A little stroke help needed

frankncali

frankncali

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Lately I seem to be setting up or stroking a little to the left. I cant seem to get comfortable lining up exactly straight down the shot line.

I used to take a little while and do some practive strokes down the top of the rail making sure I am straight but that isnt helping.

Where its most notable is on my break. I also think I am shortening up my grip(chocking up) and thus shortening my stroke due to this same issue.

Any drills or ways to get back stroking directly down the shot line.

BTW-- i hope this post makes sense :grin: I read it and am not sure :grin: I know what I am trying to say but I am not sure it came out just right !!
 
I get what your saying. When your warm up stroking concentrate on making that cue go straight back straight forward. When I am doing this really well and "feel" that the cue can only go straight, I never miss a ball and my break is dead on. Also slow that last back stroke just ever slow slightly and picture and feel that cue going straight through the cue ball.

If you watch all the pros 75% of them slow that last stroke down just ever so slightly to make damn sure its going straight and at the right speed. Its all in the "feel" brother, gotta feel it.

Oh, make sure your not getting sloppy with your routine and stroke, that can mess you up too.
 
frankncali said:
Any drills or ways to get back stroking directly down the shot line.
Click to expand...

I really think Joe Tucker's 3rd Eye Stroke Trainer helps out well in this regard.

frankncali said:
Lately I seem to be setting up or stroking a little to the left. I cant seem to get comfortable lining up exactly straight down the shot line
Click to expand...

When I read this, I interpret that you are having a tough time getting comfortable once down. If that's the case, maybe visualizing the shot line a little longer before you step into the shot might help.
 
If I understand you, stroking into a plastic water bottle can help a lot. . .

also, lining up on a line like where the fabric is tucked into the rail and stroking parallel to that can be a big help.
 
One problem you might be having is your body being in the way of the stroking arm a bit, this can cause the tip to go a little to the left when you stroke through the ball as the stroking arm has no real room to come straight through. I have had the same problem in the past, trying to stand more directly in line of the shot.

Watch the stroke of Mike Sigel in this video, he is one of the best people to show who sets up to the side of the shot more then most.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkMdohGj1I4

In effect if this is your problem the solution is simply moving your foot position abit to the left if you are right handed (or to the right if you are a lefty). Your feet will point more perpendicular to the shot then parallel as tends to be the case when people are set up more straight behind the shot. It is not a huge adjustment and in reality it is similar to shots where you are leaning over the table shoot like at 1:57 in the video, but not to that extreme.

If you notice Mike shoots like this on every shot, although he is more extreme in doing it then one would need to be to remove the body making the stroke non-straight.
 
It may not be a stroke problem...

There are two different things that could be causing the problem. Either you're not hitting the ball where you think you are, or you're hitting it exactly where you aim, but you're not seeing the contact point correctly. For a lot of people, what looks like center ball to them isn't actually the center of the ball.

It's pretty easy to figure out which it is. Set a stripe on the spot so that the number faces you, chalk up, and shoot it straight up the table into the center diamond. When it stops rolling, pick it up and look at it. Try this several times at different speeds. Is the chalk mark always on the center of the number (or whatever other part of the ball you wanted to hit)?

If there's a blue dot right on the spot you were shooting for, but the ball didn't go straight to the center diamond, you just need to recognize that to you, center ball looks a little to the left or right of where it really is. All you have to do is adjust your aim in the other direction to compensate. This is usually a pretty quick fix -- the hardest part is remembering it on every shot. Once it becomes a habit, though, you're good to go.

If the mark's somewhere other than where you wanted to hit, you need to work on making sure you have a straight stroke and that you deliver the tip of the cue to the spot you're aiming at. That's going to take a little more work. Someone else mentioned stroking into a bottle, and that's great for straightening your stroke out. A good pause at the cueball after your final practice stroke and another pause at the end of your backswing before you stroke the ball can work wonders for the accuracy of your delivery. Both the bottle drill and the pauses, with enough practice, should make a huge difference.
 
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Celtic said:
One problem you might be having is your body being in the way of the stroking arm a bit, this can cause the tip to go a little to the left when you stroke through the ball as the stroking arm has no real room to come straight through. I have had the same problem in the past, trying to stand more directly in line of the shot.

Watch the stroke of Mike Sigel in this video, he is one of the best people to show who sets up to the side of the shot more then most.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkMdohGj1I4

In effect if this is your problem the solution is simply moving your foot position abit to the left if you are right handed (or to the right if you are a lefty). Your feet will point more perpendicular to the shot then parallel as tends to be the case when people are set up more straight behind the shot. It is not a huge adjustment and in reality it is similar to shots where you are leaning over the table shoot like at 1:57 in the video, but not to that extreme.

If you notice Mike shoots like this on every shot, although he is more extreme in doing it then one would need to be to remove the body making the stroke non-straight.
Click to expand...


You are correct. My body does get in the way. Guys Sigel's size are really able to get straight in line and right over the ball. I noticed recently that my cue is out a bit (due to size) and that its basically like Neils or Earls cue. Both are slightly or not so slightly to the right.

Someone else suggested the third eye stroke trainer. I have that and will give it a try as well as the pop bottle (or a buddy hall stroke trainer gizmo).
I am built more like Kid Delicious and I have always wanted to pick his brain to see if he had to make any adjustments as he was gaining or losing weight.
Thanks
 
Long straight in shots are the best training tool there is. But don't just shoot them keep track of where your misses are going, if you are putting side on the cue ball etc.

Adjust your stance until your not having to stroke around hips if your body is in the way. Find players with a similar body types and see how they approach the game.
 
If you know any women who play a great game, they've usually got great tips on how to get your body out of the way of your stroke. They have to play around hips and other body parts us guys don't usually have.
 
Alabama,

I don't have any good advice for you other than what already has been posted.

But, if your game is off..........LET'S PLAY!!!!!!

:D

Russ....
 
frankncali said:
Lately I seem to be setting up or stroking a little to the left. I cant seem to get comfortable lining up exactly straight down the shot line.

I used to take a little while and do some practive strokes down the top of the rail making sure I am straight but that isnt helping.

Where its most notable is on my break. I also think I am shortening up my grip(chocking up) and thus shortening my stroke due to this same issue.

Any drills or ways to get back stroking directly down the shot line.

BTW-- i hope this post makes sense :grin: I read it and am not sure :grin: I know what I am trying to say but I am not sure it came out just right !!
Click to expand...

Frank,

I have found that sometimes we are all twisted up without realizing it.

An instructor said I was standing too closed to the target line, my hips too close to parallel to the target line, causing my torso to twist in relation to my shoulders, which forced the stroking hand out too far from my body.

He squared up my hips more to my shoulders - not as square as a snooker stance but more square than I was standing - and had me stroke with my grip hand closer to my body.

I immediately noticed that I could stroke straighter and more freely and my balance was a lot better.

Anyway, it helped me.


Chris
 
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Celtic said:
One problem you might be having is your body being in the way of the stroking arm a bit, this can cause the tip to go a little to the left when you stroke through the ball as the stroking arm has no real room to come straight through. I have had the same problem in the past, trying to stand more directly in line of the shot.

Watch the stroke of Mike Sigel in this video, he is one of the best people to show who sets up to the side of the shot more then most.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkMdohGj1I4

In effect if this is your problem the solution is simply moving your foot position abit to the left if you are right handed (or to the right if you are a lefty). Your feet will point more perpendicular to the shot then parallel as tends to be the case when people are set up more straight behind the shot. It is not a huge adjustment and in reality it is similar to shots where you are leaning over the table shoot like at 1:57 in the video, but not to that extreme.

If you notice Mike shoots like this on every shot, although he is more extreme in doing it then one would need to be to remove the body making the stroke non-straight.
Click to expand...

Oops - Just read this and I agree by the way.

Chris
 
Maybe some sort of stroke trainer would work, like Buddy Hall's stroke trainer. Do you tighten your grip and you end your stroke? I am no expert, but remember it is a pendelum and your shoulders doesn't move. A good pre-shot routine might help as well. Just wanna help...


Chino
 
JoseV said:
If you really want to groove your stroke there is this thing called the Cuetrack that is much better than the third eye trainer. www.Cuetrack.com
Click to expand...

Just a little bit higher than a Third Eye !!!


Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Tonight I tried placing 2 Lifesavers on the left side of my mouth and a 22 pound weight on my right shoulder it was all I needed ;) THANKS Earl !!!!
The Lifesavers had to be green and yellow though.
 
frankncali said:
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Tonight I tried placing 2 Lifesavers on the left side of my mouth and a 22 pound weight on my right shoulder it was all I needed ;) THANKS Earl !!!!
The Lifesavers had to be green and yellow though.
Click to expand...

LOL. That's what I was going to suggest to you Frank. You need some weights around your right shoulder, and that should do the trick. :D

Seriously though, I had the same problem as you until I put my grip hand a little further back and turned my hips like mentioned before. The other thing I tried is really concentrating on my preshot routine so that the cue moves in a straight line during my warm-up strokes.

See you in Vegas Frank!
 
FYI, there are some good drills and resources for helping you improve and diagnose problems with your stroke here:


MOFUDAT: MOst Famous and Useful Drill of All Time

Regards,
Dave

frankncali said:
Lately I seem to be setting up or stroking a little to the left. I cant seem to get comfortable lining up exactly straight down the shot line.

I used to take a little while and do some practive strokes down the top of the rail making sure I am straight but that isnt helping.

Where its most notable is on my break. I also think I am shortening up my grip(chocking up) and thus shortening my stroke due to this same issue.

Any drills or ways to get back stroking directly down the shot line.

BTW-- i hope this post makes sense :grin: I read it and am not sure :grin: I know what I am trying to say but I am not sure it came out just right !!
Click to expand...
 
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