Some things to think about, but not related to the exact question....
At a Eurotour event they put slo-mo cameras and such on about 20 top players and measured a bunch of things. A major result was that for all of the players shooting standard shots -- not break shots -- the tip hit the ball at near zero acceleration. The cue was, in effect, coasting through the cue ball.
The theory says that this timing will also be the least effort to accomplish the speed/spin required for a shot. I think it is very difficult or impossible to consciously teach this timing and that the players have simply learned the best/easiest way to hit the ball by years of practice.
Also....
Some say that you have to have a certain strength of grip for some shots. It turns out that that human flesh is so much softer than wood, CF, and even the tip, that during the actual tip/ball contact, the hand is not really involved in the collision. This has been demonstrated with high speed video.
In fact, the original Iron Willie design was broken. The grip was very, very firm. So firm that most of the robot arm was added to the weight of the stick. Iron Willie was redesigned to have a properly compliant grip, I've been told.
