The quickest path to a straight, repeatable stroke, and the best metric used to evaluate it.
- Thread starter jimstone
- Start date
Dr. Dave labelled this the "Most Famous and Useful Drill of All Time" (MoFUDAT).
You can also do a couple of variations:
1) Put a target ball in front of the far diamond/spot, a hair or a little more off of the cushion. The goal is to shoot the cue ball into it, have it rebound back, and return the cue ball as straight back as you can. I always considered it pretty good, if you can even get within a diamond on each side of the center of the close, end rail.
2) Put the target ball a diamond, or wherever really, on the same cue line. Shoot a stop shot, and have that ball go down table and return to the cue ball.
Obviously, if the balls are not set up perpendicular to the cushions, it will throw the shot(s) off, but hopefully your address at the cue ball will compensate--experience also helps, but if you're drilling with these, then be wary of getting frustrated!
I've always recommended it. I was shocked first time I heard this trick dissed. The benefits far outweigh the criticisms.
R uh okay, you got me looking for a Miller bottle.
I might solicit a sponsorship.
I have to go slow
Lol. Maybe you need to fashion a stroke bottle stand. And then you probably could leave out the bottle.R uh okay, you got me looking for a Miller bottle.
I might solicit a sponsorship.
View attachment 913062
I have to go slow
The piston stroke.
In the beginning; Some one said Efren had a pump handle stroke.
He sure brought precision to the battle. PLUS a creative mind.
My most incredible shot was a safety he played immaculately to leave whitey in the Jaws with no way out. Well except to jump off the point. He shat a ball in doing it And then made the escape jumping from the point to a HIT and A Hook.
GOAT for sure. Ate everyone's lunch while his backers paid him peanuts when he first arrived in the U S of A.
He learned English quickly.
In the beginning; Some one said Efren had a pump handle stroke.
He sure brought precision to the battle. PLUS a creative mind.
My most incredible shot was a safety he played immaculately to leave whitey in the Jaws with no way out. Well except to jump off the point. He shat a ball in doing it And then made the escape jumping from the point to a HIT and A Hook.
GOAT for sure. Ate everyone's lunch while his backers paid him peanuts when he first arrived in the U S of A.
He learned English quickly.
Oh Hell No, the sponsor pays......Wonder how much they paid The Miz.
Did I tell you of the time that I beat him in a tournament?
The Miller distributor in Redding Ca sponsored our softball team. They paid the league fees and gave us uniforms. We reped our sponsor well in the league and had beer at their Cost for every game. Seems like it was 5 bucks a case. Those were the 70s.
Those were the 70s.
Easily.
A cue-mounted laser will show deviations in your stroke. Project the laser spot or laser line on a nearby wall as you stroke. Nearly every pro has slight deviations in their stroke but the laser will show any obvious deficiencies.
Fromt there, it's not usually willpower to straighten your stroke, it's adjusting the hand/arm to find the combination that creates the least deviation shown to either side with the laser. For example, a bit of radial or ulnar deviation in the wrist as you grip the cue.
Fromt there, it's not usually willpower to straighten your stroke, it's adjusting the hand/arm to find the combination that creates the least deviation shown to either side with the laser. For example, a bit of radial or ulnar deviation in the wrist as you grip the cue.
Do you ever video record your practice? For this shot, you want the camera perfectly in line with the balls and zoomed in on just the cue ball and cue stick.
where you gonna find 8oz coke bottle today?? lot of better/easier stroke checks than this,
True but there's all kinds of beer, wine, and water bottles. Another good one is to shoot the CB off the spot and compare the follow through alignment with the spot.
Video it from the front then again from the rear. And at different speeds. The rear, faster speed will magnify your stroke deviation.
Problem with the bottle deal is when the bottle is on the table the opening is perfectly parallel to the surface. Very few players come into the ball dead-level. My point is there are better ways to hone a straight delivery. Buddy used to pimp a gadget(https://seyberts.com/products/buddy-hall-cue-guide?variant=41732475191494) that worked like this. Guess what? AFAIK he never used it. I was around him a fair amount and he never did stroke straightness drills. He just played, a LOT.
The bottle will help develop a piston stroke. For a pendulum stroke, it's no good. Also, the exercise is much better if you actually hit a ball. Otherwise, you are just working with some kind of contraption.
Lol absolutely but, the opening will easily accommodate the smaller tips in use today. I never had a problem with 13s - maybe even contributed to linearity.
I think a lot of it has to do with <elbow drop or not>mechanics.
Perfect pendulum, obnoxious, compensating shaft taper
Piston stroke, xtra long "pro" taper
Silly stuff since that's more of an engineering problem than pool technical. Regardless, a bottle stand with variable tilt wouldn't be too hard to make.
As far as stroke training, maybe setting the concept of "point A to point B" would be in order. The stroke should simply move from A to B with point B laying a few inches past the sitting CB.
In the 99 shots book, Ray Martin says to shoot draw shots as if the cue ball isn't there. No reason this doesn't apply to all shots. (?)
A "gate" of golf tees in front of the CB, just over tip width apart. Having to set 'em back up whenever you knock 'em over is incentive.
pj
chgo
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