How to fix this problem?!

JCurry

JCurry

can I use my mulligan?
Silver Member
So, I am doing this stroke straightness drill. I have 2 object balls placed 1 diamond away from the bottom rail and I'm shooting from the 3rd diamond away from the head rail. Kind of like this...

CueTable Help



I can shoot through this and have it come back through about 80% of the time when I start with a gap of 1/4" on each side for the cue ball to go through. However when I decrease this gap to about 1/8" I can only clear it about 50% of the time. When I do miss, I hit the object ball on the RIGHT every time, never the ball on the left. Also, this is during the first pass though the balls, not after coming off the bottom rail.

So, here's my question...

How do I figure out what I am doing wrong? Is it my aim? Is it my stroke? Is it something else?

Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
Neil said:
This will only work if you have a home table... Use a chalk line and mark a STRAIGHT line on the table. Try and shoot down that line. You should be able to tell if you are sighting wrong, or your stroke is off a little.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention that. I actually do have lines drawn on my table. I used a laser level like this one http://www.target.com/Black-Decker-Laser-Mounting-Access/dp/B000B8GBBS/ref=sc_qi_detailbutton along with a dressmakers pencil and a 36" metal ruler. If I had a picture handy I would post it.
 
if the ball is coming back straight, then your probably stroking straight. The problem with out seeing you seems to lie in your alignment.

hope that helps,
Grey Ghost
 
I am curious to see what the pros have to say about your dillemna. I had a similar problem and I tried different bridges to see what the result would be. I found I was dead on when using an open bridge and that my close bridge altered the cue path a little, causing unwanted side spin. I adjusted the closed bridge so the cue moved more freely and it worked. At first the bridge felt loose but it really wasn't loose at all, but a lot more accurate.
 
Try shooting the shot using a striped ball. Set the ball so it will roll on it's stripe as it moves down the table. You will be able to see if you are actually putting just a little bit of left spin on the ball, causing it to squirt slightly to the right.
Beside unwanted side spin, other options are mis alignment, a slight veering of your stroke, or simply mis-aiming. Since it always goes to the right, your head may be just slightly farther left that it needs to be to allow you to see the straight aiming line. (I'm guessing here, but are you right handed?)

If you have a video camera, set it up looking right straight back up the table at you when you do this drill. If you can review in slow motion, you will be able to see if your cue is traveling straight, how your head is positioned over the cue, and the actual path of the cue ball.

Once you isolate the problem, you can work on fixing it.

Steve
 
Best drill to test if your stroke is straight imo.
Also in my opinion your at a point where it would be 100 % useful to search for a qualified instructor who teaches you how to get an straight stroke and get a good alignment. Already little nuances/errors could destroy your straightness and even your alignment. Extremly hard to work on your own for this.

lg
Ingo
 
I see four possible causes. First is stroke. You may be slanting at the end. Second could be squirt if you are hitting off center. And third could actually be your vision. If you are right eye dominant, you may be compensating for that without even knowing at the end of your stroke. Lastly it could be your stance causing you to lean off a little.

Try this to eliminate the vision option. Try hitting the cue through the gap WITHOUT looking towards the gap. I mean first aim it and do your warmup stroke, then focus completely on the cue without looking towards the gap on your follow through. If you can do this successfully, then you may be compensating and your vision of your dominant eye is causing the problem.

If you are still hitting the right ball, it is your stroke or hitting off center (which could be due to a stroke porblem) or a stance issue. For that we need to watch you shoot to see if where that issue is in order to correct.
 
Thanks for all teh suggestions. I posted this on another pool forum and they suggested capturing some video as well. So, I am going to do that this weekend and try to get that posted. Personaly, it wouldn't surprise me if I am doing something in my stroke that is causing the smallest bit of squirt or side english. I will use a striped ball in my tests to make it easier to spot.
 
I usually set it up with another 2 balls at the head spot, and bank the CB up and down the table. You have to watch for table roll and grabby/jumpy rails. Using a striped ball is the way to go. You can see how much the ball is skidding when it bounces off the rail.

My first straightness drill was the rail shot. CB on the the rail at the head line and OB on the same rail at the foot line. Stop shot, pocketing the ball...without using side spin. But you have to have a good table for this drill.
 
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I would test to make sure you are actually hitting the cue ball center by using the joe tucker tool. Pretty cheap way to test your eye sight and perception IMO. Although I had or have a similar problem as you, a lot of it can be eliminated with proper approach and stepping into the line of aim.

For example, on some shots if my chin is on the cue, the shaft looks like its bending towards the right. Then as I raise my chin/head slowly and the cue straightens itself out. I have a very low stance but on some shots it better to come up, for me...

Also try this, sounds crazy, but if you use a closed bridge, use a open bridge and see if you can get more accuracy. On certain shots that require extreme accuracy an open bridge has worked better for me. I think this has to do with the knuckle on a closed bridge being wrapped around the cue, maybe on a very low chin to cue stance, the dominant eye will focus on that knuckle and throw sight line out of wack...This is my own theory and experience out of some personal testing. I use the long stop shot and the long follow into pocket shot to test my accuracy and on the long follow into pocket shot I make it more often with a open bridge and I can see my follow through is straighter on a open bridge.
 
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Thanks John. I have used Joe Tuckers 3rd eye stroke trainer in the past. It's a decent enough tool and it did help me realize that I was lining up a little left of center. That bad habit might be creeping back into my stroke.
 
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