straightline said:

The rolling ball is always trying to go in the direction of the initial roll. Conversely, draw on a thin hit will bend the ball away from the tangent line. The effect is very pronounce when a soft stroke is used and the balls are close together.

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Does the very thin hit on said draw shot result in less draw action?

The 2 rail kick it opens with prolly.

bbb said:

At what time is the shot you were referring to?
The link does not open to the shot for me

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14:28

At what time is the shot you were referring to?
The link does not open to the shot for me

Paul Bell said:

The graph shows that a rolling cue ball produces follow at near full-ball hits which is nothing new. What is interesting is how it also produces follow at really thin shots (and explains some of my scratching for very thin shots near pockets).
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As far as the half-ball hit, that produces close enough to 30-degree cue-ball direction for my play.

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The rolling ball is always trying to go in the direction of the initial roll. Conversely, draw on a thin hit will bend the ball away from the tangent line. The effect is very pronounce when a soft stroke is used and the balls are close together.

Even the term 'beginner' casts a wide net so advice will vary. However it always adheres to 'plug the biggest holes first'. Basically, try to fix their one biggest problem causing the most suckage and leave them be for a while. Less is more. General order of big holes as I see em....

1. Be able to hit where you're aiming. Addressing this may need stance/grip/general setup advice
2. Learn where to aim
3. Learn how to use natural roll and stun for position and begin to identify 'connected balls' for basic pattern play.

Get those 3 down and you are no longer a raw beginner and can take the entrance exam into intermediate status... spin.

Usually, pointing a beginner to a YT resource like Dr. Dave vids is enough. Then they can tackle subjects as needed on their own and leave you alone.

jbart65 said:

Feijin was uncharacteristically error prone in the first half of his match vs Josh. Basically gave two games away and scratched on one break. In a FB post, he said he was jumpy. He said he thinks it was because of a lack of exercise. He was cooped up during the event, up later than usual and wasn't able to exercise like he normally does.

He is an exercise freak, so he could be right. People like that aren't quite right if they don't get their exercise.

That said, it's up to Niels to figure out something that will work.

Still, he was extremely impressive for a part-time professional about to hit 50 years old. Josh knew he was going to be in a fight, and he was.

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Feijen is an inspiration, perhaps the new Souquet. It was always mind-blowing that Ralf managed to maintain world class speed well into his fifties, and it may prove the same for Feijen.

In my opinion, the common thread among all those that have played world class pool into their fifties is that they are all among the most elite pattern players of all time.

Maniac said:

Even the pros have to make choices. Mistakes are sometimes made. I've seen literally hundreds of shots played improperly over my many years of watching. They usually opt for the shot they think they have the best chance of successfully completing. I've heard many a commentator question a player's choice of shots right on up to some of the world's best players. I don't like to hear it. You'd have to be in their "moment" to fully understand why they make the choices they do.

I wonder if anyone posting on this thread has ever played a shot the wrong way? And if so, did the general public scrutinize the sh*t out of it?

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I guess I don't see anyone "scrutinizing the sh*t" out of this play, or insulting him, or anything of that nature.

It is professional sports. Fans analyze the decisions and execution of professional athletes all the time.

I'd imagine we could sit down with Neuhausen today and say, "You took a route on that shot that we didn't foresee. We thought you would go this way, but you didn't. Can you walk us through that shot?" and I bet he would give an honest, thoughtful answer. He might stick by his guns. He might say that he would do it differently if he could. He might say he's been working on that shot a lot to expand his options.

I don't think he would be offended.

HOWEVER, I agree that commentators scrutinizing every shot can be fatiguing. Sometimes I think they use the commentary booth to show off their knowledge, or their "greatness" too much. Analyzing one shot, or one choice, or one route? Yeah, I get that. Again, it is professional sports. But acting like a pro gets A LOT wrong is annoying, to me.

Ronnie is playing now in losers' qualification -- doing better

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sjm said:

I'm always amused when I chat with the players and they tell me "anybody can win a race to 10" but the level of play is so high these days that it seems they are right.

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Certainly right for the higher ranked players. Gorst has a very very good chance against Filler, anyone over 800 has a decent chance, probably begins to drop somewhere around 780. I'm amused as you though that people actually believe playing to 10 is a short race.

sjm said:

Actually, two players that were in dead stroke all week were Feijen and Szewczyk, and Josh has to beat both of them, along with Shaw. That's a tough draw.

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Feijin was uncharacteristically error prone in the first half of his match vs Josh. Basically gave two games away and scratched on one break. In a FB post, he said he was jumpy. He said he thinks it was because of a lack of exercise. He was cooped up during the event, up later than usual and wasn't able to exercise like he normally does.

He is an exercise freak, so he could be right. People like that aren't quite right if they don't get their exercise.

That said, it's up to Niels to figure out something that will work.

Still, he was extremely impressive for a part-time professional about to hit 50 years old. Josh knew he was going to be in a fight, and he was.

Still looking?

jbart65 said:

WNT used the same cloth at the European Open and I didn't notice anything different. At the UK Open, however, I saw a number of balls rattle around a pocket and then drop. It happened much more than usual. A lot of times these balls would get hung up.

I suspect the unusually hot weather might have played a bigger role than the cloth, but the players played on the cloth. I didn't.

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Yeah, I can't say that I noticed the difference either, but at least three players with whom I spoke suggested that the cloth was making a difference.