question for an instructor

[asbani]

ok, I have two shafts, one is wd700 12.5mm and the other is alpha 12.9mm


I love both shafts very much. to be honest but today as i was playing and alternated between the two shafts, I noticed something...

My accuracy in potting balls is much higher in the 12.9mm shaft specially with long shots, I really do make long shots with that Alpha hybrid shaft which is thicker in size, so my question to you, is why is it happening, and why does my potting increases with the alpha more than the wd700 (thinner shaft)

My own guess was the following "I think I make long shots with the alpha because its thicker, or so my kind of thing is I am not a good aimer with the thinner shaft"

or what do you think? Give me your opinion.

 

[Scott Lee]

asbani...The thickness of the shaft has no bearing on how well you can, or cannot pocket balls. If the 'fatter' shaft "feels" better, and seems to work better, go ahead and use it. However, just know that this is a subjective feeling, and has no bearing in factuality. Either shaft will perform well, in the hands of someone with an accurate and repeatable stroke.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

ok, I have two shafts, one is wd700 12.5mm and the other is alpha 12.9mm


I love both shafts very much. to be honest but today as i was playing and alternated between the two shafts, I noticed something...

My accuracy in potting balls is much higher in the 12.9mm shaft specially with long shots, I really do make long shots with that Alpha hybrid shaft which is thicker in size, so my question to you, is why is it happening, and why does my potting increases with the alpha more than the wd700 (thinner shaft)

My own guess was the following "I think I make long shots with the alpha because its thicker, or so my kind of thing is I am not a good aimer with the thinner shaft"

or what do you think? Give me your opinion.

 

[asbani]

asbani...The thickness of the shaft has no bearing on how well you can, or cannot pocket balls. If the 'fatter' shaft "feels" better, and seems to work better, go ahead and use it. However, just know that this is a subjective feeling, and has no bearing in factuality. Either shaft will perform well, in the hands of someone with an accurate and repeatable stroke.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Thats the answer I was looking for, thank you. I was just under the impression that a thicker shaft will be easier to aim/make balls, because back in the days I saw Mike Seigel/Earl strickland pocketing balls from anywhere, and they both were using 13mm shafts. but I guess you are right, its the feel, if I feel good with it, then I should play with it.

 

[FranCrimi]

ok, I have two shafts, one is wd700 12.5mm and the other is alpha 12.9mm


I love both shafts very much. to be honest but today as i was playing and alternated between the two shafts, I noticed something...

My accuracy in potting balls is much higher in the 12.9mm shaft specially with long shots, I really do make long shots with that Alpha hybrid shaft which is thicker in size, so my question to you, is why is it happening, and why does my potting increases with the alpha more than the wd700 (thinner shaft)

My own guess was the following "I think I make long shots with the alpha because its thicker, or so my kind of thing is I am not a good aimer with the thinner shaft"

or what do you think? Give me your opinion.

I think there are a few possiblities why this is happening to you:

One issue is shaft deflection. The thinner shaft may bend more and it does affect your aim and how you apply spin. Also, if the shaft tapers are different, that also would affect shaft deflection.

Another possibility is change in weight. If you were to weigh both shafts, would you find one shaft heavier than the other? It doesn't take much to make a difference. You may prefer that slightly heaver weight, however slight it might be.

Another issue is that different shaft weights will change the balance point on your cue. For example, Predator shafts are lighter than solid wood shafts, changing the balance point on a cue.

The important thing is that you discovered your preference. That's all that really counts.

 

[RWOJO]

Shaft Diameter

There are some factors with the diameter of the shaft but it should not be affecting your play too drastically.

Deflection - does one shaft deflect more than the other? On these long shots are you shooting center ball or with english?

Aiming - what method do you use for aiming? some methods you actually use left side, right side or center of your tip for aiming and diameter does change this.

I am set on using Predator Z2 shafts which are 11.75 mm. I recently purchased 2 Z2 shafts that were turned down to something ridiculous. I have not measured them but I think they are somewhere between 10.25 and 10.75. They look like I should be playing snooker. The smaller diameter opens up more options (combinations) of english but you have to be more accurate with your cueing. I was talking with Putnam the other night and most of the cues he's making have a 13mm tip, so I showed him the 2 new shafts I'm using. His response was "I bet your getting unwanted english and you don't even know it". He is probably right because if I get a little careless I will miss position.

But It all comes down to personal preference and what works for you.

 

[asbani]

There are some factors with the diameter of the shaft but it should not be affecting your play too drastically.

Deflection - does one shaft deflect more than the other? On these long shots are you shooting center ball or with english?

Aiming - what method do you use for aiming? some methods you actually use left side, right side or center of your tip for aiming and diameter does change this.

I am set on using Predator Z2 shafts which are 11.75 mm. I recently purchased 2 Z2 shafts that were turned down to something ridiculous. I have not measured them but I think they are somewhere between 10.25 and 10.75. They look like I should be playing snooker. The smaller diameter opens up more options (combinations) of english but you have to be more accurate with your cueing. I was talking with Putnam the other night and most of the cues he's making have a 13mm tip, so I showed him the 2 new shafts I'm using. His response was "I bet your getting unwanted english and you don't even know it". He is probably right because if I get a little careless I will miss position.

But It all comes down to personal preference and what works for you.

Thats really a nice observation, but I really can't answer most of the question, I really don't have any idea of what aiming system I use, weather i'm watching the side tip, or center tip, or what exactly, I do acknowledge there are systems out there, but when I'm playing, whenever I started noticing what exactly i'm doing, I start to play bad. I started playing pool when I was realy young, and the aiming system that I got is from playing for several years and it just got into me automatically without reading or anything because I was young.... however I do read about aiming systems, but right now whenever I play, i just use an auto-system that comes to me automatically hence I called it auto-system, I just go down on a ball, do my preshot routine and look at the ball and at my ferrul in a manner that I am so used to , back and forth, and back, and forth with my eyes, in a way to look at the shot good enough to make it, and it goes in. Thats my aiming system, but i can't tell exactly if i'm looking left of the tip or right, because its just my feel.

and the day that I play bad, is the day where this auto-system is not coming good on me, because its auto, lol.


I don't know how to explain it good, but hope somebody who was in my shoes before know what I mean.... by all means I am not trying to learn a new system, I just love mine, but want to know how to make sure that I do it 100% good all the time, what I would really love is be so constant at it, everytime I play, i want to aim the same way.

 

[Scott Lee]

asbani...You've definitely got the right idea. Accurate aiming comes from building trust in your stroke first. That said, it isn't so much what you, or even how you do it, but most important is doing it the same way on each and every shot. You can physically train yourself to do that, but first you have to identify and define each step in your process. Then you can examine each step, one at a time, and figure out if you're doing things differently on different shots...before you can make yourself do it the same way on purpose. I can teach you how to do this in one lesson. Define it...measure it...train it...practice it...compete with it! PM me if you're interested.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Thats really a nice observation, but I really can't answer most of the question, I really don't have any idea of what aiming system I use, weather i'm watching the side tip, or center tip, or what exactly, I do acknowledge there are systems out there, but when I'm playing, whenever I started noticing what exactly i'm doing, I start to play bad. I started playing pool when I was realy young, and the aiming system that I got is from playing for several years and it just got into me automatically without reading or anything because I was young.... however I do read about aiming systems, but right now whenever I play, i just use an auto-system that comes to me automatically hence I called it auto-system, I just go down on a ball, do my preshot routine and look at the ball and at my ferrul in a manner that I am so used to , back and forth, and back, and forth with my eyes, in a way to look at the shot good enough to make it, and it goes in. Thats my aiming system, but i can't tell exactly if i'm looking left of the tip or right, because its just my feel.

and the day that I play bad, is the day where this auto-system is not coming good on me, because its auto, lol.


I don't know how to explain it good, but hope somebody who was in my shoes before know what I mean.... by all means I am not trying to learn a new system, I just love mine, but want to know how to make sure that I do it 100% good all the time, what I would really love is be so constant at it, everytime I play, i want to aim the same way.