Did Mark Wilson finally kill "aiming systems" ?
- Thread starter NineballTom
- Start date
my misses are from not standing back and getting the line on the ball, so you might say bad stance, and bad stroke.
Shoot a bunch of straight-in shots (where the "aim" is obvious). How many did you miss? That's the percentage of times you miss because of something other than aim.
pj
chgo
I agree that straight in shots are usually stroke/stance related. But I see more people miss shots that are difficult to aim. I think in those cases they could benefit from either an aiming system or hard work training themselves to see the proper aim/contact line.
Doesn’t that seem like an aiming problem as well?
I'd say all parts of the game rely on a good stroke. If you can't send the cue ball where you intend consistently, not much is going to work and it will be really hard to get better.
I remember watching someone teach a banking system to a relative beginner. The beginner had a stroke that looked like a seizure -- he usually hit the object ball on the correct side. I'm not sure why the beginner wanted a banking lesson or why the "teacher" thought it would be useful.
I think eye alignment has to account for at least a few %..... just look at a bunch of
top pros and how their head is either tipped at an angle or aligned over the cue in
a variety of ways....
I also think that this issue is key to many players seemingly "natural" playing ability
in that they hit the sweet spot in this issue early on and the confidence it built just
catapalted (sp?) their confidence and started the 'ball rolling'.... just my $.01
td
top pros and how their head is either tipped at an angle or aligned over the cue in
a variety of ways....
I also think that this issue is key to many players seemingly "natural" playing ability
in that they hit the sweet spot in this issue early on and the confidence it built just
catapalted (sp?) their confidence and started the 'ball rolling'.... just my $.01
td
I believe he achieved at least the Top 30.
Whatever his ranking was, it was good enough to be selected for the Mosconi Cup Team as a player.
I'm not talking about being the coach.
I say this all the time and people think I’m being cocky. 99% of shots I miss after 30 years of playing won’t be because I missed aim . It’s going to be a bad stroke. If I make a mistake on aiming it’s normally I’m spinning the f&%% out of the ball and miscalculate how much to make up for that throw.
I’m not going to crap on an aiming system though. If it works for you and gives you confidence go with it. I never liked it for myself.
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I feel you are correct for someone new to the game. And I guess since the vast majority of pool players are "casual" you are probably correct in that more misses are because of aim. The higher level you are though, I feel it comes down to hitting the object ball where you want to.
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
Nope. He isnt 100% correct. Only to a point. I started from the bottom and will reference a few things here. This is based off of personal experience though. I had to work hard to get really good!
Pros of what he said.
For one.
I do find that my bridge is all over the place when I’m missing more often.
2) sometimes my stance is farther back and causes me to miss shots.
3)occasionally my stroke will go off to the left or right causing me to be less accurate
Cons
Only 1 con. Like I said, I didn’t really start from the bottom. I had a lot of natural talent that made me mediocre. That was good to a lot of people, but not to me.
The thing is once you hit a certain level, you see the CB and the aim point on the balls differently. Once you get to that level, you can change your contact point on the cb within millimeters and pinpoint your aim point on the OB. It’s like a whole different game. Some of the best never had to go through what I had to to get that good. They probably dont even realize the difference between good aim and great aim because they have always had great aim to start with. But at the same time you do need good stance/stroke for this to work. They kind of go hand in hand.
Aiming systems-I don’t think there’s a real need for them either though.
Pros of what he said.
For one.
I do find that my bridge is all over the place when I’m missing more often.
2) sometimes my stance is farther back and causes me to miss shots.
3)occasionally my stroke will go off to the left or right causing me to be less accurate
Cons
Only 1 con. Like I said, I didn’t really start from the bottom. I had a lot of natural talent that made me mediocre. That was good to a lot of people, but not to me.
The thing is once you hit a certain level, you see the CB and the aim point on the balls differently. Once you get to that level, you can change your contact point on the cb within millimeters and pinpoint your aim point on the OB. It’s like a whole different game. Some of the best never had to go through what I had to to get that good. They probably dont even realize the difference between good aim and great aim because they have always had great aim to start with. But at the same time you do need good stance/stroke for this to work. They kind of go hand in hand.
Aiming systems-I don’t think there’s a real need for them either though.
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Why are those shots difficult to aim? Because of throw? Because of putting spin on the cueball? Because they don't have a aiming system?
Solving the equation is first. Once the speed, spin and trajectory desired at impact are determined then execution is required. I get the best feedback regarding the execution by watching. As Yogi said, "you can observe a lot by watching."
Watching the interaction of the tip and ball is where my observation begins. Shrug
. Then the track of whitey and then colision followed by separation directions and ultimately white and colored resting points. simple 
Agreed. That was my main point - that you should work on mechanics before you start contemplating the multiple systems that are out there.
Yep .. need to keep working on Fundamentals!
MANY realized, before it was too late, that there were better options than living out of a suit and cue case like a nomad
in the early days (60's, 70,s, 80''s) it wasn't uncommon for players to succumb to life styles/habits which usurped income
i doubt more than 5% live an independent, comfortable and financially secure lifestyle in "retirement"
pool is on stronger footing than ever, however, it's still early in the game
Watch a match with Billy Thorpe on a lesson on how to not let you wrist get in your way.
I have limitless respect for Mark Wilson, and I'm not a fan of aiming systems, but this sounds wrong.
It would seem to me that the stance you take on a given shot is a function of the intended direction of the cue ball, which is determined by finding the aim. To me, for the experienced player, the most common error in stance is to stand improperly aligned for the direction that the shot requires for the selected stroke and speed, which means selecting the wrong aim. That doesn't qualify as a breakdown in stance or stroke, but an error in aiming.
Of course, as Mark notes, a breakdown in stance or stroke will cause a lot of problems, too.
No, the aiming topic, as much as I hate it, is anything but resolved.
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Buy Mark’s book Play Great Pool - read it understand it - study it and follow it - only then will you see that Mark is correct in every way - hands down the best book ever written on pool instruction - you must video yourself as you follow the book to make a difference - spend a year with this book and you will be a much better player for life!!