Cuetrack, worth it?

Guppy

Guppy

Little fish in a big pond
Hi I've been looking at this cuetrack thing for quite some time and I was wondering if it would be worth the investment. I understand it is suppose to help train your muscles to give you a straight stroke. I am a sl5 in apa 8-ball. Has anyone had any experiences with this product?

the website http://cuetrack.com
 
There is someone on the boards (not sure who sorry) but he has developed something better called the olympic style stroketrainer maybe he will comment here and can hook you up.
 
In my opinion, I think those things are gimmicks to attract people that dont want to just practice. Now I know it can be difficult to practice and that you have to practice the correct way to get good results. But being good at anything isnt easy at first!
 
Guppy said:
Hi I've been looking at this cuetrack thing for quite some time and I was wondering if it would be worth the investment. I understand it is suppose to help train your muscles to give you a straight stroke. I am a sl5 in apa 8-ball. Has anyone had any experiences with this product?

the website http://cuetrack.com
Click to expand...
I have saw it and i dont think it is as good as my stroketrainer. But thats just IMHO, Doug
http://www.youtube.com/user/mr8ballme4
 
I have used a coke bottle for years to help people with straight stroking. Although, this may be better I fail to see the cost benefit on this device.
 
Guppy said:
Hi I've been looking at this cuetrack thing for quite some time and I was wondering if it would be worth the investment. I understand it is suppose to help train your muscles to give you a straight stroke. I am a sl5 in apa 8-ball. Has anyone had any experiences with this product?

the website http://cuetrack.com
Click to expand...

Your Avatar shows you with Dr. Cue... Tom Rossman. He has a video with all the answers you need for muscle memory... and it costs nothing.

www.Youtube.com/watch?v=4TXSYDg4U1s
 
Holy CRAP $190 for plastic tubing? For that kind of money, I would rather get 2 hours of lessons from Scott, Stan, or any one of the other fine instructors that post here in AZ.
 
Guppy said:
Hi I've been looking at this cuetrack thing for quite some time and I was wondering if it would be worth the investment. I understand it is suppose to help train your muscles to give you a straight stroke. I am a sl5 in apa 8-ball. Has anyone had any experiences with this product?

the website http://cuetrack.com
Click to expand...

I have the cue track, big stroketrainer, and Joe's stroke trainer. I buy things like this because I believe in the power of stroke memory and practice. While all of these items work to some degree, there is something inherently different about using a guide than when you are free stroking. They work for a short while, then your eye and mind can begin to disagree again on what looks right when you are not using them.

I have become pretty good at looking at my cue tip when I am doing practice/warmup strokes to see if I am in line relative to the cueball, in addition to feeling that my elbow is "chicken winging" out. Good ways to practice include repeating long straight in shots, following or drawing the cueball in line, stroking on the edge of the cloth on top of the rail, and using the 3rd eye from Joe. I think I learned more about my stroke by visual reference (and ob/cb reaction) than physical reference (stroke aid).

One other issue I've had with these trainers is that if your elbow is a little out or your grip too tight, you can still do warmup strokes effectively in these guides. Then when you "pull the trigger", your arm spasm and your stroke is out of whack. The two biggest problems I had were a tight grip and a slight "chicken wing". The big issue I see with other players is they do not keep a flat stroke. If your stroke is not flat and you are using these stroke trainers, you could be hurting yourselve more than helping.

While I disagree with any comment on shortcuts being bad, I do prefer to practice the way I play (by teaching my mind and arm to agree on what they are doing).

Disclaimer - These products are quality products that seem to help a lot of people. People learn in different ways, so take my comments with a grain of salt.
 
Opinion

The device looks okay and probably a good training aid, but would sell much better at about $30 in lieu of $189.

Course, I first trained my stroke the Jimmy Caras way, by putting a dime out in front about 14 inches, and stroking to where your tip dipped onto the dime at least 7 out of ten times average. And you can put the dime back in your pocket when done, so it doesn't cost you anything but time and effort.
 
Buy yourself a red pill bottle @ your local pro shop.....
Stroke into that.
Then spend the other 100+ on 10.00 lunches for the old timers
helping you out. That's like 10 more lessons for the price of a couple hot dog's
and a cup of coffee or two.......Old timers, if you don't act like a jack a**....
will get you going in the right direction. And most love to talk about pool.
If you don't have a old time player close by..drive to find one......
Afternoons is the best time if you can swing one off a week. Things change at night...

Good luck
 
189 damn! Id say practicing long straight in stop shots would give u the same effect. It might help but it doesnt seem worth 189. Id buy the breakrac first, breaks are key
 
Hello,

I think that these muscle memory trainers would not do a thing for your stroke if the initial problem is caused by another fundamental flaw, like the stance, grip/wrist or alignment. Those fundamentals would have to be corrected before these trainers would be able to have any positive effect on the stroke, right? If your fundamentals and setup are incorrect then you would be burning muscle memory into what?

J.W.
 
If you're looking to spend that kind of money, you could get JoeT's laser trainer for less. I have one, and really like it. When you use it with a 3rd eye stroke trainer (and a cue ball, which admittedly you don't seem to need to practice with a cuetrack), it does basically the same thing, keeping your stroke from moving from side to side. Then it has the added (actually main) benefit of helping you perfect your aim.
 
I learned with the coke/beer bottle method. Stroking into them a million times until I could do it with my eyes closed. Also the Buddy Hall stroketrainer works well for this method - it's essentially a plastic tube set to about the right height.

A friend of mine also showed me a stroke drill that works pretty good. Line up on the table where the cloth meets the rail and stroke along that line. It gives you a visual reference along the length of your stroke. See how far out you can go and still maintain a straight line.

I do this sometimes to warm up and it seems to help to get me loosened up.
 
I was fortunate to run into someone the other night that had a Cuetrack. He showed me it and let me use it. I spent about 5 minutes in it. I could really feel that that it gave me a straight and true stroke though it felt awkward I could really feel it in my arm correcting the natural flaws in my stroke without me having to do nothing but follow the cue. Despite the very much appreciated suggestions of everyone here I placed my order today for it. I will keep you updated on this product. By the way it is not plastic and is fairly heavy for it's size.

Just thought I might give yall of my opinions on your suggestions. (please take my opinions with a grain of salt)

Water Bottle: Though this is a good inexspensive idea. How do you correct your stroke if you touch the rim time and time again?

Dime 14" ahead: I see where this will help with follow through but I have a hard time seeing where it would help straighten your stroke.

The Olympic Stroke Trainer: Though it is quite impressive, It just seems to be too big and bulky for my liking. Also I don't recall being able to hit balls with it.

The Third Eye: Looks to be a good product for locating the center of the cue ball. I don't see it as a stroke trainer.


Thanks Again for your thoughts
Guppy
 
Guppy,
The problem with the water bottle is that it forces you to use a piston stroke. This requires you to drop your elbow. Elbow drop has been discussed to death on here. As far as correcting your flaws, it's like the other methods mentioned: muscle memory.

However, if you have basic flaws in your stroke, none of these will fix them. I used the third eye for a long time, and though my stroke came through straight, but it was very weird.:)
 
Bigkahuna said:
I have used a coke bottle for years to help people with straight stroking. Although, this may be better I fail to see the cost benefit on this device.
Click to expand...

If the Coke Bottle was good enough for Buddy Hall it's good enough for me. I used a plastic bottle. Their lighter and move at just a slight touch. Johnnyt
 
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