My only possible contention with your position on CTE is exactly what you or I mean when we say "it works" for someone. In my definition, CTE does not work but someone can still improve using CTE because it may be solving other issues that are impairing the player's ability to succeed. Those problems might also be solved in any other number of ways having nothing to do with CTE. Or, another way to look at it is my left pocket jelly bean aiming system. If a guy uses that system and works hard at it for a few months he will play better -- money back guarantee. Now, of course the jelly bean system doesn't work, but people can still improve doing it. The common thread is that it is the player making it work, not some magic perception or magic jelly bean thing... unless mohrt finds it, of course.
Now that I think about it I'm not sure what your position is. I sense that you say CTE "works" simply to avoid a debate about it. Nod your head once if that is correct, please.![]()
I believe it works for those with enough experience to make it work. In other words, an experienced player can use the perceptions and find the shot line visually. An inexperienced player will struggle with it until they can begin to recognize the shot lines.
I had an interesting aiming conversation with a great player last weekend. He uses 3 ob references for every shot...center ob, halfway between center and edge, and the edge. He has perfected this method, which is a fractional method. He uses his ferrule/shaft as a gauge, splitting it into quarters or eighths to aim thinner or thicker than the nearest reference as needed. The guy rarely rarely misses a shot. He told me he no longer feels like he's guessing where to aim. He has known references and known adjustments.
Like this guy and his fractional method, I believe CTE can work the same way for someone willing to put in the trial and error time. You stick to the same basic references/visuals until you become consistent at recognizing how much to thin or thicken a certain reference. That's not how Stan or any proficient CTE users say it works, but for anyone without a ton of playing experience already, it's pretty obvious that there's a learning curve involved. That learning curve is the process of recognizing the correct shot line so that you can sweep into it.