If the shot was 100 yards away.....

[Vahmurka]

I was even offered a job teaching tennis when I was 20 yrs. old [....] I have never actually seen the bat or the tennis racket hit the ball.

it was not posted by you first, but comments like "you don't look at a ball when throwing it" or "you don't look at a bullet" are way too wrong, like pointed already. I was going to mention a soccer or rugby player taking a free kick - they pick their target and look at the ball all the way.
Since it came down to baseball and tennis I have several observations. I'm very far from being a decent tennis player but here is what I think.

Look at the line of sight of Roger Federer. He's looking at the contact of the ball and his racket.


Here the contact is already made but his eyes are just in the beginning of transition to the opposite court side.


Finally, here is the shot by Sharapova. Watch she is tracking the ball that approaches her, then all the way she looks at the ball (images 4,5,6-contact), then she continues to follow the ball with her eyes on a "follow-through".


Similarly, when a golf player takes a shot (either a drive or a put) he looks at the ball until contact is made, and only after a follow-through motion he looks at his target (actually he watches the ball approaching the target he set before walking into the shot). Sounds familiar, uh?

Snooker - 100% OB

what makes you so sure? I know little about how snooker pros aim but it might be not that one-sided like you put.

 

[ENGLISH!]

it was not posted by you first, but comments like "you don't look at a ball when throwing it" or "you don't look at a bullet" are way too wrong, like pointed already. I was going to mention a soccer or rugby player taking a free kick - they pick their target and look at the ball all the way.
Since it came down to baseball and tennis I have several observations. I'm very far from being a decent tennis player but here is what I think.

Look at the line of sight of Roger Federer. He's looking at the contact of the ball and his racket.

Here the contact is already made but his eyes are just in the beginning of transition to the opposite court side.

Finally, here is the shot by Sharapova. Watch she is tracking the ball that approaches her, then all the way she looks at the ball (images 4,5,6-contact), then she continues to follow the ball with her eyes on a "follow-through".

Similarly, when a golf player takes a shot (either a drive or a put) he looks at the ball until contact is made, and only after a follow-through motion he looks at his target (actually he watches the ball approaching the target he set before walking into the shot). Sounds familiar, uh?

If you will re-read my post I think you will find that I did not say everyone does or does not look at the ball. I believe you will find that I said some might & some might not or words to that effect.

I certainly did not mean to imply that one way or the other was done by 100% of all people performing the task.

All I can tell you is that I have never seen the contact between ball & bat, racket, or ping pon paddle on any full swing including in golf. Maybe I am an enigma. However, while I am fairly good at those things, I am certainly not Pro or World Class in any & perhaps my not seeing the contact could be why.

As for golf, some pros & others do putt while looking at the hole & not the ball, Anika Sorenstam is looking up away from the ball just prior to imact & Sergio Garcia hit that shot where he is running up the fairway with his eyes closed.

Different strokes for different folks. One size does not fit all.

Regards to You &

 

[duckie]

In tennis and baseball, you are trying to hit a moving target unlike in pool where the CB is not moving.

In soccer, you are moving and then kicking the ball unlike in pool where you are not moving and are not using your leg to kick a ball.

There is no need to look at the CB as you hit it. It's not moving, you are not moving, just th stick in a straight line to where the CB is going.

I look right where I want the CB to go. And then stroke through the CB to that point.

But in pool, the shot is never 100 yards away, which is only an effort to try to prove a point.

 

[ENGLISH!]

In tennis and baseball, you are trying to hit a moving target unlike in pool where the CB is not moving.

In soccer, you are moving and then kicking the ball unlike in pool where you are not moving and are not using your leg to kick a ball.

There is no need to look at the CB as you hit it. It's not moving, you are not moving, just th stick in a straight line to where the CB is going.

I look right where I want the CB to go. And then stroke through the CB to that point.

But in pool, the shot is never 100 yards away, which is only an effort to try to prove a point.

Duckie,

I agree. The only time that I look at the CB while making the actual stroke is if I have some really unusual bridge requirement & even then not always.

Regards to You &

 

[Txstang1]

object ball

 

[madmiller]

In this video he made it and I believe it was more than 20 yards away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPv8fqCntKA
I can ask him what he looked at when shot this shot.

the object ball is a complete football field away from you, and the pocket is 20 yards from the object ball,,,,

Would you look at the cue ball when shooting, or the object ball ????


Y

 

[SpiderWebComm]

If you are throwing a baseball, do you look at the baseball while throwing or looking at where you are throwing?

Duck, you clearly didn't read the post. Answers like this speak volumes of where you're at as a player, really.

The answer is the CB. You look at the CB. You HAVE to look at the CB. If you don't, a microscopic off-center hit would result in you missing the OB completely. You'd align to an intermediate target and stare at the CB to ensure you hit center ball.

I think sometimes you regurgitate sayings made by instructors without knowing WHY they say them.

At 100 yds, the OB looks like a BB--- there's nothing to look at.

 

[nobcitypool]

But here is my thought,, in the 40 years I've been playing.... I have never, yes, never,,, missed the cue ball !!!!!

lol

In 40 years, you've never miscued? In 40 years, you've always hit the exact spot on the CB you intended to hit? "Miss" is a relative term.

 

[Yoda4962]

there is no cue ball.....

In 40 years, you've never miscued? In 40 years, you've always hit the exact spot on the CB you intended to hit? "Miss" is a relative term.

Yes, i miscued when i was younger, and now occasionally when i am too lazy to apply chalk !

However, in my local lessons, i prove this point to other players by shooting the call into the holes, while looking straight down at my cue stick. I am trying to teach them that there is no cue ball.
y

 

[ENGLISH!]

Yes, i miscued when i was younger, and now occasionally when i am too lazy to apply chalk !

However, in my local lessons, i prove this point to other players by shooting the call into the holes, while looking straight down at my cue stick. I am trying to teach them that there is no cue ball.
y

Yoda,

That's sort of like golf. Some people hit the ball or at the ball while others swing through the ball, almost like it is not even there. Yet those that swing through the ball, are the one's that can 'feel' the & control the ball & not just feel the hit of the ball.

Best Regards to You &

 

[duckie]

In tennis and baseball, you are trying to hit a moving object that someone else doesn't want you to hit.

In pool, in case you haven't noticed, the CB is not moving. In pool, the goal is to deliver the CB to spot on the table that makes the OB go where you want.
There is no other person rolling the CB towards you in some manner to make it difficult to hit. As such, there is no need to look at the CB in order to send it to the OB.

I've played raquet ball, mmmmk. I had to look at the ball to hit unlike pool where I don't.

Since pool is about delivering a ball to a certain spot, how bout bowling. Does a bowler look at the bowling ball or where he wants to put the ball on the lane, maybe two boards over from a certain arrow. I bowled also.

You have to use your vision as needed for the task at hand. I raced motorcycles and bet I use my vision and visualizations skills way different than most because of this, and gives me a certain advantage. I see where I want to be, I see where I want to put the CB.

Most don't push their visualization skills and as such rely on systems and cute marketing phrases.

 

[duckie]

Since we don't play on a football field and the pocket is never 20 yards away, lets use a real world shot like the one below.

Where do you look?

 

[JB Cases]

the object ball is a complete football field away from you, and the pocket is 20 yards from the object ball,,,,

Would you look at the cue ball when shooting, or the object ball ????


Y

I would look at both but the cue ball last. And I would aim it the same. CTE works off the pool table as well.

 

[JB Cases]

Since we don't play on a football field and the pocket is never 20 yards away, lets use a real world shot like the one below.

Where do you look?

For this shot I look at the OB and get my line then once I have the shot line I look past the ob to the rail and focus on delivering the cb to that spot on the rail.

I look at the cue ball last I think.

 

[8pack]

What do I know..

 

[ENGLISH!]

Since we don't play on a football field and the pocket is never 20 yards away, lets use a real world shot like the one below.

Where do you look?

If I'm hitting the cue ball high, I'm looking at the OB. If for some reason, I'm trying to put some back spin & I'm jacked up then I probably/might look at the CB last when making the actaul stroke.

Regards to You, Duckie &

 

[Yoda4962]

It's all perception..

Since we don't play on a football field and the pocket is never 20 yards away, lets use a real world shot like the one below.

Where do you look?

First, i go down to the other end, and look from the pocket, to the object ball, to get the correct perception.....

Then, since there is no way on god's green earth that i will miss the cue ball.........I will be looking only at the object ball....

Y

 

[Shaky1]

It would probably take about 12 break speed hits before I got close enough to the object ball to worry about it. The first 11 would just roll to a stop. Kind of like how I play golf. :grin-square:

 

[SpiderWebComm]

My eye pattern goes between the CB/OB, naturally. I'm usually staring at the CB until my brain subconsciously gives me the green light that I'm striking the intended spot on the CB no matter what. At that moment, my eyes flip to the OB.

I believe that exact timing somewhat differs on every shot. For Duck's example, that flip to OB might be a few milliseconds before striking the CB because the tip placement must be very exact. As the CB moves out of the pocket and off the rail (where the balance between make/positioning% balance and each are pretty high), I believe your eyes flip to OB sooner, pre-CB-contact.

With someone who is very proficient at CTE, you can ignore the CB completely once you have your fixed CB edges locked-in. Those two CB edges is really what determines if you make the shot - not a view of the OB post-address. That's why practicing with ONLY looking at the CB the entire time is really, really good practice. I'm NOT advocating playing that way 100% of the time, as I personally feel doing so takes away from finer touch in stroke speed/etc as your peripheral view gives you a lot of data. That said-- it will 100% increase your ability to setup correctly, super fine-tune your PSR and build a more stable foundation to being a "machine" that's less apt to break down.

 

[Vahmurka]

In soccer, you are moving and then kicking the ball unlike in pool where you are not moving and are not using your leg to kick a ball.

you probably missed I was describing a free kick in soccer/rugby/football. The ball is resting at that shot, just like cue ball does. And in pool you basically hit the ball with stroking arm - if only it was possible to put spin on the ball and not get hurt at the same time. Hence, we use intermediary equipment like pool cues.

There is no need to look at the CB as you hit it.

Please tell this to Ralf Souquet, Rodney Morris, Efren Reyes, Johnny Archer. They are the players who look at cue ball last - I know that because I heard three of them saying so (and Rodney referred to Efren doing the same). To get acquainted with Rodney's view you are welcome to watch "Break and Run" instructional. And watch TAR podcast with Archer (I don't remember which one exactly, there were two or even three) where Johnny explains in detail why he does that.

There are no black and white and right or wrong about cb last or ob last. Both ways work as long as you get proper alignment and initial set-up, one gets to pay attention to either balls anyway. But I understand and share the reasoning of three pros mentioned (and adore the other one who I've heard they name The Magician). For sure there are more top players who utilize the same technique, but I'm yet to learn about them. (Maybe SVB or Appleton, at least I asked such question in TAR 30 podcast thread, so I hope we get a reply)

And even those players who teach cb last - they agree that when the cue ball is close to the cushion, let alone frozen, you should change and watch it last, as in this type of position like you pictured hitting the whitey precize is much more important.

What I love about pool is there are always things to learn. Now you know a little bit more than before