Mother Drills/ Stroke Drills

kevoka

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree JoeyinCali. That's an excellent drill. One of the very first stroke drills that Tom "Dr Cue" Rossman showed me over 20 years ago. Also shoot that shot with stun to see if the CB wobbles to the side. And then shoot it with draw to see if your CB comes straight back.

I don't believe this is one of the Mother Drills, however.

r/DCP

Other variations I will add to this drill:

Also practice it with cue ball close to the rail (e.g. a ball dia away) and frozen to the rail.
 

JolietJames

Boot Party Coordinator
Silver Member
Bert's Mighty X.
Stop shot to start.
Draw back into pocket next.
I believe the long, follow-it-in shot is shot #2 in his workout too.

When I'm practicing for an event the Mighty X is the first drill I do after my warmups. Usually take 15 mins or so then I'm on to the next drill.

Two weeks or so and I notice the difference in actual play.

State is in a month and a half and I have a couple titles to defend. I suppose I should start working on my game.
 

EddieBme

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I try to do 14 reps a day of Mother Drill #1.
SPF is the nutz.
randyg

Do you (or any Professionl Instructor), ever recommend a student to emulate a stroke of a professional player?
At one time I had a habit of punching the ball when playing on a small table, so when I tried to play on a 8' or 9', I didn't do very well. I tried to emulate the unique stroke that Allen Hopkins' has, because I pretty much punched the cb. and I could never get the hang of his stroke, ( I even punched the cb worse), but I started doing a longer back swing, and improved tremendously, so I stuck with it.
 
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goettlicher

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
EddieBme
First off we have to develop our own style. Tough to emulate another human being.
Second we have to remember that there are only two different strokes. A good one & and bad one!
This is where an SPF Instructor can help.

Thanks
randyg
 

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Gold Member
Silver Member
perfect practice

Nothing to say about the practice. Bert and others have excellent drills, you can use somebody else's or make your own up. However, if you can't shoot a straight in shot over and over with stop, draw, and follow, all of your shots have that inaccuracy plus they are compounded by other issues.

My contribution to the thread is a little toy called a laser level. Black and Decker makes one, no doubt others too. B&D's is about the height and width of a tape measure and twice as thick. Lay it on the table, turn it on, project a dead straight line across a table. Watch your own and other player's eyes. Set your notebook reinforcers and turn the laser off. It is very easy to not have the balls or donuts lined up perfectly straight, then you learn to "cheat" shots slightly so that it appears you are shooting straight. The laser level is/was fifteen or twenty bucks so it isn't going to break the bank. A useful toy around the house and shop too.

A third ball a foot from the pocket is also handy if you are shooting from corner to corner straight in. The cue ball near one corner pocket, a ball where the center dot between the side pockets would be, a ball a diamond out from the far corner pocket. When that second ball splits the pocket evenly, you hit the cue ball on the center line, you were lined up correctly, and your stroke was good.

Joe Tucker is another with excellent drills. That third ball is just a variation of one of his.

Hu
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Do you (or any Professionl Instructor), ever recommend a student to emulate a stroke of a professional player?
At one time I had a habit of punching the ball when playing on a small table, so when I tried to play on a 8' or 9', I didn't do very well. I tried to emulate the unique stroke that Allen Hopkins' has, because I pretty much punched the cb. and I could never get the hang of his stroke, ( I even punched the cb worse), but I started doing a longer back swing, and improved tremendously, so I stuck with it.

Allison Fisher .
You should close your eyes when watching Hopkins' stroke.

Allison Fisher revolutionized the pool game in the US.
Buddy Hall, somehow did not get emulated by a ton of players.
Now, you can see the pros stroke like Fisher.
 

GaryB

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When I do the speed drill, especially # 3, before actually playing my game is much more consistent.

Time spent with Scott Lee years ago gave me the tools to improve. Just wish my retention was a bit better but people tell me that at 84 that is to be expected. SPF is always beneficial and has made playing much more fun over the years. Bad day? Just pause and put the elements together and the day gets better.
 

ballston

Registered
Hi Pete

Yup, Mother Drill #1. The Stroke workout drill. Strongest drill for the stroke I have ever seen.
randyg

Randy--what do you think of Bert Kinnister's one handed drill? (I've also seen variations of it with IPAT and Jerry Breisath's video.) Thanks.
 

Mkindsv

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
All due respect to the instructors on here trying to drum up work and revenue, but if you want a stroke drill that will truly help, along with how to line up, stance and such, go to youtube and search for Pools biggest secrets 3. Tor Lowry has a free video that is over an hour long that starts with stance, moves on to grip and then goes to stroke/stroke drill as well as follow stun and draw practice. Once you are done with what he tells you to do, you should be pretty good on fundamentals.
 

DecentShot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Do you (or any Professionl Instructor), ever recommend a student to emulate a stroke of a professional player?
At one time I had a habit of punching the ball when playing on a small table, so when I tried to play on a 8' or 9', I didn't do very well. I tried to emulate the unique stroke that Allen Hopkins' has, because I pretty much punched the cb. and I could never get the hang of his stroke, ( I even punched the cb worse), but I started doing a longer back swing, and improved tremendously, so I stuck with it.

Hopkins was a natural born talent, not always the guys to emulate.
 

MmmSharp

Nudge is as good as a wink to a blind bat.
Silver Member
All due respect to the instructors on here trying to drum up work and revenue, but if you want a stroke drill that will truly help, along with how to line up, stance and such, go to youtube and search for Pools biggest secrets 3. Tor Lowry has a free video that is over an hour long that starts with stance, moves on to grip and then goes to stroke/stroke drill as well as follow stun and draw practice. Once you are done with what he tells you to do, you should be pretty good on fundamentals.

I definitely second this. That video has helped me immensely with fundamentals. It also made me start to notice the problems other people have when they shoot.
 

tuffstuff07

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So I'll chime in here since I have both the zero x billiard system and worked with Scott.

Spf instructors don't use a cookie cutter mold they help you develop a stroke tailored to your body. Also the mother drills do more than just basic fundamentals.

Zero x is a solid but basic fundamental mold that will work for most but not all players.
 

metallicane

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Scott is fantastic. Had a lesson with him years ago and life got in the way. Kids in college now so I have more time to play. Need to find the DVD he made for me.
 

Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
FIRST lesson 1.5 hrs....then 1 hr per lesson after that

How long (days, weeks, months) before you see results? Is there like a set amount of reps that you must do a technique so it becomes a muscle memory?

Days, wks, mths, hummmmmmmmmm. That's not simple answer.

I grew up, one of three boys and what ever sport we did. Ii just played out, that I always got better quicker than my 2 brothers.

I gave lessons for 10 yrs. about 20 hrs a week, and here's a couple things to think about.

I'd go to a pro event, and just watch the best players ''swing their cue'' and WATCH how they grip the cue butt and how they walk up to the shot. I'd even take pictures to look back at. I did this years ago, because I knew I had a grip problem.

Anywho....when I gave a new person a lesson, I talked to the student to find out, how he processed life via his trade and lifestyle.

After our 10-15 minute chat, I'd then watch em hit balls for 15 minutes.

By understanding how he thinks and how he/she shoots, I can then BETTER explain what I see, and what needs to addressed first.

I always find ONE or maybe TWO major flaws in their mechanics.

I address those issues, for the rest of the hour.

It normally takes 2-3 mths to incorporate CHANGE into your game (depending on how much you play).

A great way to test your new mettle, is to go to a tournament and ''test under fire''. Or gamble small to see how your changes hold up.
 

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Some people talk about how difficult it is to develop a stroke. Some have said it takes months and months of practicing and working on it to develop a good, solid, repeatable stroke.

I prefer the Buddy Hall method regarding all of this. As Buddy said: "Just put that cue under your shoulder and stroke. Its not rocket science."

Seems simple enough.

r/DCP
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Some people talk about how difficult it is to develop a stroke. Some have said it takes months and months of practicing and working on it to develop a good, solid, repeatable stroke.

I prefer the Buddy Hall method regarding all of this. As Buddy said: "Just put that cue under your shoulder and stroke. Its not rocket science."

Seems simple enough.

r/DCP

so why for years do you struggle??
 

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Two problems there Mkindsv...First, you can't stop the video and ask a question (i.e.: "Is this what you mean?", "How does this look?", or "Am I doing it right?")...Second, Tor never ever makes mention of how to evaluate, build, and repair a repeatable stroke...in any of his videos. To me, that's seriously lacking, and just one reason why you go to a qualified PBIA/SPF Certified Instructor. In other words, your first question when looking for instructors should be, "Do you use video stroke analysis?" If their answer is "Huh, what's that?", or no...look elsewhere. The last thing is that there is no substitute for having a personal "live" body, and a professional set of eyes on helping you fix your issues, whatever they are. You go to a professional instructor because, in the mind of Oz...you don't know what you don't know. In pool school you learn the process...at home you perfect it to the point where you can compete with it. :D

Scott Lee
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

All due respect to the instructors on here trying to drum up work and revenue, but if you want a stroke drill that will truly help, along with how to line up, stance and such, go to youtube and search for Pools biggest secrets 3. Tor Lowry has a free video that is over an hour long that starts with stance, moves on to grip and then goes to stroke/stroke drill as well as follow stun and draw practice. Once you are done with what he tells you to do, you should be pretty good on fundamentals.
 

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Amen Hu! I remember showing mine to you and JoeyA at Buffalo's all those years ago. GREAT tool. If you don't KNOW it's a dead straight line (using the hole reinforcements), then it's much more difficult to see if your stroke is straight, because, as you said, we start making tiny compensations to make up for stroke flaws. Every player should own a lazer level!

Scott Lee
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

My contribution to the thread is a little toy called a laser level. Black and Decker makes one, no doubt others too. B&D's is about the height and width of a tape measure and twice as thick. Lay it on the table, turn it on, project a dead straight line across a table. Watch your own and other player's eyes. Set your notebook reinforcers and turn the laser off. It is very easy to not have the balls or donuts lined up perfectly straight, then you learn to "cheat" shots slightly so that it appears you are shooting straight. The laser level is/was fifteen or twenty bucks so it isn't going to break the bank. A useful toy around the house and shop too.


Hu
 
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