Speed control
- Thread starter str8eight
- Start date
Like other sports, if you want to get better at some aspect of it, you have to practice it.
You are asking two different questions:
1. How do the pros get a good stroke on a ball but hit it so softly?
Good question--they are one and the same. Consider a draw shot where the cue ball is close to the object ball. You don't need to hit it hard at all--because the rotational force and the forward thrust of the cue ball are in opposition. A beautiful, soft stroke will spin the cue ball STRAIGHT back to you, and with good speed control.
2. Is speed control something you eventually develop or do you have to practice consistently?
It develops over time as you learn rails and spin, too, because they affect where the cue ball will land. One key--use spots on the vertical axis to control the cue ball. Very few players think about hitting at center or below center for shots that eventually become gentle follow shots . . .
As Matt mentioned, these are two very different questions.
The pros get a lot of spin on the ball (what some people call "stroke") by hitting it much farther from center than beginners. In addition, they may seem to get backspin (draw) very easily because they are often playing on nearly new cloth and it is much easier to get draw on new cloth than on old, sticky cloth.
Secondly, they approach each shot with a plan to put the cue ball in a particular place. Many beginners have no such plan. Have a plan for each shot to position the cue ball and learn the techniques (draw, follow, sidespin) that are used to control the cue ball.
You might try playing 3 ball billiards & have the cue ball barely touch the other ball after you carom off the 1st ball. That way you are developing feel for the CB coming off the 1st ball at all angles of hit & there will be times when the CB is between the other 2 & you will need to go 1 or 2 rails which develops feel for that also. In this... your focus WILL be on the CB as you are not trying to pocket the 1st hit ball.
Good Luck & Best Wishes.
Good Luck & Best Wishes.
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It's really down to nice, level, consistent, and even cue delivery, with complete confidence in your grip and setup.
The other thing to consider is that you can plan your run hitting most shots with a firmer stroke and moderate pace as long as you keep your line. If you're stuck hitting a long, slow soft roll, you probably did not plan your position as well as you might have.
If you can control the CB well to start with, you should end up hitting a fuller ball rather than a thinner ball most of the time, which really helps give you options on pace and angle.
Ideally rather than just rolling a ball start to finish at the correct speed, you'll develop a feel for hitting middle-low ball relying on some degree of drag (stun-runthrough), which helps you take any table/cloth flaws (like flakes of dirt or chalk) out of the equation so your shots always go straight and do not wobble or roll off line.
Imagine a shot where you have maybe 7 degrees of angle to the pocket, moderate distance.
If you roll it in softly, the CB can only go one place. If you hit a soft stun, the CB will nudge off to the side about 4-5 inches. If you hit a hard stun, the CB will slide out 90 degrees several feet.
You can add/subtract a bit of roll by hitting higher or lower on the CB, to take the CB about anywhere you want to go, still hitting firmly but letting the CB leak forward anywhere from few inches or hitting high and crisp to force-follow down the table and back.
My ideal position is usually somewhere between 5 and 25 degrees of angle because it gives me the most options for taking the CB where I want it to go. Generally when you see a pro get perfect 'speed' to land where they wanted, it's not that they carefully rolled the ball there, they *controlled* the ball there with some degree of drag/draw/stun, which is far more reliable.
All that said, there will be times you have to carefully control your speed with a nice soft roll and good touch. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. There is no getting around it. You have to have good fundamentals and practice consistently with your stance, setup, grip, and stroke. Practice in a mirror if you have to. There are a lot of good pool players you can copy. For my money though, the list of players to emulate is rather short and also includes snooker, pyramid, and blackball players.
The other thing to consider is that you can plan your run hitting most shots with a firmer stroke and moderate pace as long as you keep your line. If you're stuck hitting a long, slow soft roll, you probably did not plan your position as well as you might have.
If you can control the CB well to start with, you should end up hitting a fuller ball rather than a thinner ball most of the time, which really helps give you options on pace and angle.
Ideally rather than just rolling a ball start to finish at the correct speed, you'll develop a feel for hitting middle-low ball relying on some degree of drag (stun-runthrough), which helps you take any table/cloth flaws (like flakes of dirt or chalk) out of the equation so your shots always go straight and do not wobble or roll off line.
Imagine a shot where you have maybe 7 degrees of angle to the pocket, moderate distance.
If you roll it in softly, the CB can only go one place. If you hit a soft stun, the CB will nudge off to the side about 4-5 inches. If you hit a hard stun, the CB will slide out 90 degrees several feet.
You can add/subtract a bit of roll by hitting higher or lower on the CB, to take the CB about anywhere you want to go, still hitting firmly but letting the CB leak forward anywhere from few inches or hitting high and crisp to force-follow down the table and back.
My ideal position is usually somewhere between 5 and 25 degrees of angle because it gives me the most options for taking the CB where I want it to go. Generally when you see a pro get perfect 'speed' to land where they wanted, it's not that they carefully rolled the ball there, they *controlled* the ball there with some degree of drag/draw/stun, which is far more reliable.
All that said, there will be times you have to carefully control your speed with a nice soft roll and good touch. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. There is no getting around it. You have to have good fundamentals and practice consistently with your stance, setup, grip, and stroke. Practice in a mirror if you have to. There are a lot of good pool players you can copy. For my money though, the list of players to emulate is rather short and also includes snooker, pyramid, and blackball players.
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Used to play this a lot but we also tried to pocket balls whenever possible. The carom was required for every shot, but also earned points of pocketing. I'd play my best 9ball after a session of this game.