Miscues

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Greetings, Sam here.
I have a meucci cue with black dot shaft. It appears to be thinner than 13 mm (probably 12 or 12.5). Anyway, I have a heck of a time getting draw on the cueball from anything further than 2 feet from the object ball. I am frustrating myself with miscues from trying too hard. Would the tip be too hard for me, and, if so, can I do anything to condition it for better english? Is there anything else someone could suggest? I'm no pro, but I've kept a couple of guys in their seats for a while. sam
 
KJ Cues said:
Welcome to AZB.
It could be the tip but more than likely it's your stroke.
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Agreed. When people start having issues with draw shots etc be it not enough action, or miscues and "golfing" the cue ball.... you arent stroking and following through in a straight line. To clarify that statement, you are aiming the tip of your cue to hit a certain point on the cue ball, but when you are stoking through the shot, thats not where the tip is hitting the cue ball. On shots where you arent getting good action, you are not hitting as low as you want to. If you are miscuing under the ball, chances are you are dropping you shoulder and the tip is dipping lower than you want to.
Slow down your stroke and focus on where your tip is contacting the ball, when you are confident that you are hitting where you want, you can start adding speed to the stroke.
Dont feel bad, it can happen when going to a smaller diameter tip. :wink:
Chuck
 
whisperinsam33 said:
Greetings, Sam here.
I have a meucci cue with black dot shaft. It appears to be thinner than 13 mm (probably 12 or 12.5). Anyway, I have a heck of a time getting draw on the cueball from anything further than 2 feet from the object ball. I am frustrating myself with miscues from trying too hard. Would the tip be too hard for me, and, if so, can I do anything to condition it for better english? Is there anything else someone could suggest? I'm no pro, but I've kept a couple of guys in their seats for a while. sam
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Grady Mathiews told me years ago that if you hit the cue ball low it comes back and if it don't you didn't.
 
A softer tip will help you to hit lower on the cueball and impart more spin without mis-cueing. I recommend trying an Everest tip. Also, keep your cue as level to the table as possible through the stroke. Trying to hit down on the ball by raising the butt end of the cue as you stroke is counter productive. The cueball MUST be spinning backward when it contacts the object ball. Replace the cueball with a striped ball to actually see if it's spinning backward during contact.
Good luck!
Mr H
 
Forgot to mention, make sure that you have a nice dime radius on your tip. If it's flattened out from breaking or was just the wrong profile in the first place, that will contribute to the miscues on draw shots. This, along with using a softer tip, keeping your cue level, and not cueing too low will dramatically reduce the miscues.

I cue 'em lower than most, and my well shaped and chalked Everest tip rarely let's me down. I recently tried a Sniper tip because I couldn't find my last Everest, and I miscued frequently because the tip is firmer, and just doesn't grip like the Everest does.

Mr H
 
How high is the tip? Can you drive your thumb nail into the top of the tip? If so is it a hard tip or a soft tip? Have you been having problems with draw all along or is this a recent problem?
 
I played years ago at a respectable level. I know that my stroke is not perfect, but it about 90% where it should be. I guess I will try a softer tip (I don't know what is on there at present) and go from there. Thanks to all who answered - I've been out of touch for some time, and just got back to the states. sam
 
If you get a Willards dime tip shaper, that will quickly give you the dime radius,as well as leaving the tip scuffed to help it hold chalk well.The Willards shaper has a gauge built into the tool for a reference and they are quite cheap.
Might sound funny, but getting a good cue ball also helps alot.
Some tips for some people can be difficult to draw with.
Now days , there are alot of tips to choose from.
Some like soft elkmaster, others like the hard superpro and then there is evrything in between. The everest is a nice tip, but so is the talisman med.
Both the everest and talisman medium are nice to draw with.

Neil
 
Thanks again. COuld you straighten me out with what happens when you go to a smaller tip (12 - 1`2.5 mm instead of 13mm).
I am assuming that with a smaller diameter shaft, ferrule and tip that I get less contact with the ball. I feel the smaller surface to hit with, combined with a very hard tip, give me a much harder time when I need a lot of draw. I am thinking that a smaller tip needs to be softer than a larger tip in order to get the same english levels. Am I thinking straight? If I am, I will be going to see Kevin at Marietta Billiards on Roswell, and have him set me up with a soft tip. sam
 
whisperinsam33 said:
Thanks again. COuld you straighten me out with what happens when you go to a smaller tip (12 - 1`2.5 mm instead of 13mm).
I am assuming that with a smaller diameter shaft, ferrule and tip that I get less contact with the ball. I feel the smaller surface to hit with, combined with a very hard tip, give me a much harder time when I need a lot of draw. I am thinking that a smaller tip needs to be softer than a larger tip in order to get the same english levels. Am I thinking straight? If I am, I will be going to see Kevin at Marietta Billiards on Roswell, and have him set me up with a soft tip. sam
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Sam, whats the tip on that Meucci right now?
 
I wish I knew. I bought it 2nd hand, and did not ask. With my limited experience, I feel it is quite hard. I am playing on an old Gandy Big G, 4.5 x 9, and perhaps the cloth (I think it is Velocity Pro) is not the best either. Anyway, I think with a smaller tip, I lose some contact area on the cue ball, and with the tip so hard, I cannot get the draw that I want. Of course, it couldn't be these old bones at 66, or could it? sam
 
whisperinsam33 said:
I wish I knew. I bought it 2nd hand, and did not ask. With my limited experience, I feel it is quite hard. I am playing on an old Gandy Big G, 4.5 x 9, and perhaps the cloth (I think it is Velocity Pro) is not the best either. Anyway, I think with a smaller tip, I lose some contact area on the cue ball, and with the tip so hard, I cannot get the draw that I want. Of course, it couldn't be these old bones at 66, or could it? sam
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Yes Sam, nod nod, its could be the bones, especially when it gets cold.:grin-square:

I would agree with you on the smaller tip getting lesser contact area on that cueball. Change it to a soft tip, see how that works. Dont try changing the bones now
 
Thinner shaft, more draw. Not necessarily more control.

Primary suspect after a long layoff would be the stroke but a medium tip is also recommended.
 
u're probably holding the cue too tightly and forcing it thru on the stroke instead of just letting it go which just results in mashing the tip into the felt too early and jumping the ball/miscuing. unless ur tip is completely flat, u should be able to draw it if ur stroke is correct.

also, i think a thinner diameter should be able to produce more spin or at least produce the same amount of spin as a full shaft more easily. the difficult part is hitting where u want, u have to be more accurate with where u hit the ball with a smaller diameter tip. that said, i use 12.1mm on my cue and anything thicker feels weird.
 
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