I've been working on a couple of systems I developed to try to better judge my position for straight on or near straight on draw and follow shots.
I thought some of you might like to try them, offer some critiques to improve the system or to introduce other similar systems.
The Spin-Diminish Draw System
Begin by playing low draw shots using a striped ball from the headstring. Hit the ball pretty low, but not so low that you risk miscueing.
First play so that the backspin stops at 1 diamond. Then increase speed so that it stops at 2 diamonds and so on. Begin to get a feel for where the backspin wears off the CB.
How to Apply
If you have a 1 diamond long stop shot, you would hit the CB at the same speed that it took the backspin to diminish at 1 diamond.
If you want to draw back one diamond when one diamond away from the OB, you would hit the CB so that its backspin would diminish 1 diamond past the OB.
It pretty much works in this simple additional manner.
So if you were 3 diamonds away from the OB and wanted to draw back 2 diamonds, you would play for the baskpin to diminish at a distance of 5 diamonds, or 2 diamonds past the OB in this case.
With a bit of practice you can become quite accurate at making the backspin diminish pretty close to the point you want it to, and this system allows you a way to use this judgement to better predict draw shot positioning.
Unfortunately you can only really practice to about 6 diamonds length before you hit the rail, so for higher speed shots you'll still have to rely on a bit of guesswork.
There may also be some variation in the system, such as when you want to draw 5 diamonds from just half a diamond away. In this case you might find that 4 diamonds of slide are enough. But for most shots it can provide a useful guide.
The Roll-Ratio Follow System
This one is quite easy, but may come in useful for getting the CB to into exact positions so that you can work through gaps, or so that you know where the CB will finish after slow rolling in shots. Can be very useful for safeties too.
All you need to know is how far the CB rolls from the contact point, for a given length of travel of the OB being hit.
Here are some approximates from my table....should be similar on other tables.
....OB.... ....CB....
.Travel. .Travel.
Distance Distance
1.5 diam : Replaces OB (2.25")
3.0 diam : 0.3 diam
4.0 diam : 0.5 diam
6.0 diam : 1.0 diam
9.0 diam : 2.0 diam
11.0 diam : 3.0 diam
One diamond is about 14 inches or 35cm.
So if you needed to roll the CB through 1.5 diamonds from the contact point for perfect position on a pot, you would try to hit the OB at a speed that would make it roll about 7.5 diamonds. If the OB was situated about 4 diamonds from the pocket, you would hit it with speed such that it would roll about 3.5 diamonds past the pocket.
If you needed to roll through 4 inches (a bit less than 1/3 diamond) you'd have to make sure the OB was within 3 diamonds of the pocket.
This system is probably best for working backwards, such that if you are going to slow roll an OB to a pocket, you will be able to quite accurately predict where the CB will stop. Another advantage it offers is that it may be easier for some people to estimate the distance the OB will travel than to estimate how far the CB will go...even though, generally speaking, judging the CB distance on follow is much easier than doing so with draw.
With a little math, this system could be adapted to various cut angles like 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 ball shots.
Colin
I thought some of you might like to try them, offer some critiques to improve the system or to introduce other similar systems.
The Spin-Diminish Draw System
Begin by playing low draw shots using a striped ball from the headstring. Hit the ball pretty low, but not so low that you risk miscueing.
First play so that the backspin stops at 1 diamond. Then increase speed so that it stops at 2 diamonds and so on. Begin to get a feel for where the backspin wears off the CB.
How to Apply
If you have a 1 diamond long stop shot, you would hit the CB at the same speed that it took the backspin to diminish at 1 diamond.
If you want to draw back one diamond when one diamond away from the OB, you would hit the CB so that its backspin would diminish 1 diamond past the OB.
It pretty much works in this simple additional manner.
So if you were 3 diamonds away from the OB and wanted to draw back 2 diamonds, you would play for the baskpin to diminish at a distance of 5 diamonds, or 2 diamonds past the OB in this case.
With a bit of practice you can become quite accurate at making the backspin diminish pretty close to the point you want it to, and this system allows you a way to use this judgement to better predict draw shot positioning.
Unfortunately you can only really practice to about 6 diamonds length before you hit the rail, so for higher speed shots you'll still have to rely on a bit of guesswork.
There may also be some variation in the system, such as when you want to draw 5 diamonds from just half a diamond away. In this case you might find that 4 diamonds of slide are enough. But for most shots it can provide a useful guide.
The Roll-Ratio Follow System
This one is quite easy, but may come in useful for getting the CB to into exact positions so that you can work through gaps, or so that you know where the CB will finish after slow rolling in shots. Can be very useful for safeties too.
All you need to know is how far the CB rolls from the contact point, for a given length of travel of the OB being hit.
Here are some approximates from my table....should be similar on other tables.
....OB.... ....CB....
.Travel. .Travel.
Distance Distance
1.5 diam : Replaces OB (2.25")
3.0 diam : 0.3 diam
4.0 diam : 0.5 diam
6.0 diam : 1.0 diam
9.0 diam : 2.0 diam
11.0 diam : 3.0 diam
One diamond is about 14 inches or 35cm.
So if you needed to roll the CB through 1.5 diamonds from the contact point for perfect position on a pot, you would try to hit the OB at a speed that would make it roll about 7.5 diamonds. If the OB was situated about 4 diamonds from the pocket, you would hit it with speed such that it would roll about 3.5 diamonds past the pocket.
If you needed to roll through 4 inches (a bit less than 1/3 diamond) you'd have to make sure the OB was within 3 diamonds of the pocket.
This system is probably best for working backwards, such that if you are going to slow roll an OB to a pocket, you will be able to quite accurately predict where the CB will stop. Another advantage it offers is that it may be easier for some people to estimate the distance the OB will travel than to estimate how far the CB will go...even though, generally speaking, judging the CB distance on follow is much easier than doing so with draw.
With a little math, this system could be adapted to various cut angles like 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 ball shots.
Colin
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