Are We getting too anal with shot making?

Probably so....

In my local arena, we have some very good players. The difference I see between the "A Players" & the the lower levels is this; the boys & girls on the top level have "an aire of confidence" about their ability to play the game.

The other players are always "on the hunt", to attain that skill level (thus the anal quest). "The Hunt" has different facets that include one or more of the following features; a new Cue, changing their stroke, getting advice from several of the better players, playing twice a much or playing half as much & many other ways of searching for the answers...

50% may have just hit their peak, as far as natural talent is concerned, but even that group can gather some higher leaning about "The Game" & play more consistantly. Not many are interested in that direction.

The balance of players are just seeking the Magic Cue, the Magic Stroke or 'The Magic".

Good Luck to all ....
 
In a way it's true that you should be focusing on position play. But I've found the better shotmaker your are, the easier position play becomes. It creates more position play options as well. For example, you may be comfortable playing for steeper cuts on break balls playing 14.1.

Finally, no matter how good you are at controling the cue ball, you're always gonna get out of line from time to time. A good shotmaker won't be too fazed by it.
 
I had just the opposite experience of the OP when I was learning. I learned to play pool in a bar with a bunch of bangers who couldn't care a lick for position play; sure, they understood the basics of draw, follow and english, but they were more interested in slamming balls home then playing proper position. So I learned how to make very, very complex shots without giving too much concern to where the cueball might end up on the table. It was only after I started watching pro matches on YouTube that I understood just how important position play was in the grand scheme of things, and how it might be better to play safe than attempt a difficult shot without guaranteed position. I'm a far better player now for it, but my ability to pocket very complex shots (mainly short rail bank shots or full table long rail shots at speed) has suffered.

I think learning position play has a lot to do with who you play with. I still play with some bangers who have been playing for years who make incredibly difficult shots look routine, but who blow position on easy runouts because they're more concerned with how hard they can hit the ball than getting ideal position. Like others have said, you need to use both skills in tandem; it can't just be one or the other.
 
back in my day i was told postition dont mean squat if you dont make the ball. cant tell you how many times i get perfect position only to hang the fukker

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 
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