How do you get down?

I would break it down in sections
Set up a shot, practice visualizing the shot, stepping in, getting down....does it look right? repeat
Does it look wrong?
Repeat
Too close
Repeat

Then add hitting the ball center ball
Try with spin
Add angle to the shot

Do everything slow, super slow
Be deliberate

Retrain yourself
 
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Set up a camera and video shooting a straight in shot. I do a drill, follow shot straight on, pocket the OB with CB following it into the pocket. About 50% of shots whitey wouldn’t follow into the pocket.
I set up the video cam directly behind the pocket. One shot is all it took. After I got down I was realigning the cue to what I thought was straight…wrongo!
Those micro adjustments may be larger than you lead yourself to believe.
 
Fatboy said:
How do I get down?

These days I just tip over.

At one point I got down on the shot pretty good. I don’t have the ability to describe it. Like pizza, lots of words but isn’t going to paint the picture. Sorry I can’t help out.

One thing I can say with certainty after a zillion years of playing, when you do get down correctly and are lined up, everything else falls into place pretty easy. It took me forever to learn to got on the shot correctly. CJ does a pretty good job of describing it in a few videos. Look into those.

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Fatboy👍
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Line up a minimum of 5 diamonds apart, straight-in shots to the corner, and practice going down on those. Center ball or a touch of low. Nothing fancy. Straight stroke. Once you get used to lining up on those shots, you'll be better able to make other adjustments B4 leaning on your bridge hand.
 
cueball2010 said:
I am an APA 6. I try to implement the best practices when getting down to shoot a ball. Most of the time I pick a spot on the object ball, but sometimes I envision the line of the object ball to the pocket. Then I get my body lined up behind the cueball to take the shot. I step in with the right foot, stick, shoulder, arm stay aligned. Most of the time when my bridge hand gets down the tip of my cue is not exactly lined up on the cueball spot I want to hit. The tip is usually a few millimeters to a centimeter off.

So, to remedy this: For center ball hits, I just slide my bridge hand a couple millimeters left or right to be perfectly aligned with center. Then I take a few pre-shot strokes and shoot. I do the same thing for english. If I get down perfectly pointing my cue tip at center of cueball then I slide my bridge hand to the left or right to impart the correct about of english. For english I am following FHE. For center ball I will adjust my backhand if the pre-stroke alignment doesn't look/feel correct. If I have to adjust my backhand so much where it doesn't feel normal then I re-adjust my feet without standing back up.

Recently a guy much better then me. Probably a 670+ fargo in his prime. We practice once in a while. He called me out on this. He said on almost every shot that I was adjusting my bridge hand after I got down. I said yes and explained why. He said, No, just get down on the ball and shoot. He said that it will take some practice.

I started trying to get down the correct way. I can get down with the correct tip position if I try hard, but it has also introduced a new problem. I am getting down either to close to to far away from the cueball with my stance.

I'm not sure if anyone was able to follow what i just explained, but if you did, could you please give me some tips on getting my bridge hand down in the correct position and my stance so that when I put my bridge hand down I am not to far or too close to the cueball? or is there anything wrong with me micro adjusting my bridge hand?
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Niels teaches.... aim from your hip.

bm
 
Ideally I make sure I know what I'm shooting including where the stick goes. That part is non negotiable. Getting into stance is dependent on where the stick is supposed to be. It becomes dance like in execution. Not a fancy or flashy move; just a repeatable one to get to the the shooting part.
Deeper into it, this process can pivot on the stroke instead. IOW After a period of time your stroke gets grooved into that dance and spatial awareness calibrates accordingly.

I still have specific methods in place to lock in the process but I don't do enough pool to have it perfected.
 
On cut shots its impossible to be absolutely sure whether adjustments are needed when down on a shot.
On center-ball shots, however, what you see down on a shot should help.
Snooker players tend to get their head closer to the cue stick than pool players. Isn't this related to the larger snooker tables and how the player can achieve greater accuracy with his eyes closer to the cue ball?
Is it possible that consciously aiming when down on a shot for some period of time is helpful because with practice, it then turns into muscle memory?
 
Paul_#_ said:
On cut shots its impossible to be absolutely sure whether adjustments are needed when down on a shot.
On center-ball shots, however, what you see down on a shot should help.
Snooker players tend to get their head closer to the cue stick than pool players. Isn't this related to the larger snooker tables and how the player can achieve greater accuracy with his eyes closer to the cue ball?
Is it possible that consciously aiming when down on a shot for some period of time is helpful because with practice, it then turns into muscle memory?
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On cut shots, especially blind ones, aim the carom. That's basically what you're looking at anyway. That becomes your centerball reference.
 
bbb said:
Take a 1/2 to 1 hour lesson with an instructor
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That guy I was talking about in my first post is an instructor. We both frequent the pool hall, and when he's not shooting with someone else we shoot a few racks. In-between racks he will sometimes point out something to work on. Either advice on a better/easier position play or pattern, a defense shot, my back hand grip tension, tuning amounts of English, etc.

Last time it was my bridge hand movement. Actually, He is the only one who has ever mentioned the small bridge hand shift. Either no one else is seeing it, or most people I play are not trying to critique my game. 80% of people I practice with are lower level then I.

BTW. I don't know if I am referencing "Center ball shots" correctly. I am talking about hitting cue ball anywhere along the vertical axis. But I think other people are thinking a "Center ball shot" is hitting the object ball square or full face?
 
straightline said:
When the pocket's outside your periphery.
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Are you cutting balls like this?
IMG_2039.png
 
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There’s many tips and tricks for dropping in. You’ll know it when you find it.
Straight shots are your friend.
Angles and English are the love of your life.
I love when I see a student dropping down and constantly looking at their feet and swing arm. They’re usually mentally screwed.
Sometimes less is more, the secret is in the sauce.

 
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Could we delete or rename this thread so I don't get James Brown songs stuck in my head every time I read it? Pleassseeee!!!!
 
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