Nuts & stuff
billyjack said:
I have a recurring problem with staying down on a shot. I've worked on developing a longer follow-thru, but I think my problem is more than that. I believe I need a stroke thought or process to ensure I don't decelerate thru the ball as soon as I make contact. Does anybody know of a drill, stroke thought or process to help develop a "stroke thru" rather than a "hit at" the ball? Thanks for any contributions.
Bill
I think that you are looking at two different things here.
First is the jumping up on the shot problem. Of course the key to this is keeping your head still, and I can't improve on the excellent nut-string solution already offered.
Second (and largely unrelated) is hitting through the ball. As I think you have discovered, it is very important to hit through the ball but this does not mean just bolting on a follow though to the end of your stroke. You need to feel as if you are extending that contact time between tip and cue ball.
There are a couple of things that have helped me in the past that you might like to try:
One is when you are putting english on the ball (side or draw). Try to get the c.b. to react the way you want but without hitting it too far off center. I have found that trying to get spin on the ball while hitting it more centrally helps generate the feeling that you need to acheive.
The other is to practice moving the white around the table while striking the c.b. as slowly as possible. The idea here is that it helps stop a rushed final forward stroke that feels like it stops when it hits the c.b. (as you say, 'hitting at' the white); instead you consciously start off the forward motion slowly slowly, and subconsciously accelerate it, subconsciously focussing on where you are trying to put the white ball. I don't know if this makes any sense to you, but it worked for me
.
And talking about not making any sense, I will pass on something that I saw on another forum. Someone there said that when he was having problems hitting through the ball, he recommended playing as if the c.b. was one ball's width further away than it actually is. Said it cured his problem completely. However, I am still not sure whether he was being serious or just playing a practical joke. It was funny when I tried it, but others may come to different conclusions.
Finally, I suggest that you try any or all of the above while doing drills, but not to pay
too much attention to them when actually playing. Otherwise the danger is that you divert too much attention away from what you are trying to do and towards how you are trying to do it. You stroke perfectly but miss the pocket by 6 inches! This can seriously mess up your game.
