stroking straight question

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
also i'm wondering should i also have my head turned a bit to the right when aligning my head from the standing position?
 

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
today's finding should also explain why i was playing better when i was twisting the hips/shoulders to my right,it wasn't so much because it was aligning my elbow closer to the cue,it was because this type of alignment was bringing my left eye closer to the picture..
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
today's finding should also explain why i was playing better when i was twisting the hips/shoulders to my right,it wasn't so much because it was aligning my elbow closer to the cue,it was because this type of alignment was bringing my left eye closer to the picture..
Can't tell for sure without seeing your stance, but either adjustment, or a combination of them, might accomplish the same thing.

Glad it's improving!

pj
chgo
 

stockbob55

Registered
If a player starts off with a good alignment during his address and practice strokes
but as he pulls the cue back on the final back swing the cue move off line about a
quarter tip to the left.
This causes the player to miss some shots.
Bearing in mind the player has done this for years and his stroke is consistent
would you as coaches advise:
a) working on straightening out his back swing
or
b) adjusting his alignment a 1/4 tip to the right?
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
If a player starts off with a good alignment during his address and practice strokes
but as he pulls the cue back on the final back swing the cue move off line about a
quarter tip to the left.
This causes the player to miss some shots.
Bearing in mind the player has done this for years and his stroke is consistent
would you as coaches advise:
a) working on straightening out his back swing
or
b) adjusting his alignment a 1/4 tip to the right?
I solved the same problem for myself by adjusting my elbow position (distance from body) until that hinge joint was aligned best for a natural straight stroke. I also had to adjust the angle of my shoulders and head a little to keep the stick centered in my line of sight.

Easy peasy - shouldn’t take more than a few years.

pj
chgo
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If a player starts off with a good alignment during his address and practice strokes
but as he pulls the cue back on the final back swing the cue move off line about a
quarter tip to the left.
This causes the player to miss some shots.
Bearing in mind the player has done this for years and his stroke is consistent
would you as coaches advise:
a) working on straightening out his back swing
or
b) adjusting his alignment a 1/4 tip to the right?

You have to first figure out what is causing the problem before you can decide how to fix it. Is he doing something with his grip hand in his back swing, or is he moving his arm off line on the way back? What's causing the cue to move off line?

Once you find the cause, then you have to decide how difficult it will be for the player to fix the problem. If the player has been doing it for years, then it will be difficult to fix the problem. Is the player capable of making such a change in their game that will take them out of their comfort zone for a period of time?

If it was a client of mine, I would first diagnose the cause of the problem, determine the fix and then talk to the player and explain what would be involved. Then I would let the player make the decision as to whether or not they want to proceed to try to fix it. They may say it's not worth the pain and suffering to them to attempt it.
 

stockbob55

Registered
I solved the same problem for myself by adjusting my elbow position (distance from body) until that hinge joint was aligned best for a natural straight stroke. I also had to adjust the angle of my shoulders and head a little to keep the stick centered in my line of sight.

Easy peasy - shouldn’t take more than a few years.

pj
chgo
Thanks for the reply PJ
That was a lot of things to change all at the same time.
Were you pleased with the results?
 

stockbob55

Registered
re stroke

You have to first figure out what is causing the problem before you can decide how to fix it. Is he doing something with his grip hand in his back swing, or is he moving his arm off line on the way back? What's causing the cue to move off line?

Once you find the cause, then you have to decide how difficult it will be for the player to fix the problem. If the player has been doing it for years, then it will be difficult to fix the problem. Is the player capable of making such a change in their game that will take them out of their comfort zone for a period of time?

If it was a client of mine, I would first diagnose the cause of the problem, determine the fix and then talk to the player and explain what would be involved. Then I would let the player make the decision as to whether or not they want to proceed to try to fix it. They may say it's not worth the pain and suffering to them to attempt it.

Thanks for the input Fran.
So Isolate the cause of the problem 1st.
He seems to change something in his grip on the final back swing,
but its not obvious, maybe tightening up or twisting in anticipation of the shot.
I will look a some video ;)
 

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi everyone,after tinkering with my aim/alignment for a couple of months,i now realized that i'm still not able to move the cue in a straight line,so even if my aim/alignment is perfect,my stroke is still coming offline slightly.i thought that when my aim is right ,my stroke automatically straightens out but after watching it carefully,the practice strokes and final stroke still aren't straight,the cue goes offline to my right as i pull it back and then to my left as i bring it forward,slowly and regularly, in pace with my stroke.what are all the possible reasons for not being able to cue straight?are all the factors just too many to think?
 
Last edited:

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
hi everyone,after tinkering with my aim/alignment for a couple of months,i now realized that i'm still not able to move the cue in a straight line,so even if my aim/alignment is perfect,my stroke is still coming offline slightly.i thought that when my aim is right ,my stroke automatically straightens out but after watching it carefully,the practice strokes and final stroke still aren't straight,the cue goes offline to my right as i pull it back and then to my left as i bring it forward,slowly and regularly, in pace with my stroke.what are all the possible reasons for not being able to cue straight?are all the factors just too many to think?
Could be...

1. Your elbow isn't directly over your cue.
2. Your hip is in the way and you instinctively steer your grip hand around it.
3. A combination of those.
4. Something else I didn't think of.

pj <- think that covers it
chgo
 

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Could be...

1. Your elbow isn't directly over your cue.
2. Your hip is in the way and you instinctively steer your grip hand around it.
3. A combination of those.
4. Something else I didn't think of.

pj <- think that covers it
chgo

also could be that it's just in my head and there isn't actually a problem.dr dave has a video explaining an optical illusion when examining your stroke from video recording:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpbldj9Nkk0

if that's the case then i don't know how to find out if there is actually a problem or not.i can do the up and down drill about 8 or 9 times out of 10 but that doesn't mean i have a straight stroke because i can pull the cue back offline and then get it back on line on the forward stroke consistently.
 

One Pocket John

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
also could be that it's just in my head and there isn't actually a problem.dr dave has a video explaining an optical illusion when examining your stroke from video recording:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpbldj9Nkk0

if that's the case then i don't know how to find out if there is actually a problem or not.i can do the up and down drill about 8 or 9 times out of 10 but that doesn't mean i have a straight stroke because i can pull the cue back offline and then get it back on line on the forward stroke consistently.

Have you ever tried this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGBFRln32uo&t=2s

John
 
Last edited:

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
i know this is off topic ....but
what does your screen name mean or stand for ?
 

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

but even when i tried it i'm not sure i understood it correctly.so you're supposed to practice pocketing balls one handed by holding the cue by the balance point and then slowly turn your body until the cue lines up with the shot?and then play regularly with both hands with the arm alignment of that technique?i'm not sure if i understand this correctly
 

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i know this is off topic ....but
what does your screen name mean or stand for ?

it's an old graffiti name i had,it doesn't stand for anything,the words were randomly mixed together to make sure nobody else had the same tag haha
 

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i am not an instructor
but 8/9 ( maybe 9.5 /10 ) would be upper level result
if you dont stroke straight (little wobbles ) you need to cement your stroke
jmho
icw
I can sympathize with your issue. I went through things like this a lot when I was learning. It's a common frustration among players who are at a level where they're still learning the fundamentals. You can't diagnose yourself because you don't know enough to diagnose the problem, and if you did know how to diagnose it, you probably wouldn't have the problem because you would know what not to do.

When you're diagnosing a problem, you have to set up a list of possibilities and explore each one. You can start with your grip. Are you gripping the cue in your fingertips? That can cause cue wobbles. Research different types of grips and experiment.

Also check the knuckles on your grip hand at address and then again after you've followed through after hitting the ball. They should be in the same place on the cue. If not, it means you turned your hand sometime during your stroke.

I would consider it a problem if when you hit the cue ball straight up and down the table, if it doesn't come back to your tip 8 out of 10 times.
need to resurrect this thread to ask:if the cue hits the edge of the cue ball when the cue ball comes back,does that count as a good hit?or do you only need to hit the center of the cue ball to count in this exercise?
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
need to resurrect this thread to ask:if the cue hits the edge of the cue ball when the cue ball comes back,does that count as a good hit?or do you only need to hit the center of the cue ball to count in this exercise?
Hitting the edge of the cue is good …means you are getting there
center cue it doesnt get better than that
jmho
i am not an instructor
one thing to watch out for
if you put a tiny bit of unintentional spin on the cue ball
the squirt will make you be off target on the far rail
but the spin will bring the cue ball back to the tip
this is not a successfull attempt to me
so using a cue ball that shows the spin on the ball
or a stripe with the stripe vertical to see if it wobbles
gives you good feedback
 
Top