GRAHAM Robertson has used his slow, methodical approach to bowls to become Scotland's most prolific winner of titles in recent years. The 40-year-old tax inspector is still the only Scot to have won both the British indoor and outdoor singles titles and has struck gold in both the world outdoor and indoor championships, the latter coming in the pairs at Preston earlier this year.

But Robertson is shrugging off the shackles of his slowcoach approach to the game as he bids to kickstart his new role as Scotland's director of coaching. He took on the position last August following the untimely death of Bob Sutherland who had been in charge since the coaching scheme was formulated back in 1988, and has already made a significant impact.

Suddenly, Robertson's a man in a hurry as he sets about introducing some of his ideas gleaned from a 25-year playing career that's taken him to all corners of the world.

''It was never going to be easy following Bob and I was very lucky with the infrastructure he left. I have six regional supervisors in place and the quality of their work and administration was outstanding - it helped me considerably when I took over,'' explained Robertson.

Not that the playing side is any less important to the East Lothian man now that he's involved in coaching.

''I'm first and foremost a player. I still look forward to competing at the top level and obviously got a great thrill out of winning the world pairs with Richard Corsie in January.

''I love my involvement with coaching but I still enjoy the competitive side of the game and hopefully I can continue with both for a long time to come,'' he explained.

One of the first things to strike Robertson was the apparent tactical naivete at club level.

''That really surprised me - there's so much room for improvement in that department but fortunately it's something that can be addressed. Club bowlers must be taught that they can learn an awful lot by watching the top players in action; how they approach their shots and why they choose that particular play. In the long term I would like to introduce advanced level coaching aimed particularly at this aspect of the game,'' said Robertson.

Another early priority has been to launch the ''Bowls Schools Project 1998'' in conjunction with the National Playing Fields' Association and he set the wheels in motion at Queen's Park earlier this week.

''We've had previous schools projects but this year we've introduced a completely new approach.

''First off we're targeting primary six and seven and secondary one rather than some of the older age groups aimed at in previous years.

''In discussions with senior teachers and heads of departments, they pointed out that from secondary two onwards the curriculum didn't always allow for this sort of thing. At that stage the youngsters are heavily involved in exams and the academic side of their courses and the early evidence would seem to bear that out.''

Not that Robertson aims to produce a conveyor belt of teenage bowls clones. ''The initial aim is to get these kids playing bowls and enjoying it. We want them to build up a rapport between themselves and the local club - particularly in the small towns and villages. If they then go on to take up the game, then great, but at this stage we are not necessarily looking for an end product. We just want to encourage them to enjoy it.''

One of Robertson's first priorities was to identify and rectify an administrative anomaly.

''We used to approach things through the network of the Scottish Bowling Association's 32 geographical areas but that caused problems.

''Very often that left us dealing with two local authorities who overlapped in our areas. Now though we split Scotland into local authority areas and it's proving very successful be it a coaching initiative aimed at local schools or one for the over 50s.

''So far we've had great feedback. The initial response has been good and we should reap the full benefit next year.''

The national coach is quick to praise the backers of the schools project for their support - the world's leading two bowls manufacturers Taylor and Henselite have donated sets of bowls and that's what allowed him to launch the scheme.

One of the manufacturers, Taylor, has developed a range of coloured bowls and that, too, is a big help.

''There's no doubt the image of the game needs to be brightened up. We've got to attract people to it and I think coloured bowls will be a major help,'' explained Alex Heron, the managing director of Taylor Bowls.

That was certainly the case this week when the coloured bowls were unveiled at Queen's Park with the youngsters voting them an immediate hit.

''I think coloured bowls will add a new dimension to the sport - particularly for the top television events. Currently the rules of the World Bowls' Board only allow for black or brown bowls but their secretary David Johnston has been impressed by what we've done and I'm hopeful they'll be given the nod of approval when the WBB meet in Malaysia at the Commonwealth Games in September,'' added Heron.

A structured coaching scheme, coloured bowls, teenagers trundling up and down the green, and a bowls lesson sandwiched between maths and chemistry on the first-year timetable. What next?

The monthly bingo being replaced by a club house disco. The traditional end of match tipple changing to designer beers drunk straight from the bottle. Caterpillar introducing a range of bowls shoes. White bunnets replaced by skip caps worn back to front and Armani jeans instead of the starched white flannels.

Coaching in general and Graham Robertson in particular may have a lot to answer for.