Is dropping your elbow wrong?

[henho]

Nope. Well, sometimes.

 

[TheConArtist]

Ronnie O'Sullivan is a good example of this. So is Steve Davis. Both great styles to copy.

Aww Steve Davis, i remember only seeing this guy play at a Mosconi Event on t.v. a few years back. It was one where Nick Varner was Captain, and he was flawless to watch, if i recall he skunk'd Earl in their match together. Not shure.

 

[Flex]

What I was referring is the stroke mechanics for a normal shot that one can reach without a problem in doing so.

More and more now I'm using a stroke for many shots that consists of holding the cue as lightly as I can in my first two fingers with gentle support of the thumb, the last two fingers are off the cue. Stroking as straight as possible, and for soft to medium shots allow the weight of the cue to do the work, and let it slip in my fingers for a couple of inches after the impact with the cue ball, then a gentle squeeze to stop it's movement. Works very well for me, whatever it's called. On force follows with english, the hold doesn't vary, it's loose as a goose, and by golly I let the elbow drop, and get great action on the cue ball, if that's what the shot calls for.

Knowing when to squeeze the cue, when not to, when to use a choke hold on the cue to kill cue ball action, and so on, all this makes this so enjoyable.

On top of it all is running balls...

Flex

 

[pooltchr]

or at least not easily, for instance when shooting over a ball that is in the middle of the table. I had to adapt to many different situations where the "correct" stance or alignment or stroke wouldn't work, at least not for me.
Flex

There are always going to be exceptions to the rules. The pendilum stroke we teach can be applied to most every shot. When those situations come up where you need to abandon the fundamentals, your percentage of making those shots will probably drop off. This is not to say that you can't make a shot jacked up over a ball with a side-arm stroke...only that your odds would be better if you stick to that "consistant, repeatable stroke" that Scott talked about.

The odds of me making a shot are directly related to how well I perform the fundamentals of the stroke.
Steve

 

[Deadon]

Every pro pool player I have ever heard of says that a long follow through is key to playing good pool.. It is also the key to good golf strokes, good batting in baseball, good shooting in basketball, bowling, javelin, discus, shuffleboard, etc.

It seems to me that the longer the follow through in any sport, the better. In a golfer's swing, the follow through continues until the club shaft lightly taps the player on the neck or shoulder, (I'm not a golfer) if I am not mistaken? The follow through continues until it is physically impossible to follow through the ball any more. Doesn't the same thing happen with a good baseball swing? I would assume a perfect bowling swing realeases the ball at the last possible microsecond before the bowling ball reaches too far in an upward arc. In a basketball shot, the hand supports the ball while the arm supports. The "follow through here is the proverbial "wave good bye", again, the hand follows as far through the basketball as possible.

Russ

Russ;

I have to some extent, noticed the opposite. Most players rarely follow through more than 6' on any shot, except maybe the break. But I do recognize them dropping the elbow, some a little, some alot.

I believe you are correct about the other sports and follow through. Having said that, what is more natural follow through..allowing the arm (the pivot point) to naturally come to a stop, or to start dropping the elbow and having the hand come forward unnaturally and then coming to a halt by the player. A golfers swing is a natural arc around the pivot point, so is a pitchers, bowlers etc... The unnatural movment is to drop the elbow, also elbow problems affect the arc in golf, baseball and bowling. The point being that the more natural the movement, the better.

If you are also watching the tapes, you will see that most of the players finish with their cuetip on or close to the table. Meaning that the idea of keeping the cue in the same path, is not what you might think it is.

Many players have short follow throughs, watch Grady's tapes. I doubt if you have ever seen Buddy Hall follow through 11 or 12 inches, outside of goofing off.

Although the idea makes sense and will work, the execution is hard to duplicate consistently. The people that can, perhaps, will not have that limitation to improving their game.