A shot that is giving me problems

midnightpulp

midnightpulp

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've always been confident in my draw. However, as I come back to the game, these long straight in draws are giving me problems. I keep pushing the OB to the left, often way to the left. Medium speed, not really a problem, but I obviously won't get the draw needed. I believe I'm aiming it correctly. It's when I let the stroke out. Not sure if I'm inadvertently putting spin on it or if it's deflecting.

Do hard draw shots deflect?

Appreciate any tips, drills, etc, to help remedy this problem.

I also have a pretty old table with slow, beat up felt.

CueTable Help

 
Last edited:
You have a flaw in your stroke, somewhere. You need someone, preferably an instructor, look at what your doing and recommend drills to improve. Could be lots of different things, fix only what is wrong, define your problem area.
 
If you are aiming correctly and still missing, sounds like you are putting unwanted english on the cue ball.

Is the cue ball spinning left or right after contact with the object ball??

Try using shorter distance between the cue ball and your bridge hand, make sure that your bridge hand and forearm are FIRMLY planted on the table, elevate your cue slightly and follow through.

Russ.....
 
If it's a home table, set a mirror up at the corner pocket you are shooting at.

It will definately tell on you. You'll be able to see where you're stroke is going wrong.
 
poolhustler said:
If you are aiming correctly and still missing, sounds like you are putting unwanted english on the cue ball.

Is the cue ball spinning left or right after contact with the object ball??

Try using shorter distance between the cue ball and your bridge hand, make sure that your bridge hand and forearm are FIRMLY planted on the table, elevate your cue slightly and follow through.

Russ.....
Click to expand...

I suspect that is what I'm doing. I have no problem executing the shot with a medium to a semi-hard stroke. It's when I really need the action on the cue ball where everything goes wrong.

How about a traditional stroke drill, like coming straight up and down the table and into your cue tip, but shooting it with power draw?
 
I do that too when I inadvertently twist my wrist on the stroke and/or follow through.

Try pausing a little before your final stroke, and hold your tip to the cloth too see if you followed through in a straight line.
 
belmicah said:
I do that too when I inadvertently twist my wrist on the stroke and/or follow through.

Try pausing a little before your final stroke, and hold your tip to the cloth too see if you followed through in a straight line.
Click to expand...

Aha!

Twisting the wrist. Bet that is what I'm doing when I snap my wrist to get max torque on the shot. I can see how easy it is to snap your wrist inward.
 
this shot does not require the "power draw". what is needed is a very smooth and long back stroke and a longgggg follow through. and you need to make sure when you follow through the cue tip should be going downward along the line and not lift it up. snapping you wrist will easily change the direction of the cue and a sudden muscle movement will result in a mis hit of the intended spot on the cue ball.
 
You had that shot, and now you lost it temporarily. It happens even to the best of players. I'm sure you can teach yourself that shot again, since you already know what it takes to execute a good draw. The only cure is to spend a lot of time at the table alone so that this shot becomes automatic like any other, and then you'll be able to execute it confidently without conciously thinking about follow through, staying loose or whatever.
 
Last edited:
dakaratestar said:
this shot does not require the "power draw". what is needed is a very smooth and long back stroke and a longgggg follow through. and you need to make sure when you follow through the cue tip should be going downward along the line and not lift it up. snapping you wrist will easily change the direction of the cue and a sudden muscle movement will result in a mis hit of the intended spot on the cue ball.
Click to expand...

I agree, but on my old and slow table, I have to let it out. Or should I be able to execute it anyway? I have a 9 foot Bruns. heirloom, quality table, but is in dire need of a makeover.

Thanks for the tip.

I'll try it on a GC with Simonis this weekend and see how I do
 
Try this and see what happens on a long drawshot.

Put a striped ball on the headspot with the stripe in a vertical position. Hit it with low english hard enough that it slides as it gets to the footspot keeping the stripe in the vertical position.

Try it again with the stripe tilted about 10 degrees. Hit dead center on the stripe with draw as you would be if applying a little english on the ball.

I think you will quickly discover why you might throw the ball on long draw shots.
 
twisting the wrist probably accounts for 95% with similar problems, and it would seem logical that it steems from gripping the cue butt too hard consequently loosing the feel, direction and rhytm. i personally picture djangos grip (cue hangin in finger tips thumb pointing down) and practice my stroke aiming at a bottle opening 2 or so feet away.

there is no shot in pool (ok, bk), imo, that requires a hard grip.

(most other butts require a firm grip and sometimes even a slap)
 
Last edited:
... I keep pushing the OB to the left, often way to the left.
Click to expand...

That probably means your CB is going to the right, which means you're putting left spin on it. If you're right handed, this isn't a "wrist tuck" problem - that would cause right spin. It could be your back hand "swoops" away from your body on power strokes, or that you're tightening your grip, which causes your wrist to turn outward (untuck). Either of these would cause your tip to swoop left.

Do hard draw shots deflect?
Click to expand...

Only if you're hitting offcenter.

pj
chgo
 
a little tip as well for when the cue ball, object ball, and pocket are all in line - focus your cue on the pocket. aim to push the cue directly towards the heart of the pocket - don't aim at the contact point on the object ball. works extremely well for some, give it a try!
 
u12armresl said:
I would ask Dr Cue's P about this shot, as he has been missing it for over 15 years.
Click to expand...

not been missing it for 15+ years, just 10+ years.

my thoughts:

practice this progressively, shooting a shorter version of the shot. if you continue to miss, get a video camera and point it right down the line to see what you are doing. it has to be one of three things:
1) alignment is off. are you stepping into the shot, or just bending over on the shot? i always thought the cuestick is an extension of the arm, which is an extension of the shoulder.
2) aim is off. at times people just dont realize where the center actually is on these shots.
3) stroke is off. do you do any "Stroke Straightening" drills?

DCP
 
You are putting right english on the cue ball. This causes the OB to go to the left. Using a closed bridge for powerful strokes is recommended. Open bridges are usually used for soft/finesse strokes. The shot you have is not considered a power draw shot. You could easily draw the cue ball back using 1/2 to 1 tip below center, and using a good follow through stroke. If you are trying to do a snap-back draw shot, using a closed bridge will increase your accuracy of cue ball contact point, but your backswing is even more crucial to execution of the shot.
If you decide to move on to a power draw shot. Place the OB within 1 diamond of the pocket, and the CB within one diamond of the farthest pocket. A full table length draw is what most consider a power draw shot.
 
midnightpulp said:
I believe I'm aiming it correctly. It's when I let the stroke out. Not sure if I'm inadvertently putting spin on it or if it's deflecting.

Appreciate any tips, drills, etc, to help remedy this problem.
Click to expand...
I've seen this problem many times. The first step for treatment is to check your eyes. By this I mean verifying that you are actually sighting to the middle of the ball when you set up. You can do this by loading up your tip with chalk and a Jim Rempe training ball. Set up to shoot your shot, and then touch the Rempe ball very lightly. You'll be able to see if you are on the vertical center line. If you don't have a Rempe ball, a measles ball will work (set it up so a spot is at the bottom), or use a regular ball, but be very careful about how you set it up.

This happens most often with people that shoot with their chin very close to the cue stick.

If this is not the issue, I would guess that your stroking arm is too far from your body. This causes a pronounced "pull" when stroking hard. And pulling in (to the left) when shooting causes the tip to hit to the right of your intended spot. Try pulling your arm a little tighter and see if that doesn't help you hit the right target on the cue ball.

Lastly, a quick fix you can use is to raise your head up a little bit (about 6-10") from the cue stick. This will change both your eye position and your arm position. It won't indentify or fix the underlying problem, but it should stop the frustration for a playing session.

Try these suggestions and report back.

-td

One final note I didn't mention. After reading PJ's post, I agree that you should be aware of your grip. Try opening up a finger or two (pinky and ring finger) on your grip. NB: DON'T try a bunch of changes at the same time or you'll never be able to identify the problem! Either change your eyes, your grip, or your arm. Not all 3 at once.
 
Last edited:
You are putting right english on the cue ball. This causes the OB to go to the left.
Click to expand...

Throw will do that (move the OB in the opposite direction of the spin) if you hit the OB where you aim and the only thing that changes is the added spin. But most likely the unexpected sidespin caused some unexpected squirt which tends to cause the opposite effect (moves the OB in the same direction as the sidespin).

Using a closed bridge for powerful strokes is recommended. Open bridges are usually used for soft/finesse strokes. [...] If you are trying to do a snap-back draw shot, using a closed bridge will increase your accuracy of cue ball contact point
Click to expand...

Sorry, man, but I gotta stand up for my versatile friend, the open bridge. There isn't a common stroke or shot (including most masse shots) that can't be done with an open bridge as accurately and effectively as with a closed bridge, if the shaft occasionally hopping out of the bridge doesn't spook you. Personally, I think an open bridge teaches me to hit the CB better because I'm more aware of it and can see it better.

pj
chgo
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
not been missing it for 15+ years, just 10+ years.

my thoughts:

practice this progressively, shooting a shorter version of the shot. if you continue to miss, get a video camera and point it right down the line to see what you are doing. it has to be one of three things:
1) alignment is off. are you stepping into the shot, or just bending over on the shot? i always thought the cuestick is an extension of the arm, which is an extension of the shoulder.
2) aim is off. at times people just dont realize where the center actually is on these shots.
3) stroke is off. do you do any "Stroke Straightening" drills?

DCP
Click to expand...

1) My routine is to step back a few feet, survery the shot, and then step into it.

2) Definitely. Used to have this problem when I was younger. Stepping into the line of the shot has solved this problem.

3) Starting to again since I've came back to the game. Do you recommend doing these drills with a draw stroke?

Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top