How many of you guys think that you have good fundamentails?

C

Calgaryplayer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We all know that the good foundation is very important to pool, but do you think YOU (youself) have or close to have good fundamentails?

If NOT, why don't you work on your foundation before you practice anyting else (drills) if you want to improve your game?

Beside playing the tourney, I almost only practice the straight-in shoots hours a day, everyday to make sure that the "perfect foundation" has become my second nature. I have changed a lot on my pre-shoot routine, stance, grip, stroke ............... and so on.
 
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I have reasonable fundamentals. Still some kinks that pop up here and there.

I work on them every practice session. Specifically I shoot long pots on the snooker table.

Personally I don't think anyone under an A level has "good" fundamentals, otherwise they wouldn't be missing as much. There's usually either big stroke kinks, alignement or balance problems etc.
 
Depends on the game

Personally I don't think anyone under an A level has "good" fundamentals said:
I do not doubt that it takes very good fundamentals to play pool at a high level, but I will say that I believe that there are other factors like safety play, shape play, and the break to name a few that do influence your ability to win. The other big factor is what game you are playing.

I believe that in 9 ball that the break and getting shape on the first ball is such a big deal that a very good player can beat a very, very good player that has a lesser break.
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I now think getting video of you playing is a first great aid. I think everyone will be surprised at what they see.
 
I always have to work on fundamentals or bad stuff just pops in. lol I just noticed recently that I was droping my shoulder at the beginning of my forward motion. Where the hell did that come from? No idea but bad habits can come easy.
 
I used to think so until I went to RandyG's pool school. Then I learned how much I don't know. Now I have a measureable process to check my fundamentals and ways to correct bad habits that occur over time.
 
I think my fundamentals are pretty good. But, I am continually checking and refining them.

Ya. I really should video some of my games/practice to study where the most improvement/adjusting should be done.
 
I have to be reminded constantly to keep my arm swing straight. I tend to "chicken wing" a little and therefore miss a lot of easy shots. Also I used to turn my hand right before impact. I seem to have kicked that habit. I have only been playing pool for about 3 or 4 months so I have a long way to go but I'm on my way.
 
fundamentals are overrated...as long as the action is accurately repeatable it is workable.

Of course basics like hitting the cb with the tip are necessary, but I am 80%+ w/ that. PRetty good, right?
 
The "measurable process" is the cornerstone to long term improvement, because you not only learn how to determine your own personal 'perfect process', but you also have the diagnostic tools to fix errors when they occur. This is just one of the things that make the SPF teaching process so valuable! You can fix what you don't know about...you can't fix what you can't measure...and you can only fix one thing at a time! BTW, there are many SPF instructors around country that can help you learn this process.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

NewStroke said:
I used to think so until I went to RandyG's pool school. Then I learned how much I don't know. Now I have a measureable process to check my fundamentals and ways to correct bad habits that occur over time.
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Scott Lee said:
The "measurable process" is the cornerstone to long term improvement, because you not only learn how to determine your own personal 'perfect process', but you also have the diagnostic tools to fix errors when they occur. This is just one the things that make the SPF teaching process so valuable! You can fix what you don't know about...you can't fix what you can't measure...and you can only fix one thing at a time! BTW, there are many SPF instructors around country that can help you learn this process.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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I have spent many hours on my fundamentals. Scott can testify to this. I had a lesson with him back in November I believe and even though we found two flaws I could work on, he said he couldnt find anything else wrong with my stance bridge or stroke. THE GRIP was my biggest failing point. I had a tendancy to tighten my grip as I stroked through the ball. I have fixed this but it does try to creep up in my game every once in a while. If I am struggling to run out or losing confidence in my stroke, its usually because of this flaw and I havent noticed yet. My other failing point was not following all the way through on every speed of stroke, mostly slow rolled shots. Nowadays I am much more aware of that grip hand and my follow through.
 
My fundamentals suck. I take the (enlightened?) view that if you cannot down a straight-in ball at least 95% of the time, from whatever distance, your fundamentals are letting you down.
 
Evan...Remember I taught you to measure grip pressure by numbers (1-5) for a reason...our brains are already hardwired to use numbers and numerical systems. Keep reminding yourself "Grip Pressure #1", and this will tell your subconscious to grip VERY lightly, and keep the same grip pressure all the way through the stroke process (one way to physically "see" this is to check your knuckle tilt of your grip hand at your finish position). This where most people go wrong. They start out light, but change grip pressure after the transition from the backswing to the forward stroke. Glad things are working out for you! Keep me posted! :thumbup:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

center pocket said:
I have spent many hours on my fundamentals. Scott can testify to this. I had a lesson with him back in November I believe and even though we found two flaws I could work on, he said he couldnt find anything else wrong with my stance bridge or stroke. THE GRIP was my biggest failing point. I had a tendancy to tighten my grip as I stroked through the ball. I have fixed this but it does try to creep up in my game every once in a while. If I am struggling to run out or losing confidence in my stroke, its usually because of this flaw and I havent noticed yet. My other failing point was not following all the way through on every speed of stroke, mostly slow rolled shots. Nowadays I am much more aware of that grip hand and my follow through.
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What really ARE fundamentals? I think fundamentals are blown out of proportion.

Look at guys like Earl with jacked-up bridges and cocked back-hands. Guys like Keith McCready with wicked side-arm action. Guys like Mike Sigel who jump up on every shot or fire their arm through the shot. Guys like Hopkins who don't even have a backstroke or pause for that matter. Or, people like Grady whose tips are set over 5" away from the CB. Bustamante with loopy strokes and 20000" bridge-lengths.

I think the auto-answer that people like to point out is the: "These guys are freaks of nature and shouldn't be copied... they're gifted phenoms."

Yeah, that's true...but.... almost EVERY top elite player I've watched has some aspect of their fundamentals that are not "standard" or would be considered "poor" for that matter.

I think what's most important is to be consistent. If you stroke as crooked as a boomerang but you do it exactly the same each time - you can run out. Obviously, perfect fundamentals make for great consistency with less effort. But, crap fundamentals can make for great consistency as well if you're that type of player.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
What really ARE fundamentals? I think fundamentals are blown out of proportion.

Look at guys like Earl with jacked-up bridges and cocked back-hands. Guys like Keith McCready with wicked side-arm action. Guys like Mike Sigel who jump up on every shot or fire their arm through the shot. Guys like Hopkins who don't even have a backstroke or pause for that matter. Or, people like Grady whose tips are set over 5" away from the CB. Bustamante with loopy strokes and 20000" bridge-lengths.

I think the auto-answer that people like to point out is the: "These guys are freaks of nature and shouldn't be copied... they're gifted phenoms."

Yeah, that's true...but.... almost EVERY top elite player I've watched has some aspect of their fundamentals that are not "standard" or would be considered "poor" for that matter.

I think what's most important is to be consistent. If you stroke as crooked as a boomerang but you do it exactly the same each time - you can run out. Obviously, perfect fundamentals make for great consistency with less effort. But, crap fundamentals can make for great consistency as well if you're that type of player.
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I think the "good fundamentail to you" is what the best for YOUSELF is, not someone else's forms or 100 % following the "textbook styles".
BUT ............. to most people I believe, some basic principles of foundation such as stable bridge, comfortable stance, straight stroke and pre-shoot routine and so forth are need to be known and practiced.
 
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SpiderWebComm said:
What really ARE fundamentals? I think fundamentals are blown out of proportion.

Look at guys like Earl with jacked-up bridges and cocked back-hands. Guys like Keith McCready with wicked side-arm action. Guys like Mike Sigel who jump up on every shot or fire their arm through the shot. Guys like Hopkins who don't even have a backstroke or pause for that matter. Or, people like Grady whose tips are set over 5" away from the CB. Bustamante with loopy strokes and 20000" bridge-lengths.

I think the auto-answer that people like to point out is the: "These guys are freaks of nature and shouldn't be copied... they're gifted phenoms."

Yeah, that's true...but.... almost EVERY top elite player I've watched has some aspect of their fundamentals that are not "standard" or would be considered "poor" for that matter.

I think what's most important is to be consistent. If you stroke as crooked as a boomerang but you do it exactly the same each time - you can run out. Obviously, perfect fundamentals make for great consistency with less effort. But, crap fundamentals can make for great consistency as well if you're that type of player.
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most of those players you mentioned are older players who began learning back in the days when if you didn't know the secrets no one would tell them to you and you had to figure it out on your own..

I'm guessing the players coming up now.. the teens with all the internet info and all the great teaching methods developed over the past 20 years..will end up eclipsing everyone.. and will get to that level in half the time

the guys you mentioned while great players...are dinosaurs... what they have works well for them... but a solid fundamental base of operations... allows far more rapid improvement ..than figuring it out for yourself..

the sport is moving forward
 
Mine are bad. Took the BCA 3 day course. Learned a lot but it is hard to break bad habits. Learning the "correct" way made me worse for a long time. Could never get use to shooting that way but kept trying to change. Have gradually gravitated back to my natural way but have adjusted some to correct some of the flaws. Will admit that what I learned did help. Still keep trying. I know that I have improved but it was nothing that happened overnight as some claim they do after attending those classes.
 
I dont think I know I have good fundamentals,if I lose or miss its a mental error or that I failed to pick up my cue for 2 weeks or so.But I worked to get where I am at for over 20 yrs,My biggest problem now is I find it very hard to practice even with a table in my living room,you have to have something or someone that makes you want to practice ,but we did win the vegas trip in the bca league last night for may 18 so that should be some inspiration
 
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