If your normal bridge is 12" and your shaft has a pivot point of 12". What would be the effect when a player decides to get an LD 18" pivot point shaft and still maintain his 12" bridge length? What compensation would be needed?
Pivot Point
- Thread starter Tennesseejoe
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You would have to aim thinner for inside english shots and fuller for outside english shots. That's because there's less squirt.
If you are thinking about how this relates to backhand english, that's more complicated.
If you are thinking about how this relates to backhand english, that's more complicated.
I believe that a good starting point would be to pivot the cue at the 18" mark, so the pivot point stays on the shot line. This will require both front and back hand english. This video may help, but you may want to invoke the mute button:
Dr. Dave's "System for Aiming With Sidespin" is a methodical way to cope with that:
drdavepoolinfo.com
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System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) - Dr. Dave Pool Info
What is the System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS)? System for Aiming With Sidespin (SAWS) is a full-length instructional video by Dr. Dave that covers a simple and methodical system to find accurate lines of aim for sidespin shots of any distance, speed, and amount of spin.. It is based on...
drdavepoolinfo.com
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Forget all the slide rules, calculators, and measuring sticks.
Keep your same form and bridge and play with the cue.
If you can't figure it out, quit.
If you can play with a high deflection cue, you can play with a low deflection cue.
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The REAL answer to that question is, 'it depends'. How seriously do you play and how much do you want to improve or at least maintain your game?
I mean the qualifying questions necessary to answer that question fully and comprehensibly is extensive.
Do you play with BHE, FHE, do you play by feel, do you use an aiming system. Do you play one pocket?
I mean the appropriate answer to that question depends on whether you're an apa 5 who just wants to play for league and an occasional fargo capped local tourney, bang em around with buddies twice a month, or whether you are a serious player and gambler looking to improve your game to the point that you're a threat in any match you play whether it be a regional tourney or a $500 a game one hole match.
Why are you looking to get a LD shaft would be one question. I ask this because there are normal deflection carbon fiber shafts that will play pretty close to your wood shaft if you're just looking for the advantages of CF...
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Yeah, I can play with a broomstick, but most people paying $500 for a LD CF shaft may want to take the game a little bit more seriously than that.
You don't change anything about your mechanics when switching shafts, if that's what you are asking. Bridge, stroke, PSR, etc, stay the same. What does change is the aim. It doesn't take long to relearn it. Maybe a few days.
Uh oh, I think you'll hear about that.
If you have to change all of your "form" to play at the cue's pivot point, it is more of a hindrance than an attribute.
For example:
I have around a 10-12" bridge.
The front of my grip hand is around 3" below the top of the wrap.
When I am leaned over the table for a "normal" shot, this is where most cues feel balanced to me.
In "that" stance, my eyes and body have learned that is what works best and has been engrained into my visual and muscle memory.
If I would go to a cue that required me to bridge the cue several inches back at another pivot point that would:
Make me have to grip further back in order to make the cue feel the same balance.
Make me have to adjust my stance at the table because to keep the tip at the same distance from the cue ball when stroking, I would have to be further back from the table.
It would change my angle of sight when bent over the cue and looking down the shaft.
Anything can be learned if you put enough time into it, but changing things to keep up with fads should be left to people who are actually making money playing pool and who are getting stuff for free from their sponsors.
I have played for many decades and have thousands and thousands of hours on the table and have HAMB.
I have HD, LD, wood and carbon fiber shafts and I never change anything except my aiming point. I know where the cue ball is going to go when I shoot.
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I don't disagree with that; however how far you want to go can change what you might want to do. For most people, yeah, just play with the new shaft and figure it out. You'll have to compensate aim less the lower the deflection, but if you're open to adjusting aim and you don't have a problem doing so,
If people are leaving themselves shots where they are "afraid" of a little deflection, they don't know how to play position which means they don't know how to put the proper spin on the cue ball to begin with.I don't disagree with that; however how far you want to go can change what you might want to do. For most people, yeah, just play with the new shaft and figure it out. You'll have to compensate aim less the lower the deflection, but if you're open to adjusting aim and you don't have a problem doing so,
The cue ball goes straight if hit in the center with any kind of shaft.
If your cue makes the cue ball arc like a bowling ball on a 9-foot table when you are using English, throw it away.
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But don't act like it's something you're born with. You have to learn. And if you haven't messed around at least with bhe, then you're limiting yourself, don't project your self-limiting on others.
Not everyone is going to be able to just 'feel' where to aim even with lots of experience. Sometimes for some people you have to learn methods to adjust.
It doesn't have to be a 'feel' thing. It CAN be deliberate.
To learn the deflection of your cue, place an object ball directly on the rail in the center of the head rail.
Place the cue ball on the foot spot.
Using center left or right English, cut the object ball down the rail into the left and right head rail corner pockets.
Even though the rail is a "helper", you have to shoot hard, use EXTREME inside English and hit super thin beside the object ball to move it that far down the rail.
You will never make it without English.
How many times in a row can most people do it?
I can do it quite often with most of my shafts after only a few tries...even my 14mm wooden shafts that I used for most of my serious playing years.
Now move the cue ball one diamond left or right of the foot spot and try to cut the object ball into the corner pocket on the same side of the table you moved the cue ball. You are now shooting at an angle opposite of the pocket and you have to hit harder and use even more inside English.
I can do that, too, but my percentage goes down.
When I was a kid working in the pool hall, I would spend untold hours practicing by myself on the snooker table using only the numbered balls as a rotation game. I would put the cue ball on the 4-spot (center) in the D-shaped line at the head of the table and use extreme outside English to cut the 7-ball off its spot into the corner pockets on the end of the table.
This was using a normal pool cue, not a snooker cue.
Deflection and/or swerve are things you have control of once you become familiar with your cue.
They shouldn't scare you.
Place the cue ball on the foot spot.
Using center left or right English, cut the object ball down the rail into the left and right head rail corner pockets.
Even though the rail is a "helper", you have to shoot hard, use EXTREME inside English and hit super thin beside the object ball to move it that far down the rail.
You will never make it without English.
How many times in a row can most people do it?
I can do it quite often with most of my shafts after only a few tries...even my 14mm wooden shafts that I used for most of my serious playing years.
Now move the cue ball one diamond left or right of the foot spot and try to cut the object ball into the corner pocket on the same side of the table you moved the cue ball. You are now shooting at an angle opposite of the pocket and you have to hit harder and use even more inside English.
I can do that, too, but my percentage goes down.
When I was a kid working in the pool hall, I would spend untold hours practicing by myself on the snooker table using only the numbered balls as a rotation game. I would put the cue ball on the 4-spot (center) in the D-shaped line at the head of the table and use extreme outside English to cut the 7-ball off its spot into the corner pockets on the end of the table.
This was using a normal pool cue, not a snooker cue.
Deflection and/or swerve are things you have control of once you become familiar with your cue.
They shouldn't scare you.