Having a fluent cue delivery is what every player strives for. To some, a long slow backswing, a rather long pause and then BAM! accelerate and watch the cue ball dance around the table is a sign of a beautiful stroke. To others a herky jerky short jabby stroke is something to be admired. I don't care for either, each to their own. What I care for is finding a persons own fluency and making it the best it can possibly be. Everyone has a world class stroke in them, its just a matter of picking a few things apart and making you aware of what is going on so that you can make a conscious effort to practice it and to beat this knowledge into your muscle memory to help you player better and cue the white where you want more often.
First things first - why do you not hit the cue ball where you intended some times? The wrist and grip is most likely the main culprits. Body movement is also a cause but we will get to that in a bit. So, the wrist...we would all be better off as pool players if we didn't have a wrist. There isn't much feeling in the wrist and its hard to control something you cant feel so it tends to do what it wants. You can try locking it, but this causes tension in the forearm and can cause body movement and doesn't let the cue get through the cue ball fluently, which isn't a problem usually but becomes apparent on shots with power when you then try forcing the cue ball with muscles rather than timing and you don't get the reaction you intended. The grip will screw you over too at the first possible opportunity. It clenches when you don't want it to and this really slows the cues delivery down. A little test to do is to pull the cue ball very slowly with the tip right back to the bridge. Now stop everything and stay still. Notice how the hand and wrist is placed, how much pressure is on the cue, and what bits of the hand are still on the cue. Now, push the cue forward trying to keep the wrist and hand exactly the same until the cue ball is gone. This is exactly how you want to cue. Pull it back, pause for a second to get a feel for how things are working and start to move the cue forward without clenching or twisting the wrist. Get a feel for driving the cue forward with the elbow starting the forward motion. You should be hitting the ball clean and crisp.
Now to fluency. Understanding that the backswing and forward stroke are two separate phases is a must. Pulling the cue back 100mph doesn't mean you will cue forward 100mph. So, keep the backswing slow, very slow so you can keep the cue as level as possible and on the plane you intended. As you start to move the cue forward start slow. Nice and slow for the first cm-inch and gradually increase the speed. This serves a couple of purposes. Firstly, how you cue I the first inch forward has the biggest effect of the rest of the forward swing. So nice and slow keeping it on the desired plane will help with accuracy on the cue ball. Secondly it promotes a sharp acceleration at the time of contact with the white giving you the most reaction you can possibly get. More reaction on the white means you can hit shots slower and make the pockets feel that bit bigger. It will feel alien to some trying this, but take a look at all the top snooker players. Not one of them look like they're in a rush to hit the ball.
Hopefully this will help some, if not, throw it onto the pile.
Pidge.
First things first - why do you not hit the cue ball where you intended some times? The wrist and grip is most likely the main culprits. Body movement is also a cause but we will get to that in a bit. So, the wrist...we would all be better off as pool players if we didn't have a wrist. There isn't much feeling in the wrist and its hard to control something you cant feel so it tends to do what it wants. You can try locking it, but this causes tension in the forearm and can cause body movement and doesn't let the cue get through the cue ball fluently, which isn't a problem usually but becomes apparent on shots with power when you then try forcing the cue ball with muscles rather than timing and you don't get the reaction you intended. The grip will screw you over too at the first possible opportunity. It clenches when you don't want it to and this really slows the cues delivery down. A little test to do is to pull the cue ball very slowly with the tip right back to the bridge. Now stop everything and stay still. Notice how the hand and wrist is placed, how much pressure is on the cue, and what bits of the hand are still on the cue. Now, push the cue forward trying to keep the wrist and hand exactly the same until the cue ball is gone. This is exactly how you want to cue. Pull it back, pause for a second to get a feel for how things are working and start to move the cue forward without clenching or twisting the wrist. Get a feel for driving the cue forward with the elbow starting the forward motion. You should be hitting the ball clean and crisp.
Now to fluency. Understanding that the backswing and forward stroke are two separate phases is a must. Pulling the cue back 100mph doesn't mean you will cue forward 100mph. So, keep the backswing slow, very slow so you can keep the cue as level as possible and on the plane you intended. As you start to move the cue forward start slow. Nice and slow for the first cm-inch and gradually increase the speed. This serves a couple of purposes. Firstly, how you cue I the first inch forward has the biggest effect of the rest of the forward swing. So nice and slow keeping it on the desired plane will help with accuracy on the cue ball. Secondly it promotes a sharp acceleration at the time of contact with the white giving you the most reaction you can possibly get. More reaction on the white means you can hit shots slower and make the pockets feel that bit bigger. It will feel alien to some trying this, but take a look at all the top snooker players. Not one of them look like they're in a rush to hit the ball.
Hopefully this will help some, if not, throw it onto the pile.
Pidge.
