Length of Backstroke

Falcon Eddie

Falcon Eddie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have read many things about pause and follow through of the backstroke. In recent review of certain players I notice different degree in lengths which they pull back. Some I use to think were punching the ball but after closer review it was that they only pulled back ever so slightly.
I started to experiment with this and found I am more accurate with a shorter backstroke..any thoughts.
 
Mine is right between 8 - 9 inches. My backstroke is very close to equal my follow through. How do I know??? I still have the line RandyG drew on my shaft to show my follow through length.
 
Falcon Eddie said:
I have read many things about pause and follow through of the backstroke. In recent review of certain players I notice different degree in lengths which they pull back. Some I use to think were punching the ball but after closer review it was that they only pulled back ever so slightly.
I started to experiment with this and found I am more accurate with a shorter backstroke..any thoughts.
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It's relative to the forward amount needed to execute the shot with the proper amount of speed and not dbl hitting the cue ball. Another example would be, did you ever see a golfer make a tap in putt and take a full backswing?
 
Depending on the shot, the back stroke will not always be the same. The main thing is not to "poke" but have a good follow through as stated by previous post. My follow through is about 5.5-6 inches.
 
Island Drive said:
It's relative to the forward amount needed to execute the shot with the proper amount of speed and not dbl hitting the cue ball. Another example would be, did you ever see a golfer make a tap in putt and take a full backswing?
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I noticed a very good shot maker and pro player use the same short backstroke time after time and still accelerate through the shot getting position every time. Never pulling back further to generate or shorten for the opposite.
 
mines long too, long i think thats why i miss alot of shots i need too work on that. not sure on how long prolly longer then 6 inch
 
This is just my opinion and from my personal experience. Just thought I'd throw that out there so I don't piss off someone.

The longer your back stroke the smoother you can be, kinda like Busta. The longer the backstroke the less accurate you will be. On power shots you will most likely use a very long backstroke to get a lot of power, like the break shot.

The shorter the backstroke you can be a lot more accurate but it's hard to be smooth and get a lot of power with a short back stroke. Not impossible just harder to do.

If you use a long backstroke it will probably require alot more table time/practice to keep it straight.
 
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Gatz said:
The longer your back stroke the smoother you can be, kinda like Busta. The longer the backstroke the less accurate you will be. On power shots you will most likely use a very long backstroke to get a lot of power, like the break shot.

The shorter the backstroke you can be a lot more accurate but it's hard to be smooth and get a lot of power with a short back stroke.
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For whom?....SPF=randyg
 
randyg said:
For whom?....SPF=randyg
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From personal experience, from Steve Davis, from watching over a thousands different match's with great commentators. That good enough?

Just common sense really. Longer your backstroke the more accurate you have to be, but you can be much smoother because you don't have to accelerate as fast at the begining of the forward stroke. With a short backstroke you have to pick up that speed quite fast, especially doing a power shot, so it looks choppy. Kinda like the Taiwanese pool players. Some of them have a Allen Hopkins kinda stroke. Short and choppy.
 
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Gatz said:
From personal experience, from Steve Davis, from watching over a thousands different match's with great commentators. That good enough?.
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picard-facepalm.jpg
 
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Island Drive said:
It's relative to the forward amount needed to execute the shot with the proper amount of speed and not dbl hitting the cue ball. Another example would be, did you ever see a golfer make a tap in putt and take a full backswing?
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I come from a golf background...before I ever played pool at all...so quite a bit of what I do in pool is related to golf.

When putting your backswing is about the same distance as your follow through...the longer the put (or more power) the longer your backswing and follow through....but they usually remain about equal.

I do the same thing for pool....If for whatever reason I want to shorten my back swing....I also shorten my follow through...but the tempo remains the same.

I doubt this is correct pool teachings..but that is what I do.
 
Falcon Eddie said:
I have read many things about pause and follow through of the backstroke. In recent review of certain players I notice different degree in lengths which they pull back. Some I use to think were punching the ball but after closer review it was that they only pulled back ever so slightly.
I started to experiment with this and found I am more accurate with a shorter backstroke..any thoughts.
Click to expand...

Shorten your bridge length and you may notice an improvement too.
 
I won a local tournament tonite using this shorter backstroke. Not really convinced yet but it does have some merits. I think it will work if I'm getting natural shape. Any kind of real stroke shot ..gotta go with what i know.
 
The amount of time required to focus your eyes on the object ball after addressing the cue ball has a lot to do with the pause or lack of pause in the backswing. Simply changing the stroke to a shorter or longer back swing or changing the bridge can have a poor effect on your game unless this is also taken into consideration. A players age also effects focus time which in turn effects stroke timing.
 
I have noticed many top players using a shorter back stroke the last few years. A shorter backswing is necessary for me as arthritis makes it impossible for me to make a tight closed bridge anymore. I strive to keep my personal eye pattern the same and my follow through consistant. As long as I go through the ball I can move the cue ball around the table sufficiently and for me more accurately.
 
Gatz said:
The shorter the backstroke you can be a lot more accurate but it's hard to be smooth and get a lot of power with a short back stroke. Not impossible just harder to do.

If you use a long backstroke it will probably require alot more table time/practice to keep it straight.
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I agree.

If you are able to keep everything smooth and controlled with a short backstroke, then this is what you should do. You will be more accurate more of the time in where you hit the c.b. But when the backswing starts getting short, most people will struggle to keep the the mind still and the stroke smooth.

With a long backstroke, I don't think that it is necessarily vital to keep it straight - usually the longer it is, the more noticeable the arc of its travel will be. But it is critical that you hit the c.b. where you mean to, and here longer strokes can be unhelpful.
 
reckon it stands to reason... the further U pull the cue back, the more you introduce the "wrist". A short abreviated stroke, the range of motion and therefore involvement of the wrist is minimized. The wrist with 8 bones, 3 seperate joints, 10 significant ligaments and countless muscles is one of the most complicated joints in the body,...... Pretty much common sense, the more you involve that beauty, the more dynamics exist in the execution of the stroke... Long sweeping strokes are a thing of beauty but can't argue, the longer the stroke... the more moving parts...
 
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