Its about acceleration, conservation of energy and momentum not follow through
That's a big if. The same bridge length doesn't guaranty the same tip speed. Maybe longer followthrough is causing you to hit harder.
A more likely reason is that a longer followthrough causes you to stroke straighter, which helps you hit the CB lower.
There are spring loaded cue sticks that can be used to hit CBs with very short followthrough (Dr. Dave has one). They can easily show that plenty of spin can be put on the CB without much followthrough.
pj
chgo
Your spot on in regards to spin and follow through, follow through has nothing to do with the shot it is an after effect of a correctly delivered shot, that will occur everytime said shot is correctly delivered.
But just because someone follows through does not mean they completed their stroke!
Follow through does not affect spin or the degree of the rotation on the CB. Following through is the after effect of a stroke that is accelerating in a positive manner.
Every stroke shot from the instant the forward delivery is made should be accelerating in a consistent manner. If the stroking arm and cue are accelerating consistently then the stroke is automatically going to follow past the CB.....WHY because the momentum of the cue is due forward and the grip hand is only there for the ride THUS the cue will continue past the CB after contact and go to its relative finish spot for that particular player.
The idea is sound but applied incorrectly.
Its not the follow through ITS THE MOMENTUM THAT EFFECTS SPIN
(the momentum of the cuestick combined with cueing angle and english used are what quantify the CB spin and its differing aspects)
That is why those spring loaded cuesticks previously mentioned work to create just as much spin as the same shot with a longer follow through. The spring is not like you it can't choose how it accelerates nor can it start to accelerate and choose to decelerate its expansion prior to being fully expanded to its limit. The spring also has its own finish spot that doesn't change, it will always move to expand itself completely to that "finish spot"
Being that the spring goes from compressed to expanded (or vice versa depending on the design mechanics) or an even better way to put it THE SPRING ALWAYS GOES FROM AN EXCITED STATE TO A UNEXCITED STATE IN A SMOOTH AND HIGHLY EFFICIENT MANNER.
Precision transfer and conservation of energy of momentum from one object to another will best be acheived by an efficient machine.
As humans we are obviously not machines with repeatable SET parameters like the aforementioned spring, you can control what goes on...you can control and cause an incremental rate of acceleration towards contact and you can also cause the cue to decelerate towards contact.
Many many players use what is referred to as a "Bunt" stroke when shooting. After the initiation of the forward delivers The shooter goes about attaining the desired effects on CB speed and momentum by starting the stroke with more acceleration/forward momentum than is needed, and prior to CB/TIP contact the shooter uses the muscles in the grip arm to TONE DOWN or DECELERATE the cuestick to its desired quantity needed to drive the CB at the desired speed and distance.
The decelerating of the stroke to attain the desired cue speed upon contact is a very inefficient machine. Its inefficiency causes a loss of energy conserved toward the delivery of the cue to the CB. Because this method causes poor transfer of energy it is fact that the shooter will have to apply more initial power/speed to the shot to attain the same effects that a constantly accelerating stroke can produce.
The delivery of stroke can be broken down into 4 parts:
Part 1 - Initiates at the point where the grip hand is extended to on the backswing b/f forward delivery has begun. Part 1 of the stroke is where the foundation for the quantity of momentum and acceleration you chose to deliver are set/created. I like to refer to this part as the
First 1/3 of the completed stroke b/c Part 1 ends b/f the center or bottom of the pendulum (which is where the hand should be optimally upon CB/tip contact ) At the end of this phase, stroke speed will no longer increase in speed/momentum it will peak and stay constant untill tip contact with the CB.
Part 2- This is the part of your stroke where the rubber meets the road. All of the acceleration and momentum of the cue have maxed out for the given shot and BECOME CONSTANT prior to tip impact with the CB. Optimally Part 2 of the stroke delivery will end at the bottom center of the pendulum and make tip to CB contact at the same time.
Part 3- Occurs immideatly after CB contact with the tip of the cue stick. If deceleration is present in Part 2 then Part 3 of the stroke will be adversely affected, the stroke will stop short of a full completion (BUNTING). If the initial 2 phases of the stroke are performed properly then the mass (grip arms forearm & cue) will swing on its pivot point at the elbow creating a type of mechanical lever that now creates its momentum from the mass present in the machine which is the stroking arm and cue. Initially in Phase 1 of the stroke the momentum is solely initiated by acceleration of the grip hand with the mass not affecting the delivery until the delivery has already been started.
Once the stroke hits its peak acceleration and momentum leading into phase 2 the combined mass of the stroking arm (only the parts of it that move) and the cue stick are what maintain the speed of the cue as acceleration is no longer created by the stroking arm, the stroking arm only rides the momentum of the cue during this period, it does not affect it. This places all the momentum in the cue stick with the grip only guiding its path.
Because the energy of momentum is concentrated in the cuestick it can deliver its energy efficiently to the CB which was initially formed by acceleration of the grip hand. With the built up energy now passed on from the cue stick to the CB, the grip and cue's mass in tandem with the machine lever that is the elbow create centrifungal force that provides the momentum needed to get to the 4th and final phase of the stroke.
Part 4- "THE FINISH SPOT"
Your stroke is now 3/4 of the way complete, momentum continues to be carried along the pendulum shaped route by the mechanical lever (elbow). The stroke must never want to stop on its own accord, nor should it stop by yours. The stroke being an applied mechanical function of the body should only to be stopped by a mechanical stop. The "mechanical stop" here would be the chest. As the grip hand and cue swing along the pendulum the grip hand will continue forward untill the pendulums route runs the hand into the chest which automatically stops/ends the momentum of the cue and completes/finishes the stroke.
Using the body as an automatic stop is advantageous b/c it removes the bad habit of letting the muscles in the arm stop the stroke. Any time you stop the stroke manually with your muscles you must decelerate. Since deceleration of the stroke is degrading to the quality of the output of the stroke, the muscles should never be called upon to stop the stroke as it can form a habit. By using the automatic stop which is the finish spot most commonly found on the side of the lower chest there is no bad habit to potentially form.
take a sip of that,
-Grey Ghost-
