Sadly, I have to agree with pretty much this entire post. It has been a bitter lesson.
Bumper stickers: the origin of memes.
The problem is that it takes a lot of practice to get the cue ball to arrive at the object ball with the desired quality of draw, where quality is defined as the amount of draw in proportion to the speed of the cue ball. In the case of follow, if the cue ball is rolling smoothly on the cloth, the quality of the follow is extremely consistent without any effort from the player. (It is the quality of the draw/follow that determines the carom angle.)
On a half-ball follow shot, the deflection angle of the cue ball is 35 degrees within a degree even for beginners. On a half-ball draw shot the deflection angle is 90 degrees only if you manage to get the cue ball to arrive at the object ball with just the right amount of (lively) draw. Beginners will not be able to control that angle within 15 degrees for a range of conditions.
Consider breaking out a cluster. Would you rather have a stun or follow shot to do it or would you rather have a draw shot? Which is more likely to land on the ball you want to hit and on the side of the ball you want to hit?
I think a draw shot is only when the cue ball is spinning backwards when it arrives at the object ball. Most stun shots need to be played somewhat below center to arrive with nothing.... When you guys discuss using draw or follow are you actually talking about that cue ball spinning backwards when it arrives at the object ball or are we including stun shots (my favorite over follow and draw) and shots where you just cue towards the bottom of the cue ball with spin but dont actually have a backwards spinning cue ball when it arrives at the object ball?
Once you touch that rail, god knows what will happen.
Food for thought, I don't think there is a pro alive that is going to shoot the 9 ball to win the game with follow, unless they are frozen on a rail.
That says a lot.
The problem with relying on draw( applying low to bring the CB back from the tangent line) on a majority of your position, is that the angel at which you can use it is only 10-25%, depending on how good your stroke is, off the aim line.
Your shot needs to be nearly straight in to draw; otherwise your CB is going forward of the tangent, regardless of cueing low.
That's not true at all.
Or stated more completely....That's not true at all.
Or stated more completely....
If the cue ball has backspin when it arrives at the object ball, it will come off initially along the tangent line and then bend back from the tangent line. The amount of deviation back from the tangent line depends on the cut angle and the quality (spin vs. speed) of the draw. That is, if the cue has only a little back spin for its speed and the cut is thin, it will only pull a little back from the tangent.
For a half-ball cut, lively draw will result in the cue ball traveling nearly perpendicular to its original path. A fuller than half-ball hit with lively draw will result in a cue ball path that is somewhat back towards the shooter.
I don’t consider just cueing low as draw.
Cueing bellow center Does not always result in draw.
People conflate the two.
Sorry, but of your 5 comments, only #4 is correct, 3&5 are highly debatable, and 1&2 are just plain wrong. You also leave out some critical points which are much more important (my additions 6-13).I don't know about you guys, but I'm drawing for my dough, that's for sure. Ok, 3 cushion and big ball bar box excluded, but still.
I'm going to assume that the player in question has a decent stroke and is not a beginner, also that modern conditions apply. No "rag" cushions or rug cloth. There is a huge difference between a C player draw stroke and that of a better player. We'll assume that the player in question knows how to get action with a soft stroke.
1. Draw minimizes throw. That may seem like a theoretical point, but it really isn't. Who hasn't seen a cut shot turn and wobble in the pocket because of follow? Hit a cut shot with draw, and not only will it throw less, it virtually guaranteees that the object ball will travel straight as well.
2. Draw "cuts off the table" minimizing cueball travel and rail contact. Extremely important in these times of "pinball cushions" and ultra fast cloths. Once you touch that rail, god knows what will happen. With draw, typically the cushion contacts are softer than typical follow shots, which have more cueball speed at cushion contact.
3. Draw lets you see the whole ball, thus making aiming easier. Again, seems minor, but it really isn't.
4. Draw makes it easy to kill the ball.It will let you shoot fairly firm, ensuring straight travel, yet have a low speed at the impact time.
5. Who wants to shoot power follow shots? Seriously, how often do you see top players do that when there is even a hint of a different option? They are the toughest shots in pool.
... draw shots are played in 3-C at most maybe 1 out of 15 shots.
I would call it finding the most natural path that includes three cushions. A large part of the game is finding where the cue ball "wants" to go.3C is the antithesis of taking the best, most natural path from Point A to Point B. ...