Lawn Bowls Foot Placement: One Less Variable in Your Delivery

THE ROLL UP - INTRO

When bowlers talk about improving consistency, the conversation often focuses on the delivery itself, the backswing, the step, the release and the follow-through.

But one of the most important parts of a consistent delivery happens before the bowl even starts moving.

Your setup on the mat, and more specifically your foot placement and alignment, can have a significant influence on how consistently you deliver the bowl.

If your feet are positioned differently every time you step onto the mat, you are introducing another variable into your delivery before you have even started. The more variables we introduce, the harder it becomes to repeat the same movement consistently.

Want More Consistency? Start with Your Position on the Mat...

Consistency Starts Before the Delivery

A repeatable delivery starts with a repeatable setup.

When you step onto the mat, you should have a clear and consistent process for where you position your feet, how you align your body and how you prepare to move through the delivery.

Your foot position should not be something that changes randomly from bowl to bowl. By establishing a familiar starting position, you are giving your body the best chance of repeating the same movement every time.

The objective is simple: set yourself up so your body can naturally deliver the bowl along the line you have selected.

Where Should Your Foot Point?

For a right-handed bowler, a useful alignment principle is to have the outside of the right foot pointing towards your intended delivery line.

For a left-handed bowler, the same principle can be mirrored using the left foot.

Think of your bowling-side foot as part of your aiming system. Once you have selected your line, position yourself on the mat and align that foot towards the line you intend to deliver the bowl along.

This helps encourage the rest of the delivery to move in the same direction. Your step, your arm swing, your release and ultimately the initial path of the bowl should all work together towards the intended line.

If your foot is pointing somewhere different to your intended line, your body may have to compensate during the delivery. You might step across yourself, swing across your body, pull the bowl tight to your intended line or push it away from your body.

The delivery suddenly becomes more complicated than it needs to be.

Foot Position Is Your Starting Point

Think about your delivery as a chain of movements. Your setup influences your step, your step influences your balance, your balance influences your swing and your swing influences your release.

If the starting position changes every time, everything that follows has the potential to change as well.

This is why consistent foot placement is so valuable. You are removing one unnecessary variable from the delivery.

Instead of asking your body to make small adjustments every time you deliver a bowl, you are creating a familiar and repeatable starting position. That makes it easier to reproduce the same delivery in practice and, importantly, when you are under pressure in competition.

Position on the Mat Matters

Consistency also means keeping your physical position on the mat the same from delivery to delivery. (see below arrows of foot placement, foot placement should remain on the same colour arrow and not move from arrow to arrow over delivery's)

We do not want bowlers constantly moving sideways across the mat or changing how far forward or back they stand each time they deliver a bowl. Doing this introduces another variable and can make it harder to repeat the same delivery.

Instead, establish a comfortable and repeatable position on the mat and use that as your normal starting point.

What should change is the angle of your feet and body alignment to match the intended line of the shot.

For example, if you are changing from forehand to backhand, adjusting your line for green conditions, or playing a different type of shot, your feet may point in a slightly different direction but your actual position on the mat should remain consistent.

Same position on the mat. Different pointing angle for the intended line.

This gives you a reliable starting position while still allowing you to adjust your alignment for the shot you are trying to play.

The fewer unnecessary changes you make before delivering the bowl, the easier it becomes to build a repeatable and consistent delivery.

Avoid Overcomplicating Alignment

One mistake bowlers can make is becoming too mechanical about their setup.

You do not necessarily need to measure your feet to the millimetre or create an elaborate pre-delivery routine. What you are trying to create is a repeatable reference point that feels familiar each time you step onto the mat.

For many bowlers, that may simply mean placing the bowling-side foot in the same general position on the mat, checking that the outside of the foot points towards the intended line, settling into the stance and then allowing the delivery to flow naturally towards the target.

The goal is not to become rigid. The goal is to become repeatable.

Check Where You Step

Foot placement at the start of the delivery is only one part of alignment. Your stepping foot also needs to support the line you have established.

If you begin correctly aligned but then step significantly across your body, your delivery line can change. Likewise, stepping too far away from your intended line may cause your arm to move away from the body and make it harder to deliver the bowl cleanly along your chosen line.

A useful question to ask during practice is: Am I stepping along the line I have established with my bowling-side foot?

The step does not need to be identical for every bowler, but it should generally support the direction of the delivery rather than work against it.

A Simple Alignment Drill

Alignment is something you can easily work on during practice.

Place a jack or small target approximately 8–10 metres in front of the mat on your intended delivery line. Before each bowl, select your intended line, take up your normal position on the mat and align the outside of your bowling-side foot towards the target.

From there, settle into your normal stance and deliver the bowl while allowing your step and arm swing to travel naturally along the line you have established.

After each delivery, take note of where your stepping foot finishes and where the bowl initially travelled. For this exercise, do not become too concerned about where the bowl eventually finishes. Your focus is on whether your setup, step and initial delivery line are consistent.

You can also use a small piece of chalk, tape or another simple reference point beside the mat during practice to check whether your starting position is changing from bowl to bowl.

The aim is not to make yourself overly technical. It is simply to build awareness and identify whether your setup is genuinely repeatable.