During a workshop about 2 years ago, Jerry Briesath said to lay cue across the rail, cueball nearby, and just stroke into ball with no bridge. Result will be a nearly "Perfect Stroke!" he said to the assembled participants.
Now, I've been using a DigiCue Blue to try and improve my stroke. And even when set on Intermediate Level, I was having a hard time getting better than mediocre to OK scores on Follow Through. 5, 6, occasional 7. So last week I tried the no bridge rail shot and suddenly 8, 9, and 10 Follow Through scores began to appear. This allows me to begin to FEEL what correct Follow Through feels like. So the next step (Work in Progress) is getting same results with a Bridge. I figure closest bridge to just laying shaft across the rail is open bridge with my glove on. That seemed to work...so I decided to experiment with open bridge and then closed bridge and see if I could still get high FT scores. And earlier today I shot 5 out of 10 "Tens"...including four tens in a row, the last 4 shots. This improvement from an intermediate player after only a few days of trying something new seemed very significant to me. I rarely see dramatic shifts like this, so maybe it will work for others.
Two next steps remain in this work in progress:
1) Add shooting an object ball type normal shot, perhaps straight in shots, but still an exercise (same shot into same pocket repeatedly).
2) See if I can achieve new higher Follow Through scores in normal game play type practice, like playing the Ghost or trying to improve my high run in Straight Pool.
So in conclusion, I find the Feedback provided by DigiCue Blue a powerful tool for improving your stroke. And if Follow Through is a weak spot, try Jerry Briesath's cue on the rail with no Bridge tip and see if your FT scores go up.
And I will continue experimenting with improving my own.
Now, I've been using a DigiCue Blue to try and improve my stroke. And even when set on Intermediate Level, I was having a hard time getting better than mediocre to OK scores on Follow Through. 5, 6, occasional 7. So last week I tried the no bridge rail shot and suddenly 8, 9, and 10 Follow Through scores began to appear. This allows me to begin to FEEL what correct Follow Through feels like. So the next step (Work in Progress) is getting same results with a Bridge. I figure closest bridge to just laying shaft across the rail is open bridge with my glove on. That seemed to work...so I decided to experiment with open bridge and then closed bridge and see if I could still get high FT scores. And earlier today I shot 5 out of 10 "Tens"...including four tens in a row, the last 4 shots. This improvement from an intermediate player after only a few days of trying something new seemed very significant to me. I rarely see dramatic shifts like this, so maybe it will work for others.
Two next steps remain in this work in progress:
1) Add shooting an object ball type normal shot, perhaps straight in shots, but still an exercise (same shot into same pocket repeatedly).
2) See if I can achieve new higher Follow Through scores in normal game play type practice, like playing the Ghost or trying to improve my high run in Straight Pool.
So in conclusion, I find the Feedback provided by DigiCue Blue a powerful tool for improving your stroke. And if Follow Through is a weak spot, try Jerry Briesath's cue on the rail with no Bridge tip and see if your FT scores go up.
And I will continue experimenting with improving my own.
