Am I Wasting Time ?

1ab

1ab

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have been practicing fundamentals by setting up a 6 ft. straight in shot, getting into set position, taking one stroke and then looking away while taking 4 to 5 strokes before shooting. I feel this practice is helping me ingrain muscle memory as well as develop confidence in my stroke. I routinely run 5 -6 in a row. An A player watching me do this came up to me and told me I'm wasting my time doing this, It's not going to help a thing. Is he right ?
 
1ab said:
I have been practicing fundamentals by setting up a 6 ft. straight in shot, getting into set position, taking one stroke and then looking away while taking 4 to 5 strokes before shooting. I feel this practice is helping me ingrain muscle memory as well as develop confidence in my stroke. I routinely run 5 -6 in a row. An A player watching me do this came up to me and told me I'm wasting my time doing this, It's not going to help a thing. Is he right ?
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If you think its helping you then it probably is.
 
1ab said:
I have been practicing fundamentals by setting up a 6 ft. straight in shot, getting into set position, taking one stroke and then looking away while taking 4 to 5 strokes before shooting. I feel this practice is helping me ingrain muscle memory as well as develop confidence in my stroke. I routinely run 5 -6 in a row. An A player watching me do this came up to me and told me I'm wasting my time doing this, It's not going to help a thing. Is he right ?
Click to expand...

Tuff to say without knowing your proficiency level...

But I wouldn't say it is a complete waste of time. I woud add: IMO the muscle memory you seek to develop could be attended to while learning othere things...like the subtle differences in going 2 rails out of a corner with running english, attempting to come long or short.

Shooting balls is shooting balls. Might as well kill 2 birds with one rice, IMO.
 
Set up the shot, take your stokes, pause, close you eyes, then hit the shot. See how many times you make the ball. Straight in or not, it ain't easy unless your stoke is straight.
 
back in the day when you spotted balls before money balls and on scratches and fouls the cue ball was placed behind the line; spot shots were critical if you wanted to come away with the cheese. Since often these shots presented themselves at the end of a long session (over 4 hours); I practiced spot shots without aiming. It was a brief practice by taking only 10-20 shots. It helped and i also had a game for those who wanted a wager on the rail. good luck.
 
1ab said:
I have been practicing fundamentals by setting up a 6 ft. straight in shot, getting into set position, taking one stroke and then looking away while taking 4 to 5 strokes before shooting. I feel this practice is helping me ingrain muscle memory as well as develop confidence in my stroke. I routinely run 5 -6 in a row. An A player watching me do this came up to me and told me I'm wasting my time doing this, It's not going to help a thing. Is he right ?
Click to expand...

No you're not, though I'd make the shot a liiiiiiiiittle longer. I like to bring the ball back closer to the rail. If you can make the long ones routinely then the short ones become easier. In fact a staple of every snooker players practice are long straight in pots. It's a powerful tool to have in you're arsenal.
 
It is not a waste of time unless you think it is.
I am not real sure about turning you head in this process. Other than that seems to be just fine.

I shoot the same drill just about every time I practice.
It is spotting the object ball in the middle of the table and then putting the CB in front of the corner pocket.
I line it up so it is a straight in shot.
I feel this shot help fine tune my stroke and my pre-shot routine. If my stroke is off at all I see it in this shot. It gets me to slow down and be more deliberate in my stroke.

Just make sure you know what you want to get out the shot that you are shooting.
Sometimes you have to ignore other players at or above you level.
Remember that everyone is different and we all learn and see value in things differently.
 
I love to do straight in shots although I do not see the need to look away while shooting. If I am not potting the ball I want to know which side of the pocket I am missing on. What I want from straight in drills is to see if there is any slight giddy up in my stroke. I also try to draw the cueball back into the corner under my cue as I make the object ball. Then I know I have hit draw and the ball dead center. Good drill, in a set of drills I like to do when practicing and proir to playing in general..
 
If you are sinking balls I wouldn't say it is a complete waste of time but I believe equal offense is the best game for beginners.
 
My Goal

I started the " looking away" part as believing it would reveal any flaw in my stability and/or inconsistencies of stroke. I look once just to establish aim, then stroke 4-5 times without looking to exercise memory. I felt if I shot true at that point without looking, I could develop confidence in my fundamentals.
 
1ab said:
I have been practicing fundamentals by setting up a 6 ft. straight in shot, getting into set position, taking one stroke and then looking away while taking 4 to 5 strokes before shooting. I feel this practice is helping me ingrain muscle memory as well as develop confidence in my stroke. I routinely run 5 -6 in a row. An A player watching me do this came up to me and told me I'm wasting my time doing this, It's not going to help a thing. Is he right ?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't move your head to look away. This could throw off your alignment. Just close your eyes.

It sounds like that number should be higher...so maybe you need to look at other aspects of your alignment. Again as someone else said, I don't know what level of player you are, so this might be very good. If you have been looking away by turning your head, I bet your pocketing goes up by not turning your head.

Good luck...I think almost any practice in which you really pay attention to what you are doing can be a big benefit.

KMRUNOUT
 
KMRUNOUT said:
I wouldn't move your head to look away. This could throw off your alignment. Just close your eyes.

KMRUNOUT
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I was thinking the same thing. Dont move your head, but close your eyes.
I'd say not a waste of time. I took a lesson where a similar drill was a cornerstone of your practice routine to work on every aspect of the stroke. Closing your eyes is just the verifycation that your doing what you want to do.
 
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