Follow Thru Debate

[randyg]

What if you follow through to hell and back and while you're in hell you make a deal with the devil to change the outcome of the shot?!

WOW. Now I never thought of that. Maybe he would give me a golden cue or banjo. Thanks for the heads up......randyg

 

[randyg]

I was always taught that;
"Follow through is the result of a perfect stroke, not the cause."

Taking ones cue to the natural finish position with different speeds/tip positions produces different cueball results. Very simple game......SPF-randyg

 

[cuetechasaurus]

I was always taught that;
"Follow through is the result of a perfect stroke, not the cause."

Taking ones cue to the natural finish position with different speeds/tip positions produces different cueball results. Very simple game......SPF-randyg

The point of a follow thru is an exaggeration of what your tip did when it struck the cueball. Shoot a straight in stop shot and follow thru naturally. Your cue should still be in line with the cueball. If it's to the right or to the left, either your stroke is crooked or your follow thru is crooked. Mostly it means your stroke is crooked. Since you are a master instructor, what's YOUR opinion on follow thru? You keep asking questions.

 

[pete lafond]

The point of a follow thru is an exaggeration of what your tip did when it struck the cueball. Shoot a straight in stop shot and follow thru naturally. Your cue should still be in line with the cueball. If it's to the right or to the left, either your stroke is crooked or your follow thru is crooked. Mostly it means your stroke is crooked. Since you are a master instructor, what's YOUR opinion on follow thru? You keep asking questions.

Your right. Many shots are missed because of poor follow through.

 

[henho]

There is one shot I use where I don't follow through much, and I don't accelerate through the cueball, but it doesn't come up that often. If I have a shot where a ball is near a rail and I am at a fairly acute angle and need to kill the cueball, but also use lots of side spin, I use a stroke with lots of wrist and almost no real follow through. Works well for shots where you are close to the ball but it's not too accurate for anything longer. In the following example lets say I want to play position for the short side of the two (for whatever reason, ignore the table layout), I could use this stroke.

START(
%Aj6C9%Br5M0%CP2R2%DG4D3%EJ6D2%Fi4I8%Gd2S0%HI5E3%Ir6Z2%Pd3G8
%Wh6D4%Xe0G0%]q9C8%^k7D0%eC5a0%_q8I7%`l8G5%ai3D4
)END

 

[pete lafond]

There is one shot I use where I don't follow through much, and I don't accelerate through the cueball, but it doesn't come up that often. If I have a shot where a ball is near a rail and I am at a fairly acute angle and need to kill the cueball, but also use lots of side spin, I use a stroke with lots of wrist and almost no real follow through. Works well for shots where you are close to the ball but it's not too accurate for anything longer. In the following example lets say I want to play position for the short side of the two (for whatever reason, ignore the table layout), I could use this stroke.

START(
%Aj6C9%Br5M0%CP2R2%DG4D3%EJ6D2%Fi4I8%Gd2S0%HI5E3%Ir6Z2%Pd3G8
%Wh6D4%Xe0G0%]q9C8%^k7D0%eC5a0%_q8I7%`l8G5%ai3D4
)END

Excellent example. You could not get this dive shot to work otherwise.

 

[pooltchr]

Once contact has been made with the CB, nothing else can be changed. How we stoke will change the effects of the CB though. And I believe this is what Billy Bob is saying which is correct. The stroke does change for specific effects on the CB.

It is how we drive the CB that gives us the needed draw. The one example I gave when drawing a CB on a corner pocket cut shot and the CB hits the side rail and shoots down table is a feel shot. Based on table playing conditions, that the player is sensitive to, and then how much drive to the CB allows the player to determine how to not only avoid the side pocket scratch but also what part of the side rail the CB will hit.

Contrary to what many think, if you dig the CB into the felt on a shot, you will get more action because there REALLY is greater contact duration. It is physics and it happens. The best example of this is a masse shot. The CB is held steady for a longer period of time while the tip is driving through it. These are stroke shots that vary from the normal one.

This is why the correct method to draw the cue ball is not by simply lowering the tip, but also raising the back hand very slightly. Doing this makes the draw shot effortless and the distance more manageable. Lowering the tip only will produce a draw but will also resiult in the CB skidding at times making the distance the CB returns unpredictable. Most of the time the draw shot is a dig shot.

But my point is simply this. You can get draw, follow, stop, stun, or whatever you want with the same basic stroke. There are only 3 things you have any control over....angle, speed, and spin. Angle in this case is simply the direction from which the cue is traveling when it makes contact...speed is how fast the cue is moving when it makes contact, and spin is a result of where on the cue ball the stick makes contact. Each one of these can be controlled while using the same stroke mechanics.. Elevate the butt of the cue if you want, but you can still use the same stroke... increase speed, but with the same stroke....contact the cue ball high, low, or to the side...but use the same stroke.
This is probably the most important and helpful thing I learned from Randy...use a consistant stroke and you get consistant results. Not to mention, it's very easy to see if there is a problem with your stroke if the end result is different from your normal stroke.
Steve

 

[BillYards]

Buddy Hall is a good example of a guy who shoots in the manner that Steve describes. He looks like he is shooting the same shot over and over at the same slow and deliberate speed. His cue tip contact point on the cueball is the only thing that changes.

 

[randyg]

The point of a follow thru is an exaggeration of what your tip did when it struck the cueball. Shoot a straight in stop shot and follow thru naturally. Your cue should still be in line with the cueball. If it's to the right or to the left, either your stroke is crooked or your follow thru is crooked. Mostly it means your stroke is crooked. Since you are a master instructor, what's YOUR opinion on follow thru? You keep asking questions.

Well I certainly share the same belief as yourself.

Regardless of "amount" of follow through, my tip should always be still pointing at my target. My tip should be dipping down slightly.

I have my S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedure) in which my natural finish (coincides with my sweet spot) finishes at 4.5 inches past the cueball.

When the shot demands something other than S.O.P., then I have to change to a specialty delivery. Probably 95%+ of my shots are executed at S.O.P.

The reason I keep asking questions is to get everyone's involvement into the issue. At Pool School we help over 450 students a year. They range anywhere from Professional to Beginner to Instructor Certifications. It's very apparent from school that the skilled players (regardless of their "style") always have the same two things in common.......SPF-randyg