stroke issues

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evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi guys, I'm noticing two things about my stroke, and wonder if y'all might have any advice as to what might be happening, and how to improve my issues..

1. when I do the stroke drill up and down the table to try and get it straight back to where you shoot it from, often, the cue ball comes back to my right- not much, but enough to make me curious about this apparent habit. I guess I'm contacting the cue ball too far to the right..is this common?

I'd obviously like to straighten it out, but I'm not exactly sure how to do that. maybe my rear leg is preventing my arm from stroking straight through? again, not sure.

2. kind of going along with the alignment thing, I realize I'm noticeably more accurate at slower speed. it seems like any shot I hit, even with significant follow, draw and side, has more of a chance of finding it's target at a nice, even pace. I actually enjoy this about my game, but on lesser equipment and when of course I need more oomph on the ball, my accuracy generally suffers.

another thing I'm seeing is that choking up a bit on the cue aids my accuracy, but limits the dynamism of my stroke, and also doesn't feel right balance-wise..kind of a catch 22, I guess.

anyway, any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I'm happy to keep working on my own, but am also interested in consulting a pro teacher. any advice about how to pick out a good one near seattle would be appreciated, too :smile:
 
Tony_in_MD

Tony_in_MD

You want some of this?
Silver Member
1. Are you using a striped ball.If not please do, it will show you if there is any unintended english put on the ball. Also be sure that you have a target at the end of the table, causing you to miss the right. As far as an alignment issue this is something I cannot solve without seeing you. You could isolate the problem by following my advice above.

2. Adding speed will break down your stroke especially if you have any weak issues to begin with. Practicing this drill at different speeds will help.


evergruven said:
hi guys, I'm noticing two things about my stroke, and wonder if y'all might have any advice as to what might be happening, and how to improve my issues..

1. when I do the stroke drill up and down the table to try and get it straight back to where you shoot it from, often, the cue ball comes back to my right- not much, but enough to make me curious about this apparent habit. I guess I'm contacting the cue ball too far to the right..is this common?

I'd obviously like to straighten it out, but I'm not exactly sure how to do that. maybe my rear leg is preventing my arm from stroking straight through? again, not sure.

2. kind of going along with the alignment thing, I realize I'm noticeably more accurate at slower speed. it seems like any shot I hit, even with significant follow, draw and side, has more of a chance of finding it's target at a nice, even pace. I actually enjoy this about my game, but on lesser equipment and when of course I need more oomph on the ball, my accuracy generally suffers.

another thing I'm seeing is that choking up a bit on the cue aids my accuracy, but limits the dynamism of my stroke, and also doesn't feel right balance-wise..kind of a catch 22, I guess.

anyway, any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I'm happy to keep working on my own, but am also interested in consulting a pro teacher. any advice about how to pick out a good one near seattle would be appreciated, too :smile:
Click to expand...
 
E

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Tony_in_MD said:
1. Are you using a striped ball.If not please do, it will show you if there is any unintended english put on the ball. Also be sure that you have a target at the end of the table, causing you to miss the right. As far as an alignment issue this is something I cannot solve without seeing you. You could isolate the problem by following my advice above.

2. Adding speed will break down your stroke especially if you have any weak issues to begin with. Practicing this drill at different speeds will help.
Click to expand...

thanks for the reply. I'm using a target and can clearly see that the cue ball is coming back to the right, instead of straight back. I can correct this in the moment, but repeatability is tough. something isn't right, but I'm not sure what, and obviously not how to fix it.

I'd be happy to post a vid of my stroke- tell me what angle and what shot you'd like to see and I'll get my marty on :p
 
BilliardsAbout

BilliardsAbout

BondFanEvents.com
Silver Member
evergruven said:
hi guys, I'm noticing two things about my stroke, and wonder if y'all might have any advice as to what might be happening, and how to improve my issues..

1. when I do the stroke drill up and down the table to try and get it straight back to where you shoot it from, often, the cue ball comes back to my right- not much, but enough to make me curious about this apparent habit. I guess I'm contacting the cue ball too far to the right..is this common?

I'd obviously like to straighten it out, but I'm not exactly sure how to do that. maybe my rear leg is preventing my arm from stroking straight through? again, not sure.

2. kind of going along with the alignment thing, I realize I'm noticeably more accurate at slower speed. it seems like any shot I hit, even with significant follow, draw and side, has more of a chance of finding it's target at a nice, even pace. I actually enjoy this about my game, but on lesser equipment and when of course I need more oomph on the ball, my accuracy generally suffers.

another thing I'm seeing is that choking up a bit on the cue aids my accuracy, but limits the dynamism of my stroke, and also doesn't feel right balance-wise..kind of a catch 22, I guess.

anyway, any ideas or advice would be appreciated. I'm happy to keep working on my own, but am also interested in consulting a pro teacher. any advice about how to pick out a good one near seattle would be appreciated, too :smile:
Click to expand...

I dislike the table length to rail stroke drill unless your rails are PERFECT. There are many other more effective ways to refine your stroke. As an aside, focusing on a smooth stroke in the right plane is better than trying to force a perfectly straight stroke. This is because the tension from striving for perfection can create torque and muscle clenching.

Without seeing your stroke, players who struggle at harder/faster speeds may be jacked up at too steep an angle, creating small jumping actions on the cue ball when they strike harder.
 
Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
evergruven said:
thanks for the reply. ...
Click to expand...
Have you tried his suggestion of using a striped ball as your cue ball? Your goal is to make the stripe roll like a tire without any wobble. Please try his suggestion and let us know whether you keep the stripe aligned all the way down the table.
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Bob Jewett said:
Have you tried his suggestion of using a striped ball as your cue ball? Your goal is to make the stripe roll like a tire without any wobble. Please try his suggestion and let us know whether you keep the stripe aligned all the way down the table.
Click to expand...
One caveat: Be very careful that the stripe is perfectly vertical and aligned with your shot - otherwise you can't possibly keep it from wobbling.

And a suggestion: Check the chalk mark on the ball after every shot to confirm where you hit it.

pj
chgo
 
Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
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Patrick Johnson said:
One caveat: Be very careful that the stripe is perfectly vertical and aligned with your shot - otherwise you can't possibly keep it from wobbling. ...
Click to expand...
Since I like to pick nits :grin: ...

I think that if the stripe is leaning to the right at the top, for example, you can make it go down the table without wobbling by playing the shot with just the right amount of right follow. I haven't actually tried this, but you occasionally see a stripe that is rolling like this during play.

But you are right that it takes more than average care in setup to get the possibility of a perfectly rolling stripe.
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Bob Jewett said:
Since I like to pick nits :grin: ...

I think that if the stripe is leaning to the right at the top, for example, you can make it go down the table without wobbling by playing the shot with just the right amount of right follow. I haven't actually tried this, but you occasionally see a stripe that is rolling like this during play.

But you are right that it takes more than average care in setup to get the possibility of a perfectly rolling stripe.
Click to expand...
I wonder if the right amount of right follow would be in the center of the tilted stripe...

pj
chgo
 
BilliardsAbout

BilliardsAbout

BondFanEvents.com
Silver Member
Bob Jewett said:
I think your dislike and concern are unjustified.
Click to expand...

A striped ball helps. Great thought. However, I've seen people do this drill on a public table they visit with really, really bad rails and frustrate themselves.

Why not use the short rail instead or shoot balls to a pocket while marking what part of the pocket they cross/hit? Etc.
 
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E

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thanks guys. questions about rolling the stripe..I can get it up and down the length of the table without wobbling *if* I put a little top on the ball- is this a good way to test one's aim?
should I be able to get the stripe up and down without wobbling by hitting it in other ways?
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
evergruven said:
thanks guys. questions about rolling the stripe..I can get it up and down the length of the table without wobbling *if* I put a little top on the ball- is this a good way to test one's aim?
should I be able to get the stripe up and down without wobbling by hitting it in other ways?
Click to expand...
Of course you want to learn to hit every kind of shot perfectly, but a rolling CB is more likely to go straight than a sliding one, so it’s a good place to start.

pj
chgo
 
S

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The CB, when struck in the center, on the vertical axis, will skid a certain amount, based on how hard you strike the CB. When the skid is rubbed off, the CB will go to a natural roll, which will be straight. Aim a tip or two above center, and the CB goes to natural roll immediately. We teach you to master this shot at a lag speed, before moving to higher stroke speeds.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

evergruven said:
thanks guys. questions about rolling the stripe..I can get it up and down the length of the table without wobbling *if* I put a little top on the ball- is this a good way to test one's aim?
should I be able to get the stripe up and down without wobbling by hitting it in other ways?
Click to expand...
 
Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
evergruven said:
thanks guys. questions about rolling the stripe..I can get it up and down the length of the table without wobbling *if* I put a little top on the ball- is this a good way to test one's aim?
should I be able to get the stripe up and down without wobbling by hitting it in other ways?
Click to expand...
For that exercise, it is much harder to keep the stripe up with either center ball or draw. That's because side spin is in effect multiplied when you use draw. In this case it would be unintentional side spin but for some shots you want to multiply the side spin intentionally by using draw.
 
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