on where to stand on the mat and off centre jack were most helpful.
Hello Terence Thank you very much for your comment I got interrupted last night when recording so there were some te uncle hitches One thing that got missed was that the area between rinks and near the fitch is likely to be less worn. This reduces the speed and swing of the bowl. This is why taking a measurement on bank would otherwise come out slightly too narrow but should as a result be about right Thanks for supporting me Kind regards Richard
Hi pauperme You could be right. The camera angle certainly looks like that. I need an overhead camera but my wife is not up for that! I appreciate your comment Kind regards Richard
Do you remember the dam busters raid? To determine the distance from target they had a triangular device with two prominences at the front that lined up on two predetermined points on the dam.. so with this in mind, for example , for a back hand draw shot I do something similar with the middle finger and index finger of my left hand, the two fingers splayed apart, held up at arms length, im looking down my arm, tip of index finger goes on the jack, tip of middle finger on my aim point, like a rifle with two forward sights but apart...ive come to learn the correct distance that the tips of my fingers should be apart to give me the correct aim point for the bias of my bowls, when the jack becomes displaced across the rink i just use the same method, index finger on jack, middle finger gives me my new aim point, i mentally mark the spot with something that is at that point behind the rink, a chair, a picture on the wall, a trophy cabinet... anything that shouldn't move...all that is left is to get the weight right, and it works..when the mat moves up the rink to a shorter end the same refrence is used but I know to bowl slightly narrower from the mark for the new length..the same method is used for the forehand shot .when im calculating with this method during a roll up I can be heard humming the dam busters theme! 😁
Dear Mr R That is the best comment I have had Yes I did see the Dambusters I do remember the triangular contraption. My main memory is of the two spotlights on the wings of the plane that merged at the exact height for dropping the bombs I have used an estimate for the bank width but your method sounds great. I might give it a go. Regarding moveable points on the bank, I have had to use a bag which has been moved half way through the game. Some banks are very bare I’m afraid. Once or twice years ago, I did adjust a chair to get my aiming point! Kind regards Richard
@RichardHorner-i2s-l4h I do usually find something to aim at..during triples games the end of the rink that you are bowling towards can be rather cluttered with players (even more so in a fours game) so I tend to look for a mark above head height..wall lights, pipe work, conduit, signage, bricks in a painted wall, or anything else that just stands out..I used my dam busters method last Monday night, the three of us winning our two bowl trips game 20-6 came as a relief because we had been on a long losing streak..on the last end the opposition were holding three shots on a jack in the ditch, it was to the right of the 'T' roughly same distance from the T to the right hand re-spot mark...after finding my aim point over on the neighbouring rink (it was actually close to their rink number on their bank) and with the sound of merlin engines in my head 😁 I bowled forehand..at first I was a bit alarmed at how much land my bowl had taken into next doors territory, but it arced around (mesmerising!) and back onto our rink, finishing as a toucher on the opposition shot bowl, while it didn't make shot it's self it reduced the count..instant applause from my team mates (always makes me blush) the opposion skip followed my line really well but lacked the correct weight falling well short...it was a satisfying end to the game. I've only been playing as a skip since the indoor season started last autumn, I've been playing now for three years, at times both frustration and elation, it's very much a work in progress/learning curve and my advancement to skip has been due to a lack of them within our pool of players, people have moved to other clubs, poor health, others have stopped playing etc etc..but, we now have quite a number of new players to fill the ranks. I am viewing this indoor season and the coming summer as a development period, trying not to be to concern about the results, more about everyone gaining experience. Yeah that is difficult, everyone wants to win! But the seedlings need a lot of time to grow before you can expect fruit...sorry for the long reply, just giving you a bit on background info on Mr radiorobot
I have been playing lawn bowls for three years now & enjoying it. I found both your videos on where to stand on the mat and off centre jack were most helpful.
Hello Terence
Thank you very much for your comment
I got interrupted last night when recording so there were some te uncle hitches
One thing that got missed was that the area between rinks and near the fitch is likely to be less worn. This reduces the speed and swing of the bowl. This is why taking a measurement on bank would otherwise come out slightly too narrow but should as a result be about right
Thanks for supporting me
Kind regards
Richard
Richard great videos but looks like your foot faulting on the end rink . Keep up the good work
Hi pauperme
You could be right. The camera angle certainly looks like that. I need an overhead camera but my wife is not up for that!
I appreciate your comment
Kind regards
Richard
Do you remember the dam busters raid? To determine the distance from target they had a triangular device with two prominences at the front that lined up on two predetermined points on the dam.. so with this in mind, for example , for a back hand draw shot I do something similar with the middle finger and index finger of my left hand, the two fingers splayed apart, held up at arms length, im looking down my arm, tip of index finger goes on the jack, tip of middle finger on my aim point, like a rifle with two forward sights but apart...ive come to learn the correct distance that the tips of my fingers should be apart to give me the correct aim point for the bias of my bowls, when the jack becomes displaced across the rink i just use the same method, index finger on jack, middle finger gives me my new aim point, i mentally mark the spot with something that is at that point behind the rink, a chair, a picture on the wall, a trophy cabinet... anything that shouldn't move...all that is left is to get the weight right, and it works..when the mat moves up the rink to a shorter end the same refrence is used but I know to bowl slightly narrower from the mark for the new length..the same method is used for the forehand shot .when im calculating with this method during a roll up I can be heard humming the dam busters theme! 😁
Dear Mr R
That is the best comment I have had
Yes I did see the Dambusters
I do remember the triangular contraption. My main memory is of the two spotlights on the wings of the plane that merged at the exact height for dropping the bombs
I have used an estimate for the bank width but your method sounds great. I might give it a go. Regarding moveable points on the bank, I have had to use a bag which has been moved half way through the game. Some banks are very bare I’m afraid. Once or twice years ago, I did adjust a chair to get my aiming point!
Kind regards
Richard
@RichardHorner-i2s-l4h I do usually find something to aim at..during triples games the end of the rink that you are bowling towards can be rather cluttered with players (even more so in a fours game) so I tend to look for a mark above head height..wall lights, pipe work, conduit, signage, bricks in a painted wall, or anything else that just stands out..I used my dam busters method last Monday night, the three of us winning our two bowl trips game 20-6 came as a relief because we had been on a long losing streak..on the last end the opposition were holding three shots on a jack in the ditch, it was to the right of the 'T' roughly same distance from the T to the right hand re-spot mark...after finding my aim point over on the neighbouring rink (it was actually close to their rink number on their bank) and with the sound of merlin engines in my head 😁 I bowled forehand..at first I was a bit alarmed at how much land my bowl had taken into next doors territory, but it arced around (mesmerising!) and back onto our rink, finishing as a toucher on the opposition shot bowl, while it didn't make shot it's self it reduced the count..instant applause from my team mates (always makes me blush) the opposion skip followed my line really well but lacked the correct weight falling well short...it was a satisfying end to the game. I've only been playing as a skip since the indoor season started last autumn, I've been playing now for three years, at times both frustration and elation, it's very much a work in progress/learning curve and my advancement to skip has been due to a lack of them within our pool of players, people have moved to other clubs, poor health, others have stopped playing etc etc..but, we now have quite a number of new players to fill the ranks. I am viewing this indoor season and the coming summer as a development period, trying not to be to concern about the results, more about everyone gaining experience. Yeah that is difficult, everyone wants to win! But the seedlings need a lot of time to grow before you can expect fruit...sorry for the long reply, just giving you a bit on background info on Mr radiorobot