I have a good friend that's shoots faster than any player I've ever seen. I told him he'd be a great speed pool player. So yesterday, out of curiosity, I watched a few Guinness Speed Pool Championship matches on YouTube. It was my first time watching any entire speed pool match. When I was younger I'd often shoot fast and loose, running around the table firing in all the stripes or solids in bar room game of 8-ball. I'd do this strictly for the comical showoff aspect, something I'm not too proud of nowadays -- the showing off part.
Anyway, last night I decided to try a little speed pool like they do in the Guinness championship matches, racking 10 balls and shooting any order. I did 5 racks and my best time was about 78 seconds. That's not good enough to win any major events, but I've seen slower times from some experienced speed pool players, so it isn't too bad I guess. My aiming method was "Just see the shot and shoot."
I struggled with completely abandoning my PSR on some shots, and though I moved quickly from one shot to the next, I didn't run as many speed pool players do. But then again, they are playing on smaller tables, and much more forgiving also. Here's my best run:
https://youtu.be/tliAxxPb7Ws
YouTube "Guinness Speed Pool" and watch a rack or two. How are these players aiming? They may have used a certain aiming system to program their brain for shots, but it's obvious they are now playing by pure feel/instinct.
This isn't a knock on aiming systems because I fully support any system that gets more people playing and enjoying pool. It's just an example of how the brain can eventually be programmed to run on auto-mode without having to rely on any full-time aiming system.
Anyway, last night I decided to try a little speed pool like they do in the Guinness championship matches, racking 10 balls and shooting any order. I did 5 racks and my best time was about 78 seconds. That's not good enough to win any major events, but I've seen slower times from some experienced speed pool players, so it isn't too bad I guess. My aiming method was "Just see the shot and shoot."
I struggled with completely abandoning my PSR on some shots, and though I moved quickly from one shot to the next, I didn't run as many speed pool players do. But then again, they are playing on smaller tables, and much more forgiving also. Here's my best run:
https://youtu.be/tliAxxPb7Ws
YouTube "Guinness Speed Pool" and watch a rack or two. How are these players aiming? They may have used a certain aiming system to program their brain for shots, but it's obvious they are now playing by pure feel/instinct.
This isn't a knock on aiming systems because I fully support any system that gets more people playing and enjoying pool. It's just an example of how the brain can eventually be programmed to run on auto-mode without having to rely on any full-time aiming system.