A Fun CHALLENGE DRILL to Test Your DRAW QUALITY … and SOFT VS. HARD TIP Comparison

[dr_dave]

FYI, I just posted a new video that demonstrates a fun and challenging draw drill to test how well you can create soft draw with maximum spin. The video also compares the performance of a soft tip on a playing cue to a super hard tip on a break cue:

Content:
0:00 - Intro
0:49 - The Drill
2:15 - Effects
4:07 - Hard Tip Comparison
6:26 - Wrap Up

As always, I look forward to your feedback, comments, questions, complaints, and requests.

Enjoy!

 

[Bob Jewett]

If anyone tries this and gets really frustrated that they can't move the object ball very far up the table, please know that on more or less standard tables the usual limit is about the spot and not the side pockets.

 

[dr_dave]

If anyone tries this and gets really frustrated that they can't move the object ball very far up the table, please know that on more or less standard tables the usual limit is about the spot and not the side pockets.

Yep. My Olhausen cushions are a little soft and spongy.

I probably should have mentioned that in the video, but maybe I wanted to make people suffer a little first.

I look forward to seeing the best somebody can do on a bouncy Diamond table.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Yep. My Olhausen cushions are a little soft and spongy. ...

I'm guessing their effective COR at this speed is about .45.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Thanks again, Dave. You're on quite a video roll lately. Lucky us - keep 'em coming!

I like this drill's focus on tip/ball precision. Here's a similar one (I might have learned it from you) that focuses on steepness of draw - no jacking up!

- OB on center spot, CB on line between first diamonds on opposite long rails
- with a level-as-possible cue, cut OB into corner pocket and draw CB back as steeply as possible
- how far past the end rail center diamond can you draw the CB? 1/2 diamond past is pretty good
- hint: softer is better - you just have to reach the end rail

pj
chgo

 

[dr_dave]

Thanks again, Dave. You're on quite a video roll lately. Lucky us - keep 'em coming!

I like this drill's focus on tip/ball precision. Here's a similar one (I might have learned it from you) that focuses on steepness of draw - no jacking up!

- OB on center spot, CB on line between first diamonds on opposite long rails
- with a level-as-possible cue, cut OB into corner pocket and draw CB back as steeply as possible
- how far past the end rail center diamond can you draw the CB? 1/2 diamond past is pretty good
- hint: softer is better - you just have to reach the end rail

pj
chgo

View attachment 691750
View attachment 691753

I like it. Although, one thing I don't like about draw drills with fixed CB and OB positions is: the cloth along the shot line gets dirty and worn quickly, making the draw more difficult. I experienced this a lot in the past when I was doing the BU Exam Draw Drill from fixed CB positions. I learned to instead move the CB around a little whenever possible.

 

[Smutzc]

Dr Dave, I have people tell me I lose spin with the How Hard tip on my playing cue. I generally just ignore them, but it would be interesting to see your results with a standard hard tip and not so much a break tip. But all in all great video. I will be trying to see how I can do with this exercise.

 

[dr_dave]

Dr Dave, I have people tell me I lose spin with the How Hard tip on my playing cue. I generally just ignore them, but it would be interesting to see your results with a standard hard tip and not so much a break tip. But all in all great video. I will be trying to see how I can do with this exercise.

Please report what you find. Anybody can easily do this test with any tips/shafts/chalk on there own to see how things really compare.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

...one thing I don't like about draw drills with fixed CB and OB positions is: the cloth along the shot line gets dirty and worn quickly, making the draw more difficult.

Using all 4 corner pockets would help - or maybe use it as a periodic test rather than as a drill.

pj
chgo

 

[dr_dave]

Using all 4 corner pockets would help - or maybe use it as a periodic test rather than as a drill.

pj
chgo

Good ideas; but even during a test (especially with many shots to get a good result), the reaction can change some during the tests when shooting along the exact same line.

 

[BRussell]

I appreciate Dr Dave putting this out, because it shows better draw with a soft tip, which is something he was arguing against in the other thread.

 

[dr_dave]

I appreciate Dr Dave putting this out, because it shows better draw with a soft tip, which is something he was arguing against in the other thread.

Per my "NOTE" in the video description:

- This drill showed that a soft playing-cue tip can generate just slightly more backspin than a really hard phenolic hybrid tip on a break cue, but the differences among playing tips over a typical range of hardness would probably be too small to measure.

I probably should have made a bigger deal about this in the video. I also should have included a test for a playing cue with a typical hard leather tip to show how it compares. I would expect no difference between hard and soft playing tips (or maybe a slight edge to the hard tip per the info on the cue tip hardness effects resource page). I guess there might be yet another video in my future.

 

[dr_dave]

Per my "NOTE" in the video description:

- This drill showed that a soft playing-cue tip can generate just slightly more backspin than a really hard phenolic hybrid tip on a break cue, but the differences among playing tips over a typical range of hardness would probably be too small to measure.

I probably should have made a bigger deal about this in the video. I also should have included a test for a playing cue with a typical hard leather tip to show how it compares. I would expect no difference between hard and soft playing tips (or maybe a slight edge to the hard tip per the info on the cue tip hardness effects resource page). I guess there might be yet another video in my future.

I am not going to do "yet another video," but I just did a test with a harder Triangle tip, also on a 12.4mm Revo (similar to the shaft with the Victory Soft tip in my recent videos). FYI, I was able to do just a hair better with the harder tip, but the difference is too small to be meaningful or important.

 

[BRussell]

Why would the soft tip do better than the phenolic, but the pattern reverse with a hard leather tip doing better than soft leather? When I tried it with soft leather vs phenolic, I got a bigger difference than you. You were able to get pretty close with the phenolic.

But I wouldn’t think the hard tip’s greater efficiency would matter with this test, if you put the cue ball close to the object ball. I’d think that how much the tip can grab the cue ball would be key.

One other issue is that there’s not really much difference between “soft” and “hard” tips, especially across different brands, according to those durometer tests.

 

[FeelDaShot]

Good content as always, but I can't wait until you change the presentation style of your videos. It reminds of those old 80's science videos that we were forced to watch in school. Your musical chime and robotic voice puts me to sleep before I hit the one minute mark. Spice it up a little bit brother!

 

[dr_dave]

Why would the soft tip do better than the phenolic, but the pattern reverse with a hard leather tip doing better than soft leather? When I tried it with soft leather vs phenolic, I got a bigger difference than you. You were able to get pretty close with the phenolic.

Remember, the BK Hybrid is not pure phenolic. It is a hybrid (although it still "hits" and sounds like a phenolic tip). Not all "phenolic" tips are the same. The BK Hybrid seems to hold chalk fairly well compared to other phenolic tips I've used.

But I wouldn’t think the hard tip’s greater efficiency would matter with this test, if you put the cue ball close to the object ball. I’d think that how much the tip can grab the cue ball would be key.

Tip efficiency has no effect with this drill. You might need to use ever so slightly more cue speed with the soft tip, but the drill demands that the CB speeds be the same (or very similar) in any comparison. And the spin imparted for a given CB speed depends only on the tip contact point per the info on the cue tip hardness effects resource page.

One reason a phenolic tip might not perform quite as well at the miscue limit is it might not hold as many chalk particles and it might not hold them as well as a leather tip (hard or soft).

One other issue is that there’s not really much difference between “soft” and “hard” tips, especially across different brands, according to those durometer tests.

Agreed. The range of hardnesses of soft and hard playing tips is not very large.

 

[dr_dave]

Good content as always, but I can't wait until you change the presentation style of your videos. It reminds of those old 80's science videos that we were forced to watch in school. Your musical chime and robotic voice puts me to sleep before I hit the one minute mark. Spice it up a little bit brother!

Would you prefer more of a "Bert Kinister" or "Dominic Esposito" vibe? Or maybe Freddy "The Beard" Bentivegna? Sorry, but that's not my style. And even if I tried, I am sure I would get ridiculed even more than I do already. Believe it or not, some people actually like my attempt to be clear and concise (even if it might sound like a old science video).

 

[dquarasr]

Remember this?

The Quick Draw McGraw Show - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[FeelDaShot]

Would you prefer more of a "Bert Kinister" or "Dominic Esposito" vibe? Or maybe Freddy "The Beard" Bentivegna? Sorry, but that's not my style. And even if I tried, I am sure I would get ridiculed even more than I do already. Believe it or not, some people actually like my attempt to be clear and concise (even if it might sound like a old science video).

No, definitely don't be like any of those other guys. How about taking a look at some of the most popular YouTube channels (not necessarily pool related) and see how they present their info? They're exciting and keeps your attention. Anyone can present raw data in a monotone voice but the most popular channels have put tons of research and effort into their presentation style to appeal to the most viewers. It's not magic, there is definitely a reason why they are so popular.

Fortunately for you, your content is great and makes up for the dry presentation. I think most videos are the opposite (not much content but great presentation lol). So if you did an overhaul on your presentation style you would probably get much better viewership. Just my two cents. Best of luck Dave!

 

[BRussell]

Dr Dave should do tik toks where he stares silently into the camera while the synthesized voice talks about pool physics. Or he could encourage tik-tokkers to eat chalk or table cleaner or something else that’s poisonous, that’s always a hit.