Mark Wilson has a series of stroke tests he's using with the Mosconi Cup team. He has them on his Play Great Pool Facebook page, and also described some of them in his interview with Tor Lowry here, starting at around 27:00. They remind me of some of Dr. Dave and Bob Jewett’s practice routines from their Video Encyclopedia of Pool Practice, like this draw stroke test.
I love these and have simplified several of them for challenge shots with buddies on league night. They’re fun and they’re not just silly trick shots - they do measure something important about your stroke. I thought I would list mine here, ask for others that you use or have heard of, and maybe people can post their results (I know you can't really compare most of these across different tables and conditions).
1. English test: Place the cue ball in the center of the table and the object ball on the foot string straight into a corner pocket. With maximum side spin, how long can you leave the CB spinning in place after a stop shot? (From Mark Wilson - he says Mosconi Cup team members have gotten over 20 seconds. I can just break 10 seconds.)
2. Draw test: With the OB on the foot spot, place the CB one diamond below it and shoot up table, banking it off the opposite end rail. Can you draw the CB back to the near end rail soft enough that the OB does not return all the way back to also hit the near end rail? How far from the OB can you place the CB and still successfully execute the shot? (Based on Dave & Bob's draw stroke challenge from video above.)
3. Stop shot test: With the OB on the foot spot, place the CB one diamond below it and shoot up table. Can you stop the CB but shoot soft enough that the OB does not reach the rail? It’s the same shot as above, but the CB stops rather than draws, and the OB can’t touch even a single rail. How far from the OB can you place the CB and still successfully execute the shot? (Mark Wilson uses this shot but with a speed radar - I've tried to adapt it for use without the radar using Dave & Bob’s approach with draw shots.)
4. Soft spot-shot test: With the OB on the foot spot and the CB on the head string, make the OB in the corner pocket without allowing the CB to hit a rail. How far from the side rail can you place the cue ball and still execute this shot? (This shot was discussed at length here on AZB a few months ago.)
(I hope those are clear. I don't think you can do arrows or ghost balls with these diagrams.)
I love these and have simplified several of them for challenge shots with buddies on league night. They’re fun and they’re not just silly trick shots - they do measure something important about your stroke. I thought I would list mine here, ask for others that you use or have heard of, and maybe people can post their results (I know you can't really compare most of these across different tables and conditions).
1. English test: Place the cue ball in the center of the table and the object ball on the foot string straight into a corner pocket. With maximum side spin, how long can you leave the CB spinning in place after a stop shot? (From Mark Wilson - he says Mosconi Cup team members have gotten over 20 seconds. I can just break 10 seconds.)
2. Draw test: With the OB on the foot spot, place the CB one diamond below it and shoot up table, banking it off the opposite end rail. Can you draw the CB back to the near end rail soft enough that the OB does not return all the way back to also hit the near end rail? How far from the OB can you place the CB and still successfully execute the shot? (Based on Dave & Bob's draw stroke challenge from video above.)
3. Stop shot test: With the OB on the foot spot, place the CB one diamond below it and shoot up table. Can you stop the CB but shoot soft enough that the OB does not reach the rail? It’s the same shot as above, but the CB stops rather than draws, and the OB can’t touch even a single rail. How far from the OB can you place the CB and still successfully execute the shot? (Mark Wilson uses this shot but with a speed radar - I've tried to adapt it for use without the radar using Dave & Bob’s approach with draw shots.)
4. Soft spot-shot test: With the OB on the foot spot and the CB on the head string, make the OB in the corner pocket without allowing the CB to hit a rail. How far from the side rail can you place the cue ball and still execute this shot? (This shot was discussed at length here on AZB a few months ago.)
(I hope those are clear. I don't think you can do arrows or ghost balls with these diagrams.)
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