Hitting center of the cue ball

V

Viader

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I've been doing the drill hitting the cue ball from the footspot up to the middle diamond and back to my cue tip. Getting better, but discovered that I tend to hit slightly right of center, which adds a small amount of unintended right hand spin.

Was a little frustrating trying to line up exactly on the center of the cue ball. Tried using striped ball, hitting the number circle, etc., but it's pretty tedious that way and not 100% sure they were lined up right. Came up with the idea to put a hole reinforcer right behind the footspot, which then reflects onto the center of the cue ball. I spent some time making sure I got it on the right line, and it makes setting up the drill *much* faster. Hitting exact center is starting to look right too!

I tried a few placements, and what's shown in the photo works the best with my lighting. I wound up with the reflection in the lower quarter of the ball. Moving the reinforcer farther away, which would move it higher on the ball, didn't reflect very well. Anyway, just wanted to share this tip for speeding up this drill.
 

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mchnhed

mchnhed

I Came, I Shot, I Choked
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Good Idea.

Now patent it, box it up and charge $29.99 on Seyberts.com as a training aid.
 
Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

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Another technique for centering is to place the tip on the cloth at the base of the ball and look at the reflection of the ferrule/shaft in the cue ball. It should be pointing straight back at you.
 
wrickyb

wrickyb

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Interesting but there are many ways to do the same the iCue Ball is one of them http://www.icueclinic.com/index.html

Also if you use the Red Dot or Red Circle cue ball or the cue ball has some logo set that as center but the training cue balls usually have a finish that grabs the chalk so that after the shot you can see the contact point.
 
ceebee

ceebee

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If you continually hit the cue ball off line in one direction, maybe addressing the shot in a "counter wise direction", will cause to straighten it up.... Rotating the forward foot or back foot can get you where you want to go. Don't shoot off balance.

Good Luck
 
Ralph Kramden

Ralph Kramden

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You'll get a lot of other ideas that do the same thing you're doing.
What you are doing is a great idea, that could help other players.

.
 
BeiberLvr

BeiberLvr

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ceebee said:
If you continually hit the cue ball off line in one direction, maybe addressing the shot in a "counter wise direction", will cause to straighten it up.... Rotating the forward foot or back foot can get you where you want to go. Don't shoot off balance.

Good Luck
Click to expand...

I had the same exact problem as the OP.

I simply adjusted my front foot by stepping to the left vs stepping forward. This opened my stance, and solved the problem.
 
L

LAMas

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ceebee said:
If you continually hit the cue ball off line in one direction, maybe addressing the shot in a "counter wise direction", will cause to straighten it up.... Rotating the forward foot or back foot can get you where you want to go. Don't shoot off balance.

Good Luck
Click to expand...

Great advice and can be used for power stroke shots where you tighten your grip.
 
ceebee

ceebee

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BeiberLvr gave another good definition of rotating the stance (i.e., stepping forward or backward with either foot will give you a different address.

Good Luck
 
V

Viader

Registered
Appreciate all of the comments. I've been experimenting with my footwork and have improved. Wasn't too bad to start with, but this game makes it easy to obsess on incremental gains. I was mainly trying to speed up the setup for the drill, and the reflection does that for me--don't have to aim a striped ball or training ball (the accuracy of which is something else I would obsess over!).

I didn't mention in the original post that I also placed a hole reinforcer on the footspot, so setting the cue ball in place is a no-brainer as well.
 
Ralph Kramden

Ralph Kramden

BOOM!.. ZOOM!.. MOON!
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Viader said:
I didn't mention in the original post that I also placed a hole reinforcer on the footspot, so setting the cue ball in place is a no-brainer as well.
Click to expand...

You could place 3 hole reinforcement rings in a straight row.
2 as you have and another further away for a cue alignment.
 
BC21

BC21

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For the last week I've been obsessing over a stroke drill. I place the CB on the foot spot and shoot up and back to hit the center of the foot rail where I have two balls frozen with a gap of 2.75" between them, just enough for the CB plus a 1/4 inch on each side. Objective is to have the CB hit between the balls without touching either one. The best I've done so far is 12 out of 20. I recorded one set of 20 attempts and used the Coach's Eye app on my phone to analyze each shot during the final stroke. It's obvious when looking at a still image of the final stroke whether or not the shot will be good or bad. It's very challenging, and I think that's why I keep at it.
 
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jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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Going through the cue ball cleanly at center ball is one of the hardest things in the world to do. Very few people (players included) go through the cue ball perfectly straight. They learn to adjust to the way they hit the cue ball.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Buddy Hall made the best hit on the cue ball of any player I ever saw play. His shot had a distinctive sound that you rarely heard anywhere else, he made such a perfect hit on the ball. When he hit center ball you knew it, you could hear it. Maybe that's why his cue ball control was the best of his era as well.

Billy Johnson (Wade Crane) could also achieve a similar hit when he wanted to hit dead center on the cue ball. Those are the only two I can think of who could do that with regularity and consistency. Wu is probably the closest of the present day players to them and I haven't seen him enough to tell yet.

When a player can make a hit like Buddy did, he made the game look so effortless, the cue ball totally at his command. Mosconi had it too, even though I only saw him play in his 50's and 60's. He massaged the cue ball, more than just hitting it!
 
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HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

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jay helfert said:
Going through the cue ball cleanly at center ball is one of the hardest things in the world to do. Very few people (players included) go through the cue ball perfectly straight. They learn to adjust to the way they hit the cue ball.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Buddy Hall made the best hit on the cue ball of any player I ever saw play. His shot had a distinctive sound that you rarely heard anywhere else, he made such a perfect hit on the ball. When he hit center ball you knew it, you could hear it. Maybe that's why his cue ball control was the best of his era as well.

Billy Johnson (Wade Crane) could also achieve a similar hit when he wanted to hit dead center on the cue ball. Those are the only two I can think of who could do that with regularity and consistency. Wu is probably the closest of the present day players to them and I haven't seen him enough to tell yet.

When a player can make a hit like Buddy did, he made the game look so effortless, the cue ball totally at his command. Mosconi had it too, even though I only saw him play in his 50's and 60's. He massaged the cue ball, more than just hitting it!
Click to expand...

This is why TOI works well for some people. I seldom try to hit exact center on the cue ball. I attempt to hit a bit inside center. If I hit center accidentally, it usually will make very little difference on the shot, but using TOI keeps me hitting the same side of the ball. I'm not crossing over and accidentally putting outside English on the cue ball while trying to hit center. If I see the cue ball going outside, I know immediately that my alignment or stroke is off.

I use outside on shots, but not anywhere near as often as most people do. I try to keep flat angles and use cue ball speed to navigate the table. This method takes some getting used to and a lot of people won't put the time and effort into learning it. If you can see the natural angles of the table and know how to use the diamonds, you can maneuver the cue ball into very predictable areas. I'd much rather have my cue ball "sliding" into position and "dying" or "checking" into the rail than have it come spinning in like a bat out of hell.

If you get it perfected or are having a good day, it looks like the cue ball "is on a string" and is just "floating" around the table. Everything looks "simple" because you don't see the ball spinning and flying around the table.
 
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jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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HawaiianEye said:
This is why TOI works well for some people. I seldom try to hit exact center on the cue ball. I attempt to hit a bit inside center. If I hit center accidentally, it usually will make very little difference on the shot, but using TOI keeps me hitting the same side of the ball. I'm not crossing over and accidentally putting outside English on the cue ball while trying to hit center. If I see the cue ball going outside, I know immediately that my alignment or stroke is off.

I use outside on shots, but not anywhere near as often as most people do. I try to keep flat angles and use cue ball speed to navigate the table. This method takes some getting used to and a lot of people won't put the time and effort into learning it. If you can see the natural angles of the table and know how to use the diamonds, you can maneuver the cue ball into very predictable areas. I'd much rather have my cue ball "sliding" into position and "dying" or "checking" into the rail than have it come spinning in like a bat out of hell.

If you get it perfected or are having a good day, it looks like the cue ball "is on a string" and is just "floating" around the table. Everything looks "simple" because you don't see the ball spinning and flying around the table.
Click to expand...

The more you can play natural running English to achieve position the better your game will be.
 
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