I know this goes against what many players believe, so I might be sticking my neck out here, but I don't think mechanical errors (or faulty or inconsistent fundamentals) cause most of our misses.
This game so often requires pinpoint aiming precision, that I honestly believe the majority of missed shots are due to slight aiming errors, especially when applying english. We simply over-compensate or under-compensate for speed and spin on occassion. Or we correctly come down onto the shot to pocket the ball, but then add a little spin from there, which would actually require a slightly different aim line, but we don't stand back up and re-address the shot from that proper aim line.
And some misses, though we don't like to admit it, are simply due to not aiming accurately or just not paying attention and taking shots for granted. We just fail to really look at what we're doing.
Of course, some shots are missed because of lazy or inconsistent body mechanics/fundamentals, but I don't believe that's the primary reason we miss shots. Pros have the most consistent mechanics among pool players, yet they also miss shots on occassion. I believe they miss for the same reasons non-pros miss - slight errors in aiming, primarily due to the precision needed when combining spin and speed.
I should add that all of this depends on a players skill development also, meaning that less skilled players probably can attribute most of their missed shots to poor or inconsistent body mechanics, but also in conjunction with poor aiming skills and poor speed/spin compensation. The better the player, however, the less likely it is that the majority of their misses are due to poor mechanics rather than faulty aiming or inaccurate aiming compensations.
This game so often requires pinpoint aiming precision, that I honestly believe the majority of missed shots are due to slight aiming errors, especially when applying english. We simply over-compensate or under-compensate for speed and spin on occassion. Or we correctly come down onto the shot to pocket the ball, but then add a little spin from there, which would actually require a slightly different aim line, but we don't stand back up and re-address the shot from that proper aim line.
And some misses, though we don't like to admit it, are simply due to not aiming accurately or just not paying attention and taking shots for granted. We just fail to really look at what we're doing.
Of course, some shots are missed because of lazy or inconsistent body mechanics/fundamentals, but I don't believe that's the primary reason we miss shots. Pros have the most consistent mechanics among pool players, yet they also miss shots on occassion. I believe they miss for the same reasons non-pros miss - slight errors in aiming, primarily due to the precision needed when combining spin and speed.
I should add that all of this depends on a players skill development also, meaning that less skilled players probably can attribute most of their missed shots to poor or inconsistent body mechanics, but also in conjunction with poor aiming skills and poor speed/spin compensation. The better the player, however, the less likely it is that the majority of their misses are due to poor mechanics rather than faulty aiming or inaccurate aiming compensations.
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