Down in the instructor forum a thread came up regarding position play, whether a player should focus on pinpoint position or approximate position that leaves multiple options. Of course, if you can regularly run racks, you know it takes a mix of both.
Anyway, the topic drifted into a disagreement about what defines a great shot maker, specifically talking about players that play lousy position but still get out because they can make balls from anywhere. I bet everybody knows at least 1 or 2 players like this. They're usually weekend bar bangers.
So I got to thinking, maybe it's a dying breed, these types of players that can pocket a wide variety shots due to years of playing position that simply gave them another shot, any shot. They have "A" player pocketing skills but "C" player position skills.
With regards to playing position, there's better information available today compared to 25 or so years ago. The principle of "staying on the right side of the ball", for example, wasn't something one found in any instructional book that I know of, at least not until the mid 1990's when Phil Capelle came out with his book, Play Your Best Pool. Prior to that about the only info an aspiring player could gather on position play was "always leave an angle" and "play for the biggest area" within a certain zone for any given shot.
Today, with YouTube and Amazon and AZ Billiards and other prime markets for learning opportunities, more and more players have access to good instructional material. So the great shot-making bar bangers that I'm referring to, the ones that only know one rule for position -- leave another shot, any shot -- might become obsolete.
Or do you think, as I tend to believe, that these players aren't the type to watch youtube lessons or read instructional books or take private lessons from an instructor anyway? I believe they simply enjoy going out and having a few beers, playing a few games of pool with some buddies/friends, and don't care enough about the game to put in any time or extra effort into practice or correct playing habits. But they play enough to eventually become pretty good shot makers, sometimes great shot makers, despite the lack of proper position play
Anyway, the topic drifted into a disagreement about what defines a great shot maker, specifically talking about players that play lousy position but still get out because they can make balls from anywhere. I bet everybody knows at least 1 or 2 players like this. They're usually weekend bar bangers.
So I got to thinking, maybe it's a dying breed, these types of players that can pocket a wide variety shots due to years of playing position that simply gave them another shot, any shot. They have "A" player pocketing skills but "C" player position skills.
With regards to playing position, there's better information available today compared to 25 or so years ago. The principle of "staying on the right side of the ball", for example, wasn't something one found in any instructional book that I know of, at least not until the mid 1990's when Phil Capelle came out with his book, Play Your Best Pool. Prior to that about the only info an aspiring player could gather on position play was "always leave an angle" and "play for the biggest area" within a certain zone for any given shot.
Today, with YouTube and Amazon and AZ Billiards and other prime markets for learning opportunities, more and more players have access to good instructional material. So the great shot-making bar bangers that I'm referring to, the ones that only know one rule for position -- leave another shot, any shot -- might become obsolete.
Or do you think, as I tend to believe, that these players aren't the type to watch youtube lessons or read instructional books or take private lessons from an instructor anyway? I believe they simply enjoy going out and having a few beers, playing a few games of pool with some buddies/friends, and don't care enough about the game to put in any time or extra effort into practice or correct playing habits. But they play enough to eventually become pretty good shot makers, sometimes great shot makers, despite the lack of proper position play
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