What do you think the best shotmakers have in common?

Oikawa

Oikawa

Well-known member
What sort of qualities do you think seperates the best shotmakers from others? People like Filler, Shaw, Shane, etc.

Obviously every pro has their strengths and weaknesses, but what do you think it is that most seperates the absolute top from the rest of the pros, when it comes to pure shotmaking?

Nerves, eyesight, fundamentals, confidence, amount of practice, better hand-eye coordination, talent?
 
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pwd72s said:
What they share in common? Many hours of practice.
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They obviously have very solid techniques as well. As Cris Mullins said about shooting a basketball, you can get real good with a wonky technique, but it will take you 600makes a day. With good technique, you can get away with 200makes.

Work horse practicers like SVB and Earl have excellent techniques but also putting in those wonky technique hours.
 
pwd72s said:
What they share in common? Many hours of practice.
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Of course, but I mean among the pros. All of the top players in the world have surely put in tens of thousands of hours, yet some of them shine above the rest. Many hours of practice isn't enough to be "the best".

Of course there is no "one right answer" to this question of what separates the very best shotmakers from the rest, but there's surely varying opinions about it.
 
Oikawa said:
Of course, but I mean among the pros. All of the top players in the world have surely put in tens of thousands of hours, yet some of them shine above the rest. Many hours of practice isn't enough to be "the best".

Of course there is no "one right answer" to this question of what separates the very best shotmakers from the rest, but there's surely varying opinions about it.
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Ye, they all practice a ton. I guess it's just the divine right to rule they were born with, aka 'talent'. Eyesight, spatial awareness for aiming and spin adjustments, natural ability to handle nerves all fall under the talent umbrella.
 
Speaking from a personal perspective, I miss shots for two reasons; 1. I aim it incorrectly (75% of misses), 2. I hit it wrong in some way (25% of misses).

Now for pros, I bet their "Aim it wrong" percentage is way lower that an average pro, they just see the shots better, and their fundamentals are near perfect... That's why they are often surprised when they miss.
 
Is shotmaking the biggest differentiator at the top levels of the game?

Or, could it be argued that cueball control (for ideal position, breakouts, and safety play) is at least as big of a differentiator?

Personally, at a 580ish FR, more of my runouts are stopped by getting out of shape than by missing a shot. I rarely stress over aim or making tough shots, but speed and spin angle control causes me regular grief. But perhaps it’s a different story at the 780+ level?
 
DeadStick said:
Is shotmaking the biggest differentiator at the top levels of the game?

Or, could it be argued that cueball control (for ideal position, breakouts, and safety play) is at least as big of a differentiator?

Personally, at a 580ish FR, more of my runouts are stopped by getting out of shape than by missing a shot. I rarely stress over aim or making tough shots, but speed and spin angle control causes me regular grief. But perhaps it’s a different story at the 780+ level?
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I absolutely agree that many other things matter much more than raw shotmaking %'s between a 750 and a 850.

That being said, there's still those who shine above the rest in any singular part of the game. I guess talent is the obvious answer, but I think that can be broken down a bit further instead of being satisfied with one umbrella term as the final answer. But there's no easy way of getting any answers, a lot of it is just guessing. The pros might be just as clueless themselves about the why, they just know they are damn good.
 
Oikawa said:
What sort of qualities do you think seperates the best shotmakers from others? People like Filler, Shaw, Shane, etc.

Obviously every pro has their strengths and weaknesses, but what do you think it is that most seperates the absolute top from the rest of the pros, when it comes to pure shotmaking?

Nerves, eyesight, fundamentals, confidence, amount of practice, better hand-eye coordination, talent?
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It's a blend of all of this and more and we'll never know for sure how much weight to each.

You can add a few things to this list. One is style. When someone starts out playing they have a vision of what they think top pool should look like and strengths that they build their game around. When someone is a great shot maker starting out and views pool as a series of coming with hard shots they build their game around this and as a result they strengthen this muscle. They fire their way to the top and their moving game and cue ball and patterns catch up, but maybe never quite become their main weapon.

Another is early influences. This is similar to the last point, but if someone starts out watching Filler and thinks that great pool means being able to shoot anything in from anywhere then they are likely to develop and excel in this area. This is particularly true if they have the opportunity to spar with some really straight shooters and are pushed to a high level.

So it's a mix of everything, most of which can't be duplicated in a lab or replicated by a typical league player. All I know for sure is it's fun to watch!
 
Their genetics and however you want to call what it results in such as: talent, eye-hand coordination, eyesight, quick thinking and quick learning, etc.
 
garczar said:
Ego, confidence and conviction. They just know its going in the pocket. Skill and practice of course but the absolute belief they are not missing is paramount.
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A young Corey Deuel gave an interesting answer to the question of what allows him to play at such a high level.
He said it was mostly mental. All the pros have greatstrokes and mechanics. But the ability to keep out negative thoughts was paramount in Coreys view.
There was a back cut down the long rail set up during the interview and Corey used it as an example, saying how it is easy to get jittery and see a rattle or remember a similar shot and exactly how it missed. He would not shoot if any negative expectation was even seen as possible. He only pictured good results and didnt shoot till he 100% expectedonly that good result he imagined.

Nicklaus said something similar about golf shots and how amateurs get over a ball and see so many possible outcomes...good and bad. One of his greatest skills was only seeing the shot he wanted, creating a picture in his mind, and stepping up to the ball and creating a setup that matched his picture. Im sure this approach led to his famous line, "I never missed a shot in my mind"
 
The ability to consistently repeat their pool stroke with minuscule deviation in straightness of the stroke delivering it exactly where intended on the cue ball.
 
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