Help with bottom english

The level stroke will really be the game breaker. Check your stance first, make sure you have ample room for the cue to move freely and level. Be conscious of the pendulum arm. Make sure you do not drop it too early(before contact with the ball). Accelerate through all the way. This was something I had trouble doing- I always wanted to pull back quickly. Now I stay low and constantly accelerate my stroke through when I shoot- I get the results I expect now.

Practice make Permanent not perfect- so video tape yourself and fix the problem before you get into a bad habit!

Good luck! :)
 
Bob Jewett said:
From the description, you're not hitting the cue ball where you intend, as many others have pointed out. You can tell where you hit the ball by looking for the chalk spot. Use a stripe for the cue ball as already suggested.

Some of the other advice may help but is technically wrong. It is not necessary to follow through. It is not necessary to have a level stick. It is not necessary to elevate some. It is not necessary to have a straight stroke. Or to hit where you aim. Or to have a hard/soft thick/thin Moori/Elk Master tip. Or to accelerate smoothly.

What is really required to get a lot of back spin on the cue ball is simple: The tip has to hit the cue ball well below center and the stick has to be moving quickly. That's all that's required. The hard part is to do that consistently. Some of the suggestions above will help with the consistency, but they are not really required for draw.

One other thing is required, and that's that you don't miscue. Chalk helps with that.

Rather than continue to be frustrated with this -- if your experiment tonight doesn't work -- maybe you should get someone to help diagnose your problem in person.
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Bob, I'm surprised you didn't suggest your "progress" approach. Set a cue ball diamond from the object ball and draw back to the end. Then two diamond from the object ball ... and then three.

This helps me a lot when I'm in a funk (which is a lot!!!).
 
Jazz said:
Bob, I'm surprised you didn't suggest your "progress" approach. Set a cue ball diamond from the object ball and draw back to the end. Then two diamond from the object ball ... and then three.

This helps me a lot when I'm in a funk (which is a lot!!!).
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Yes, I suppose that could help him. But what I think he really needs is a live, knowledgeable someone to point out that his bridge hand is lifting up just as he shoots, or he is dropping his elbow, or he's not aiming low to begin with, or it has been 23 shots since he chalked, or he needs to use the smaller end of the stick, not the larger end. The main problem with all of these "help me, I can't do simple task X" that we see here is that it is nearly impossible to give the sufferer any really useful suggestions without seeing what he's doing wrong. Maybe he's even following the style of an instructor and author who used to post years ago who grips the cue with his thumb towards the bumper (many people grip it with their little finger on the bumper side). Yes, really, someone does that. An instructor does that. Or so I've been told by a common acquaintance -- I've never seen it in person.

It's clear that the OP has invested a lot of time and money in the game, but I wonder if he ever considered getting some live advice and feedback on his mechanics. They are clearly broken.
 
I forgot to add that I usually use cheap balls (Wal-mart version) to practice with since most of my friends usually fly balls off the table. I have a set of Super Aramith balls, but I've only shot with them one time and did not try a lot of english. But, I don't see how the cheap balls would affect a good CB, or would it?
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I had to create an account to point this out since nobody answered this part of your question. :confused:

This can certainly cause what you've described. If you're using the aramith cue ball with cheap object balls (that may happen to weigh slightly less), you will feel like you're playing with a heavy barbox cue ball that will not draw well...since the the physics of billiard ball collisions typically assumes identical weight and diameter. So, try using the cue ball that matches the set of balls you are using.

Of course all the preceding advice by the other posters is helpful if your mechanics are the problem.
 
Franky said:
I had to create an account to point this out since nobody answered this part of your question. :confused:

This can certainly cause what you've described. If you're using the aramith cue ball with cheap object balls (that may happen to weigh slightly less), you will feel like you're playing with a heavy barbox cue ball that will not draw well...since the the physics of billiard ball collisions typically assumes identical weight and diameter. So, try using the cue ball that matches the set of balls you are using.

Of course all the preceding advice by the other posters is helpful if your mechanics are the problem.
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One quick way to check this is to use one of the object balls from your wal-mart set as a cueball. See if you are able to draw using it.



one thing i was told that helps me to visualize what my stroke should be on a draw shot is this:

The more draw you want, the longer your tip needs to be in contact with the cueball. I don't know if it will help you or not. but it works for me.

If it works, i'll take full credit. If it doesn't then i accept no responsibility. :p
 
Simonis 860

Is your cloth brand new? I noticed my draw was not as dramatic on my brand new cloth as it had been. I have heard that the cloth will "come in" or get better as it gets more hours on it.
 
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