Cue Ball goes BOING!

M

Miss Q

Registered
I'm sure that this is a simple question for you AZ pool gurus, but I am having a problem. For whatever reason, when I shoot what (in my humble opinion) used to be a good draw shot, my cue ball catches air! I don't think that I am scooping...or poking. Why is this happening? Is it because the butt of my cue is elevated?
Thanks for your help.
:confused:
 
most likely your cue is elevated.
but even though, if the ball catches air
you're hitting the cue ball too low
 
Are you miscuing? As in, when you try to draw it, you hear the sound of your ferrule slapping the cueball, and the cueball jumps up? Or are you jacking up like a legal jump shot, and the cueball hops when you shoot it?
 
Anytime you hit the Q-ball firm it comes off the table. If you want to prove it to yourself place a dime on the table about 6 to 8 inches in front of the Q-ball between the Q-ball and object ball and hit center ball on the Q-ball and hit it firm to hard and you will not move the dime. The Q-ball will go over the dime without hitting it. Also the more the elevation the more air the Q-ball will get with less speed.
 
If you are shooting with an elevated cue, and you shoot hard, the cueball will always be airborne for a while. If you are having problems with bouncing cueball, try to shoot with a more level cue. If you are miscueing, check your tip if it's shiny -> scuff the tip, if it's flat -> to making it more round.
 
Miss Q said:
I'm sure that this is a simple question for you AZ pool gurus, but I am having a problem. For whatever reason, when I shoot what (in my humble opinion) used to be a good draw shot, my cue ball catches air! I don't think that I am scooping...or poking. Why is this happening? Is it because the butt of my cue is elevated?
Thanks for your help.
:confused:
Click to expand...

Are you saying you're miscueing or just slightly jumping the cueball?

If you're miscueing, I'd have to ask your age...seriously. Here's why I ask:

Don McCoy and I were having this very conversation the other night. He and I have both been miscueing more lately. Hell, I've been doing it for about 6 years and it was driving me nuts. Why was I miscueing on draw shots? Don finally figured out why he was doing it and, independently of him, so did I.

We were both miscueing because we both have lost our near vision and can't see the cueball like we used to. You can't hit what you can't see...It was that simple.

He got glasses that helped him and I've had lasik surgery recently which, inadvertently, left me able to focus closer up. I also took a lesson from Scott Lee, who post here sometimes, and that helped me alot, too. I bet I haven't miscued on a draw shot in the last two months. Now it's like butter.

So, if you're in your mid-forties or older, I'd suggest getting your eyes checked. If you're not that old, then I'd suggest having an instructor check your stroke.

Oh....one other thing from a recent thread....Are you doing that "tuck or roll" stroke being talked about? That can really get you on a miscue binge, imho, and should be carefully enacted.

From far too much experience,

Jeff Livingston
 
I had the same problem. I could do decent draw shots and then, all of a sudden, I kept miscue-ing on them. Even when I swear I was keeping the cue as level as could be (due to the rail, you'll never keep it perfectly parallel with the ground), it still happened. Solution -- turns out a was striking the cue ball too low. Changing this slightly and really following through got me back on track. I feel your frustration...
 
chefjeff said:
Oh....one other thing from a recent thread....Are you doing that "tuck or roll" stroke being talked about? That can really get you on a miscue binge, imho, and should be carefully enacted.

Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...


Why would someone be using tuck or roll on a straight draw shot? From the sounds of it, the poster is far from experienced enough to even know what tuck and roll is, let alone how to perform it. My guess is if a test was given on here to explain tuck and roll and how to do it, there would have been an EXTREMELY high failure rate. Why do you think those two threads came to a quick death and are currently floating to the bottom of the sea as we speak?
I would also venture to say that those who can actually PERFORM tuck and roll consistently with success on AZ would amount to a VERY low percentage. Hence, all the talk about parallel english, deflection/squirt, and straight strokes. Tuck and roll doesn't fit in those categories and is never discussed. It would be like telling a non-pro golfer to slice or hook a ball just by hooding or cupping their wrist in the middle of the backswing with constistency...first of all the response from them would be HUH?? DUH!! And then the results would be abysmal.
 
drivermaker said:
Why would someone be using tuck or roll on a straight draw shot? From the sounds of it, the poster is far from experienced enough to even know what tuck and roll is, let alone how to perform it. My guess is if a test was given on here to explain tuck and roll and how to do it, there would have been an EXTREMELY high failure rate. Why do you think those two threads came to a quick death and are currently floating to the bottom of the sea as we speak?
I would also venture to say that those who can actually PERFORM tuck and roll consistently with success on AZ would amount to a VERY low percentage. Hence, all the talk about parallel english, deflection/squirt, and straight strokes. Tuck and roll doesn't fit in those categories and is never discussed. It would be like telling a non-pro golfer to slice or hook a ball just by hooding or cupping their wrist in the middle of the backswing with constistency...first of all the response from them would be HUH?? DUH!! And then the results would be abysmal.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say, Driver.

And how do you know the ability of the MissQ? I was simply commenting on the difficulty of using the ambiguous tuck or roll and how that COULD be a problem in miscueing and, as you say, "the results would be abysmal."

BTW, I discovered----from the thread on t or r----that I sometimes use tuck and sometimes roll. I never even consciously realized what I was doing when I was cutting in shots of almost 90 degrees and getting soft, gentle shape. But from the sound of it, I'm using tuck or roll. Do you think it's true?

Damn, I need a video camera.

Jeff Livingston
 
Miss Q said:
I'm sure that this is a simple question for you AZ pool gurus, but I am having a problem. For whatever reason, when I shoot what (in my humble opinion) used to be a good draw shot, my cue ball catches air! I don't think that I am scooping...or poking. Why is this happening? Is it because the butt of my cue is elevated?
Thanks for your help.
:confused:
Click to expand...

Check the shape of your tip. Sometimes, the answer is that simple. If your tip is fine, well, you've gotten lots of good advice in this thread.
 
sjm said:
Check the shape of your tip. Sometimes, the answer is that simple. If your tip is fine, well, you've gotten lots of good advice in this thread.
Click to expand...


I agree with this, but out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to be using a fairly light weight Meucci, would you?
 
chefjeff said:
I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say, Driver.

And how do you know the ability of the MissQ? I was simply commenting on the difficulty of using the ambiguous tuck or roll and how that COULD be a problem in miscueing and, as you say, "the results would be abysmal."

BTW, I discovered----from the thread on t or r----that I sometimes use tuck and sometimes roll. I never even consciously realized what I was doing when I was cutting in shots of almost 90 degrees and getting soft, gentle shape. But from the sound of it, I'm using tuck or roll. Do you think it's true?

Damn, I need a video camera.

Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...


What I'm trying to say is tuck or roll should be CONSCIOUSLY applied on cut shots. On a straight draw shot you would use a STRAIGHT stroke. If a player is tucking and rolling inadvertently, then they just have a shitty stroke that they're not controlling properly.

In your case, if you're sometimes tucking and rolling unconsciously, then it's controlling you...you aren't controlling IT. Knowing how and when to tuck and roll is an extremely strong weapon to have in your shooting arsenal if it's controlled and practiced. Many great pro players shoot that way on cuts all the time. If it's occuring by happenstance, it could be your worst nightmare. That's what I'm saying....
 
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Wow - thanks for all of the advise and conversation everyone! In case this helps, here is some information on "Miss Q" that might be helpful:

(1) I have been playing pool for about 16-years, on and off.
(2) I will be 33 years old in a couple of months.
(3) I wear contact lenses.
(4) I am 5'-9" tall, and weigh 149 pounds, and enjoy long walks on the beach. :p
(5) I do in fact play with a Meucci, but it is about 19.5 to 20 oz. (I got it as a gift, so I do not know the exact weight).
(6) When the cue ball goes "boing", it usually jumps right over the object ball, and if I'm really lucky, right off the table. This gives me the opportunity to meet the folks playing on the table next to me.
(7) I dare say that I have never "tucked" or "rolled", at least not on purpose. I have read that thread and in my opinion, it seemed like a bad idea.

So...I'm thinking that I'm hitting the cue ball too low?
 
Thanks Cranium! I'll give that a try. One question on that approach...wouldn't that tend to lengthen your follow-through? In the recent past, I received some instruction to shorten my follow-through to 5-6 inches on all of my shots. This is tricky to do when going for a lot of draw, or follow, but especially on draw shots. Using your method, do you keep your follow-through the same, or is it lengthened?
 
Miss Q said:
Wow - thanks for all of the advise and conversation everyone! In case this helps, here is some information on "Miss Q" that might be helpful:

(1) I have been playing pool for about 16-years, on and off.
(2) I will be 33 years old in a couple of months.
(3) I wear contact lenses.
(4) I am 5'-9" tall, and weigh 149 pounds, and enjoy long walks on the beach. :p
(5) I do in fact play with a Meucci, but it is about 19.5 to 20 oz. (I got it as a gift, so I do not know the exact weight).
(6) When the cue ball goes "boing", it usually jumps right over the object ball, and if I'm really lucky, right off the table. This gives me the opportunity to meet the folks playing on the table next to me.
(7) I dare say that I have never "tucked" or "rolled", at least not on purpose. I have read that thread and in my opinion, it seemed like a bad idea.

So...I'm thinking that I'm hitting the cue ball too low?
Click to expand...


You very well could be hitting it too low or at a downward angle. But have you been doing this for 16 years now or did it just start? Seems to me like someone playing that long shouldn't be jumping the CB over the OB on a normal draw shot out of the clear blue sky. Appease me and let's do an experiment together...please....pretty please. Try another make of cue and make sure it's heavier than yours. Don't you think it somewhat ironic that I would be able to pick Meucci out from all the rest and nail it right on the head? They have a different type of ferrule than the others and when you miscue it sounds like no other one out there. It can be heard clear across the room. I'm not saying to give up the Meucci, it may just need adjusted. Try it and get back to me because I'M really curious now.
 
drivermaker said:
You very well could be hitting it too low or at a downward angle. But have you been doing this for 16 years now or did it just start? Seems to me like someone playing that long shouldn't be jumping the CB over the OB on a normal draw shot out of the clear blue sky. Appease me and let's do an experiment together...please....pretty please. Try another make of cue and make sure it's heavier than yours. Don't you think it somewhat ironic that I would be able to pick Meucci out from all the rest and nail it right on the head? They have a different type of ferrule than the others and when you miscue it sounds like no other one out there. It can be heard clear across the room. I'm not saying to give up the Meucci, it may just need adjusted. Try it and get back to me because I'M really curious now.
Click to expand...

I almost never, ever, ever jumped the cue ball before...this problem just started a few weeks ago. I am totally into the experiment! It might be tricky to find a cue that is heavier than mine, since most folks I know play with an 18 to 18.5 oz. cue, but I will search...I guess I could always use a house cue [gasp].
It is interesting that you were able to tell that I play with a Meucci. What is it about those cues that causes this embarrassing affliction?
Thanks again for your help...I'll get back to you on our little experiment soon.
 
Miss Q said:
I almost never, ever, ever jumped the cue ball before...this problem just started a few weeks ago. I am totally into the experiment! It might be tricky to find a cue that is heavier than mine, since most folks I know play with an 18 to 18.5 oz. cue, but I will search...I guess I could always use a house cue [gasp].
It is interesting that you were able to tell that I play with a Meucci. What is it about those cues that causes this embarrassing affliction?
Thanks again for your help...I'll get back to you on our little experiment soon.
Click to expand...


They install a ferrule that has a little wiggle in it. Plus if the shaft is too light or the entire cue also, that can happen. A house cue would work as long as it has a decently rounded tip like it should instead of a flat mushroomed out POS.
 
drivermaker said:
What I'm trying to say is tuck or roll should be CONSCIOUSLY applied on cut shots. On a straight draw shot you would use a STRAIGHT stroke. If a player is tucking and rolling inadvertently, then they just have a shitty stroke that they're not controlling properly.

In your case, if you're sometimes tucking and rolling unconsciously, then it's controlling you...you aren't controlling IT. Knowing how and when to tuck and roll is an extremely strong weapon to have in your shooting arsenal if it's controlled and practiced. Many great pro players shoot that way on cuts all the time. If it's occuring by happenstance, it could be your worst nightmare. That's what I'm saying....
Click to expand...

Well, thanks to these posts, I now consciously know it. My task now is to fully integrate it into my shot, which will be as simple as pie.

Thanks,

Jeff Livingston
 
Miss Q
I had the same problem a while back (all of a sudden my draw shots strarted miss Qing) i asked some player friends of mine and they all told me the same thing to correct the problem (loosen your grip of the back hand) i did that and i quit miss Qing. i hope this works for you
Mike McDonald
onthesnap@cox.net
 
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