Jumping question

[SARDiver]

Questions for those who know more than I do:

This was on my old cloth, and the result of an attempted jump with a Lucasi jump/break hybrid cue. It has a phenolic tip that spreads out a bit and is likely 14 mm in diameter. (Edit: photo removed due to size and irrelevance.)

Is it totally a problem in technique that results in damage like this:






Is there something about the cue that makes this more likely? I have since changed fabric to a Simonis cloth, and I have banned jumping until I know more.

Your knowledge and assistance would be greatly appreciated. Am I just driving down too far and too hard? Am I at the wrong angle? Is this kind of damage indicative of a particular fault? Should I give up pool and take up croquet?

Ignore that last question.

Thanks.

 

[softshot]

if you have to hit that hard to get a ball to jump you're doing it wrong...

 

[brentinps]

I remember watching a jumping vid at jacoby cues website that went into really good detail. You may want to check it out. BTW I did buy the 3 piece jumper they make as it is known to be one of the best.

 

[SARDiver]

So it's the angle and force that I'm using/used, and not an issue with the tip at all.

That helps, thanks.

 

[1hit1der]

With some practice, you should be able to get to a point where you can jump a ball without the tip contacting the cloth at all. Here are a couple of my favorite jump instruction videos by the late Tom Simpson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZEdDid-hU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PpJ-WfYOLM

 

[Shughes13]

I jump pretty well and my tip on my predator air 2 never touches the table and that's for long and short shots.......I recommend practicing some more and use a square piece of cloth for protection if you have one.

 

[Neil]

Here's a link that showcases how little force is actually needed to jump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHcCBJp0wY&feature=related

Here's another one by Robin Dodson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpiBD7K64OE

 

[Straightpool_99]

With a jump cue like you have, there is no need to drive the tip into the cloth like that!

You are most likely miscueing (and damaging the cloth), because you are not hitting enough of the ball. Watch the illustration. The illustration shows the cueball and the lines on which the cue travels on various jump shots (the angle is not exact, this is only to illustrate the fullness of the hit). The small circle represents the imaginary "core" of the cueball. When the cue strikes at an angle going through the core, you are hitting (in effect) a center ball shot. There is very little chance of miscueing, and the tip will not even touch the cloth, if you are doing it right.

With a normal cue with a soft tip, there is a chance, however, that the ball will become trapped under the tip at this "center ball hit", which is why you might want to hit "less of the ball" with such equipment. That way the cueball moves out of the way of the tip. This is much more demanding of your techique, and also increases the chance of mishaps, like you had, although this will never happen if your techique is good, no matter what the cue is. Note that with the yellow and red lines you will also put backspin on the ball, by default. With a light jump cue (like you seem to have) you can easily jump the ball with the green line without this being a concern, although I think the easies line to get elevation is probably the yellow. Then, as you get more "steady" at the technique, you can experiment with other lines. Note, also, that there is no need to muscle the cue. Hold the cue lightly and "throw it" at the ball. There should be no brute force involved.

As a general rule, people that are not skilled at jump shots use WAY too much elevation, and hit too little or too much of the ball and they use too much force as well. Practice using much less angle than you instinctively think you need, and cut the force you use by 70 percent. Focus on an accurate, smooth hit. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Work on using the absolute minimum you need to get over a ball. If you can master this, you'll be better than maybe 80% of players at jumping. Yes, seriously! As a rule, the cueball should not be bouncing around after a hit on a regular jump shot (unless it's a very special, close and difficult jump). Watching the cueball randomly bouncing all over the table after hitting the object ball is a pretty good indicator that the player doesn't know what he or she is doing. Once you can keep the cueball flat after the jump, you know you've really learned something.

 

[brentinps]

Excellent stuff here! And well said straightpool!

 

[SARDiver]

Thanks all for the feedback and tips! I'll be using some scrap cloth to protect the table, and will work on what y'all have said.

(I've developed my kicking game to avoid the need for jump shots, so it's been a positive.)

 

[sixwillwin]

a rare AZ post that I think I may have actually learned something! cool.

 

[SilverCue]

With some practice, you should be able to get to a point where you can jump a ball without the tip contacting the cloth at all. Here are a couple of my favorite jump instruction videos by the late Tom Simpson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZEdDid-hU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PpJ-WfYOLM

Thanks for the links.

 

[SARDiver]

Thanks for the links.

Yeah, they were exceptionally helpful and got the poster some green.

 

[caff3in3]

Questions for those who know more than I do:

This was on my old cloth, and the result of an attempted jump with a Lucasi jump/break hybrid cue. It has a phenolic tip that spreads out a bit and is likely 14 mm in diameter. (Edit: photo removed due to size and irrelevance.)

Is it totally a problem in technique that results in damage like this:



View attachment 435226


Is there something about the cue that makes this more likely? I have since changed fabric to a Simonis cloth, and I have banned jumping until I know more.

Your knowledge and assistance would be greatly appreciated. Am I just driving down too far and too hard? Am I at the wrong angle? Is this kind of damage indicative of a particular fault? Should I give up pool and take up croquet?

Ignore that last question.

Thanks.

I feel your pain a friend of mine poked a hole in my cloth taking a jump shot.

Yours looks to be in fairly good shape too

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[SARDiver]

I feel your pain a friend of mine poked a hole in my cloth taking a jump shot.

Yours looks to be in fairly good shape too

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

It played very well for many years, until I finally switched it out for Simonis 860HR in tournament blue. Now I'll just insist on using a spare piece of cloth when a jump shot is needed.

 

[ctyhntr]

Many poolhalls simply hang the ubiquitous "No Masse, Jump Shots" sign rather than deal with it on a case by case basis.

It played very well for many years, until I finally switched it out for Simonis 860HR in tournament blue. Now I'll just insist on using a spare piece of cloth when a jump shot is needed.

 

[SARDiver]

Many poolhalls simply hang the ubiquitous "No Masse, Jump Shots" sign rather than deal with it on a case by case basis.

Believe it or not, but there wasn't any apparent roll-off associated with it. I'm glad it's now gone, but it didn't appear to affect play.