Trust "the zone"
Sean -- this doesn't really sound to me like aiming by feel. It sounds like prototypical ghost ball aiming. You see the ghost ball and aim the cue ball to take its place. You are also visualizing the OB going into the pocket, but the aiming of the CB is done in light of sighting the ghost ball.
To me, a "feel" aimer makes no use of a ghost ball, or contact points, or fractional aiming points on the object ball. He just senses the correct angle, kind of like -- "aim a little more left, ... a little more left, ... no, back to the right a bit, ... that's it, ... go."
AtLarge:
Fair enough -- your interpretation of "feel" is very personal, and your own. To me, "feel" means not having to consciously aim -- i.e. walk over to the object ball, look at the contact point, get behind the cue ball, line it up (equal opposite contact points), practice stroke, and fire. Or, for those pivot-aimers, get behind the shot, see the CTEL, line up your cue on the CTEL and pivot (or, do your air pivot thing before getting down on the shot), practice strokes, and fire. All these are conscious / analytical mind things -- for the first one, you have to "think" about the equal opposite contact points between the cue ball and object ball and "think" about making sure to line up those contact points; in the second (CTE) you have to "think" about the CTEL, lining up on it, how much to pivot, etc. Both of these methods are what I call "calculating the fire control solution."
In my version of ghostball technique (I'm not sure if it's as you call prototypical), I'm subconsciously replacing the ghostball with the cue ball. Try this -- pick up a hammer and go hammer a nail. Did you have to think about the hammering process -- i.e. lining up the face of the hammer with the nail's head? Chances are you didn't. You can just walk up to any partially-seated nail, and without thinking, you can swing that hammer and hit the nail's head first time. Same thing when I get down on a shot and fire at that ghostball. There's no conscious thinking there. I don't have to "consciously" line up -- swinging that cue to deliver the cue ball where the ghostball is located is such a subconscious thing. What I *do* think about, at least for the first couple of racks, is any English (side/follow/draw), and the amount of power I need to use to deliver the cue ball -- i.e. how to start getting into the mode of "getting the cue ball on a string." Virtually all of my thought is put into that cue ball. Once I get warmed up and stroked-in, even *that* conscious thought process starts to disappear. I then step outside of myself, and start to think more in terms of the pattern for the "out." Once warmed up and've gotten a feel for the cue ball, the shot process and delivering the cue ball requires no conscious thought -- just the pattern for the "out" now.
Jude Rosenstock mentioned the book, "The Inner Game of Tennis." And with this, he "hit the nail on the head." That is one of the best books ever written. Very highly recommended reading for those interested in "the zone" and how to get into it.
Unfortunately, when I view these aiming system threads, I think people are discarding their most powerful tool -- the subconscious mind. With these aiming system threads, they are going in the wrong direction. They make up excuses like "oh, I don't have the ability the pro has in just pocketing balls so easily, so I have to rely upon a 'system' that gives me reference points to aim at," and intentionally engage their conscious mind on
every shot. Having to calculate that "fire control solution"
each and every time, instead of drawing on their huge storehouse of "been there, done that, old hat" subconscious knowledge of how to make that shot. They've already missed -- they just don't know it yet. The conscious mind can only stay "engaged" for so long, before boredom or fatigue sets in (the conscious mind "wants" to wander onto other things, to daydream, etc.).
The problem is, people don't trust their subconscious mind, that massive storehouse of "how to do this without thinking" assembly line of execution. They want to "be in control" at all times. And, the unfortunate thing is, not trusting the subconscious mind *is* not trusting "the zone." That is what "the zone" is -- when the subconscious mind takes over, runs the table with the greatest of ease, and after all is said and done, there's this wonderful sense of accomplishment, of well-being, that is *NOT* gained having done the same with the conscious mind. No, with the conscious mind, one always over-analyzes the situation, saying how he/she should've taken this particular shot over here, or how he/she overran her position with the cue ball over there, yada yada yada. Instead of "I shot good" (sound familiar? our old friend Efren Reyes?), they go, "...whine, whine, whine..."
Someone (NewStroke?) replied to this thread with the notion that when he's "in the zone," he almost can't recall a single shot he made while in it. Gosh, I know this well! After a match, someone will have come up to me and ask me about a particular shot, how I did it or how did I think to fit that into my pattern. I'll most often scratch my head, and not know. I'll try, and I *may* recall the shot -- if it was a tough one that required me to navigate the cue ball in amongst a mess, or if I had to break-up a cluster with it. But other than that, I don't think in terms of individual shots when "in the zone" -- no, I think in terms of the "out" or the "W." I think this is the nature of what our wonderful game/sport is about -- to seek enjoyment by entering that zone; the process carries itself.
Hope this was helpful!
-Sean