Fred,
Other than the Larry Nevel 1mm jump, there was a fellow who made a similiar shot in Vegas during the BCA at my booth, with the X Breaker shaft, but he actually jumped really far and high with the ball at 1mm apart. If there was a table next to mine, his cue ball would have landed there.
He is not a professional player. He works with Joe Neilsen and is a very good table mechanic, as well as being a great player.
Here is the link(the first video):
http://xtremebilliard.com/BCA/album02
Speaking of jumping very close jumps, here are some facts I find quite interesting:
I have had the pleasure of speaking with a lot of pro players who told me they normally would not attempt any jump closer then 2 balls apart. They would opt for a kick. One guy told me he will never try to jump less than 2.5 balls apart in any important match, and this guy has won a few international major titles.
From my observation, most, if not all, of them jumped with a pendulum stroke. Most of the players I spoke to told me they are much more accurate with the pendulum stroke. Some pros told me they do not really like to use the dart at all, a few of them actually told me they never really try to learn this technique!
I also have been requested to build a longer jump section(rather than shorter), on their cue; some players like to use the butt portion to attach to the shaft for a more butt heavy (rather than lighter) jump cue. They told me they could achieve better control and more power that way.
I hardly ever see regular players do this, but a few pros have told me that it is very important to use the shaft to measure how close the cue ball is to the object ball before attempting the jump. They practise jumping at different elevations with different distance, so once they have a realistic understanding of the actual distance, they will make the adjustments to try jump with more control. I know most players judge the distance with their naked eyes, but what I was told was that everyone has a limit; for example, some players are much more comfortable jumping 3 balls apart than if they were a bit closer; therefore, it would help to know the actual distance rather than guessing with one's eyes.
I think it is quite interesting that while a lot of people are talking about how light or easy a jump cue is, from my observation, pro players are much more interested in its control and realistic applications.
Their opinion have been very valuable and precious in helping us to develop and design our cues. Thank you so much.
Regards,
Richard
