Lawn Bowls Delivery: Are You Stepping in the Right Direction?

THE ROLL UP - INTRO

In a recent coaching blog, we looked at the importance of foot placement and alignment on the mat and how a consistent setup can remove one unnecessary variable from your delivery. 

But getting your feet aligned correctly at the start is only part of the process. What happens next matters just as much.

Once you begin your delivery, your step needs to support the line you have already established. If your setup is aligned towards your intended line but your stepping foot then moves across your body or away from that line, you can undo the work you have done before the bowl even leaves your hand.

A simple way to think about it is this: your feet establish the line, and your step should support it.

From Setup to Step: Build a More Repeatable Delivery...

Your Step Should Work With Your Setup

When you take your position on the mat, your bowling-side foot should be aligned towards your intended delivery line. For a right-handed bowler, that means the outside of the right foot is pointing towards the line you want the bowl to travel along. For a left-handed bowler, the same principle applies using the left foot. 

From there, the stepping foot should move naturally in a direction that supports that alignment. The goal is not to force yourself into a perfectly straight or unnatural movement, because every bowler will have slightly different mechanics.

What we want to avoid is a step that causes the rest of the delivery to compensate. Your setup, step, arm swing and release should all be working together rather than fighting against each other.

What Happens If You Step Across Your Body?

One common issue is stepping too far across the intended line. For a right-handed bowler, this means the left stepping foot moves significantly across towards the right-hand side during the delivery. 

When this happens, your body can begin to close off the space your bowling arm needs to swing freely. The arm may then need to travel around the body rather than naturally underneath the shoulder.

This can encourage the bowl to be pulled inside your intended line or cause the arm to swing across the body during the release. The bowler may then try to compensate with the hand, wrist or upper body, which adds more moving parts to what should be a relatively simple delivery.

What Happens If You Step Away From the Line?

The opposite can also happen. If your stepping foot moves too far away from your intended line, your body position can open up and your bowling arm may move further away from your body. 

This can make it easier to push the bowl outside your intended line or create a delivery that feels disconnected. Again, the problem is not necessarily the step itself, but that the step and the arm swing are no longer working in the same direction.

The more compensation your body has to make during the delivery, the harder it becomes to reproduce the same result consistently.

Don’t Try to Walk a Tightrope

When bowlers hear that they should step along their intended line, it can be tempting to become too mechanical. You do not need to imagine yourself walking along a narrow line or trying to place your stepping foot in exactly the same centimetre every time. 

That can create tension and make the delivery feel forced. Instead, think more about the direction of your step.

Does your stepping foot generally move in the same direction as your intended delivery line? Does your body remain balanced? Does your bowling arm have enough space to swing naturally? Does the movement feel comfortable and repeatable?

Those questions are more important than trying to make every delivery look technically identical.

Step Length Matters Too

Direction is important, but the length of your step can also influence the quality of your delivery. 

If your step becomes too long, you may overreach and lose balance through the release. Your upper body may drop too far forward, or your timing between the step, backswing and release may begin to change.

If your step is too short, you may feel cramped or unable to transfer your weight smoothly through the delivery. The ideal step length should allow you to remain balanced and controlled while giving your bowling arm enough room to swing naturally.

For most bowlers, this will be a comfortable step rather than an exaggerated one. The key is consistency. If your step is dramatically different from one bowl to the next, you are introducing another variable into the delivery.

Balance Is a Good Indicator

One of the easiest ways to judge whether your step is helping your delivery is to look at your balance after the bowl has left your hand. 

If you regularly fall sideways, twist away from the line or need an extra step to regain balance, it may be worth looking at the direction and length of your initial step.

A well-balanced finish usually indicates that the body has moved efficiently through the delivery. You should feel stable enough to remain in your finishing position and watch the bowl travel down the green.

That does not mean everyone needs to finish in exactly the same pose. It simply means your movement should feel controlled rather than unstable.

A Simple Practice Drill

This is an easy area to work on during practice. 

Choose a target approximately 8–10 metres in front of the mat that represents your intended delivery line. This might be a small marker, a target disc or simply a visual point on the green.

Take your normal position on the mat and align your bowling-side foot towards that target. Before delivering the bowl, take a moment to recognise the direction you are intending to step.

Then deliver normally. After the bowl has left your hand, stay in your finishing position for a second or two and look down at your stepping foot.

Ask yourself: Did I step in the direction I intended?

Repeat this over a number of deliveries without worrying too much about where the bowls eventually finish. The purpose of the drill is to develop awareness of your movement and identify whether your step is consistent.

Use Video to Check Your Step

Video can be extremely useful when working on alignment. Many bowlers believe they are stepping straight towards their intended line until they see their delivery from behind.

Place your phone, tablet or camera safely behind the mat and record several deliveries. When reviewing the footage, look at the relationship between your starting foot position, your stepping foot and the initial path of the bowl.

You are looking for a delivery where those elements generally work in the same direction. You may notice that your step changes when you move from forehand to backhand, when you play with more weight, or when you are under pressure.

That information can be valuable because it gives you something specific to work on rather than simply feeling that something is “not quite right”.

If you are finding it difficult to identify what is happening in your own delivery, this is exactly where TBA Remote Delivery Analysis can help. Send us videos of your delivery and we’ll assess areas such as your setup, foot alignment, stepping direction, balance, arm swing and release, then provide personalised feedback and clear areas to work on.

👉 Learn more about TBA Remote Delivery Analysis