We’ve all been there. You step onto the mat, feeling confident. You send your bowl on its way... and watch in horror as it veers off in completely the wrong direction! I’ve been playing this game for over 30 years, and I can assure you, even the top professionals make mistakes. It’s a fundamental part of the sport and, more importantly, a huge part of how we learn.
The key is to recognise the common pitfalls and understand how to correct them. Often, a tiny adjustment to your setup or mindset can make a world of difference, turning a frustrating end into a match-winning one. This guide will walk you through the ten most common mistakes I see on the green every week and give you practical, easy-to-implement fixes to get your game back on track.
1. The Dreaded Wrong Bias
This is mistake number one for a reason! It happens to everyone, from absolute beginners to seasoned pros. You deliver a perfect bowl with the perfect weight, only to see it curve majestically away from the jack. It’s embarrassing, but it’s easily fixed!
- The Problem: You’ve held the bowl with the bias facing the wrong way. The bowl will always curve towards its weighted side, which is marked with the smaller emblem.
- The Quick Fix: Create a pre-shot routine. Every single time you pick up your bowl, say to yourself, "Small ring in, big ring out" (for a forehand delivery as a right-hander) or whichever mantra works for you. Physically look at the emblem in your hand before you settle into your stance. This simple habit will build muscle memory and make the wrong bias a thing of the past.
2. An Unstable Stance
I often see players who are wobbly on the mat. If your base isn’t solid, there's no way you can deliver the bowl consistently. Balance is the foundation of every single shot.
- The Problem: Standing too upright, having feet too close together, or not bending your knees enough. This creates an unstable platform, leading to inconsistent deliveries.
- The Fix: Get low! Before you deliver, ensure your feet are shoulder-width apart. As you step forward, bend your knees and hips, lowering your centre of gravity. Use your non-bowling arm for balance by extending it out or resting it on your knee. You should feel solid, stable, and comfortable throughout the swing.
- Practice Drill: Simply stand on a mat at home and practise the motion without a bowl. Hold the finishing position for a few seconds. If you feel wobbly, you know you need to adjust your base.
3. An Inconsistent Grip
Are some of your shots smooth and others wobbly? Your grip could be the culprit. Squeezing the bowl too hard (the "death grip") or holding it too loosely will completely ruin your touch and feel.
- The Problem: Varying your grip pressure from shot to shot. This directly affects the point of release, causing bowls to be "pulled" off line or released with a wobble.
- The Fix: Your bowl should rest comfortably in your hand, not be squeezed. Your fingers should be relaxed but firm. The goal is to find a grip that feels secure and repeatable. Before buying a set, it’s a great idea to try out different lawn bowls with various grip types to see what feels most natural in your hand.
4. Rushing the Delivery
When the pressure is on, it's natural to get tense and speed everything up. Rushing your delivery is a sure-fire way to lose your rhythm and timing, resulting in poor weight control.
- The Problem: A hurried backswing and a jerky forward motion. This "snatching" at the shot makes it impossible to judge the weight correctly.
- The Fix: Slow everything down. Take a deep breath on the mat before you start. Focus on a smooth, unhurried, pendulum-like swing. The rhythm should feel like "back... and... through...". This deliberate tempo will give you much better control over the pace of your shot.
5. Aiming Directly at the Jack
This is a classic beginner's error. You want the bowl to go to the jack, so you aim at it. But you're forgetting the most important part of the game—the bias!
- The Problem: Your brain tells you to aim at the target, but the bowl is designed to curve. Aiming at the jack will cause your bowl to finish wide every single time.
- The Fix: You must trust the curve. Pick a specific aiming point well to the side of the jack (on the bank, or a mark on the green). Focus all your attention on delivering the bowl over that spot. Your peripheral vision will keep the jack in view, but your conscious aim must be on your chosen line.
6. Poor Weight Control
Does this sound familiar? Your first bowl is two yards short, and your next one is two yards past. Inconsistent weight is one of the most frustrating problems in bowls.
- The Problem: A lack of feel for the pace of the green, often caused by an inconsistent swing.
- The Fix: Weight control comes from the length of your backswing. A longer backswing generates more pace; a shorter one generates less.
- Practice Drill: Before a game, spend five minutes just rolling the jack to different lengths. Try to stop it on the 2m mark, then the centre line, then the 23m mark. This helps you calibrate your arm for the speed of the green without worrying about the line.
7. Chasing a Bad Shot
You've delivered a poor bowl. The temptation is to immediately try and correct it with an aggressive, risky shot. This often makes a bad situation even worse.
- The Problem: Letting one bad bowl dictate your next shot, leading to a cascade of errors. This is called "chasing your bowls."
- The Fix: Pause and reset. Acknowledge the poor shot, but then forget it. Re-assess the head as it currently stands. The correct shot now might be a simple draw or a positional bowl, not a wild attempt to recover your first errant delivery. Play the shot the head requires, not the one your ego wants.
8. Ignoring Your Skip (or the Head)
Your skip is at the other end for a reason—they have the best view in the house! Ignoring their instruction or failing to look at the head before you bowl is a common team-play mistake.
- The Problem: Playing the shot you want to play, rather than the one the team needs. This is "playing with blinkers on."
- The Fix: Always look up and make eye contact with your skip before you get on the mat. Listen carefully to their instruction about which shot to play and what hand to play it on. Even if you disagree, in a team game, the skip's decision is final. Trust their judgment.
9. Emotional Tilt: Getting Frustrated
Bowls is a mental game. If you let frustration, anger, or disappointment take over, your technique will fall apart. I've seen it happen to the very best.
- The Problem: Allowing negative emotions to affect your concentration and physical performance. Your muscles tense up, your breathing gets shallow, and your smooth rhythm disappears.
- The Fix: Develop a mental reset button. If you're feeling frustrated, step off the mat, take a deep breath, and walk to the back of the rink. Remind yourself that it's just one end, or even just one bowl. Focus on the next shot, not the last one. A positive and calm mindset is one of your most valuable pieces of bowling equipment.
Everyone makes mistakes on the bowling green. The difference between a good player and a great player is how quickly they recognise, correct, and learn from them. Be patient with yourself, focus on these fundamentals, and you'll find your consistency and enjoyment of the game soaring.