Some Tactics for Head Building

Quite often, during play, the head is allowed to build without any real thought being given to the necessity of strategic placement of bowls, to either maximise the number of shots gained or to reduce the score that one’s opponent may achieve.

Obviously, you should not take unnecessary risks in directing your team’s shots, or play into your opponents hands, by underestimating their ability to take advantage of a dangerous situation that you may have created by careless head building.

Perhaps a golden rule to bear in mind when building a head, is that if if you cannot win an end, then the main aim is to lose by the least number of shots.

NEVER be afraid to let your opponent have one shot when your risky “saving” bowl may mean going down four or five.

If you are holding shots don’t be too greedy, but look for adverse positions in the head, where a movement of the jack could result in a big score against you, and play to cover that possibility with a position bowl.

REMEMBER:

1. When holding shots – never be narrow.

2. When down – never be wide.

3. Every player’s bowls are part of the head building process.

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