Aiming
- Thread starter jetsmell
- Start date
object ball
Normally I would say the object ball, but there are times when looking at the cue ball last can be beneficial. Such as, when the cue ball is frozen on the rail and you are jacked up on the shot... ie. when hitting perfect center cue ball is crucial.
The vast majority will say the OB. Some people do well looking at the CB last. Many threads over the years have discussed this issue.
Yes there have been, and I was surprised at the number of people in the last one that said they look at the CB last.
OB for me. And more specifically, the contact point.
I'd say OB is probably the proper answer,,,,but I primarily play 1 hole and American snooker, and some shots when I'm primarily just playing cueball, I'd say I have better results looking at the cueball. It just seems my touch is a little better.
here is an email i received, i have exchanged some back and forth with a pro through email.
"The primary target in pool is the cue ball...the secondary is the object ball....your feel comes from the cue ball, not the object ball...it's much like golf, you aim at the golf ball and your green or fairway is a secondary target....and if you don't hit the primary target perfectly, you have no chance of hitting the secondary one....especially for hours at a time like the top pros do"
"On the last stoke you're eyes are focused on the cue ball, but right before contact your eyes are "aware" of the object ball, then watch the object ball go in,I feel the shot after I'm down with my eyes because the real aiming is done above the shot, not when you're already down, that's why it's so important to establish the visual "illusion" BEFORE you get down....or every shot will look slightly different....and this leads to inconsistency."
"The primary target in pool is the cue ball...the secondary is the object ball....your feel comes from the cue ball, not the object ball...it's much like golf, you aim at the golf ball and your green or fairway is a secondary target....and if you don't hit the primary target perfectly, you have no chance of hitting the secondary one....especially for hours at a time like the top pros do"
"On the last stoke you're eyes are focused on the cue ball, but right before contact your eyes are "aware" of the object ball, then watch the object ball go in,I feel the shot after I'm down with my eyes because the real aiming is done above the shot, not when you're already down, that's why it's so important to establish the visual "illusion" BEFORE you get down....or every shot will look slightly different....and this leads to inconsistency."
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Contact point on the OB. It's where I look throughout my PSR, until I'm down on the shot...then I look from CB to OB contact point to pocket, back to OB. Then I keep focused on OB contact point when I pull the trigger until the CB gets there...to make sure I hit the contact point as expected.
I've tried looking at the CB when pulling the trigger, can't get it to work for me at all...even on the break, I'm looking at the contact point on the ball in the rack I want to hit. The only time I look at the CB last is on masse or jump shots.
I've tried looking at the CB when pulling the trigger, can't get it to work for me at all...even on the break, I'm looking at the contact point on the ball in the rack I want to hit. The only time I look at the CB last is on masse or jump shots.
I suppose I agree you should be looking at the primary target, but I don't agree that's the cue ball. To me the primary target is the contact point on the OB. I know there are other ways to do it, this is just what works for me.
BTW, it's not like golf because there is an additional "target" if you will, in pool.
Golf: Club ---> Ball ---> Hole
Pool: Cue ---> CB ---> OB ---> Hole
I can do both but prefer the CB last, it's just more comfortable for me and I seem to stroke straighter doing so. One thing though, if I do shoot looking at the OB last I definitely don't look at the contact point, I look straight down the shot line.......there's a big difference imo.
those were not "my words" i posted but something i find interesting though. you have to give different ideas some deep thought sometimes to figure things out.
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randy your an instructor, explain your opinion on why our focus should be on the object ball? or do i have to say the magic word to get you to do this? :thumbup:
In pool/snooker the object ball is your "Golf" ball. The golf analogy is useless. I have never found anyone who has reached any advanced level or better in pool who looks at cue ball last (not counting break, jumps and other specialty shots). I'm sure it's possible but I haven't met any.
Nick
Nick
Here's a thread from five months ago with some good discussion on this topic: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=252918
Introduce yourself to Rodney Morris and Ralf Souquet, they're pretty advanced. I know a few BCA Master runout players that look at the CB last as well. I know it's crazy bro but some people work differently. There is this kid from Japan who can cut air soft bullets in half with a Katana, they say it's impossible for the human eye to even see but he does it :thumbup:
I have always been a CB last guy and play at a decent level. But through some recent high speed video (thanks Rufus!), I actually found that I unconsciously shift my eyes during my stroke to the target - at least most of the time...
So when I said I was CB last, it's the last thing I look at when I start my backswing, and I wasn't making a definitive shift during a pause in my backswing, so the eye shift to the OB was just happening during the stroke. I'm now going to work on shifting purposefully at the end of the backswing, or shifting before I begin my swing, to see if it makes a difference.
I wonder if the pros who say they are also CB last actually do what I do, or if they really do stare at the impact point through the entire stroke. In theory if you are lined up correctly and mechanics are sound it shouldn't matter what you look at, although shifting mid stroke especially for beginners could cause movement etc. I can go with either the rifle argument (looking at what you are shooting at) or golf argument (look at what you are striking). I can putt pretty well looking at the club/ball impact or looking at the hole the entire time once set, it doesn't matter much. But I think the vast majority of players look at OB last before beginning the stroke or at a definitive pause during the backswing.
Scott
So when I said I was CB last, it's the last thing I look at when I start my backswing, and I wasn't making a definitive shift during a pause in my backswing, so the eye shift to the OB was just happening during the stroke. I'm now going to work on shifting purposefully at the end of the backswing, or shifting before I begin my swing, to see if it makes a difference.
I wonder if the pros who say they are also CB last actually do what I do, or if they really do stare at the impact point through the entire stroke. In theory if you are lined up correctly and mechanics are sound it shouldn't matter what you look at, although shifting mid stroke especially for beginners could cause movement etc. I can go with either the rifle argument (looking at what you are shooting at) or golf argument (look at what you are striking). I can putt pretty well looking at the club/ball impact or looking at the hole the entire time once set, it doesn't matter much. But I think the vast majority of players look at OB last before beginning the stroke or at a definitive pause during the backswing.
Scott
I read the article from yahoo, I believe and there was also a link to a video of the kid doing all these activities with his blade. It was pretty interesting. Some specialist of sorts was saying that he uses all his senses in a way to almost anticipate the exact timing.
The article was about people with uncanny abilities, one man was impervious to cold, another could look at a land scape for a few moments and draw it to perfect detail and I mean perfect. Sure it could all be faked but I like the idea of people with extraordinary abilities.
Try to google this article, it's pretty interesting. I'll try to find a link for you and you can tell me if you think it's all bullocks.