I just completed a very thorough analysis of draw shot physics. Don't get too excited, now.

:grin:
The analysis has resulted in what I think are several useful conclusions, most of which agree with my intuition as a player. However, I think some of the conclusions might surprise some people, even experienced players. That's why I wanted to post them here. Please comment on the conclusions, especially the ones that might go against your judgment or intuition as a player. Are there special shots or situations where you would do something different from what is suggested?
Here's the list of conclusion, which can be found at the end of
TP B.8 (all of the graphs referenced below are clearly labeled in the analysis if you want to check them out):
- Generally, to get more draw, you must hit the cue ball harder and lower (see graphs A and G).
- More tip offset does not produce more draw as you approach the miscue limit, so it is prudent to not hit too close to the miscue limit (see graphs A and G).
- With larger drag distances and more power, max draw occurs at less than maximum tip offset (see Graphs G, Q, S, and U, and see the data on the previous page), so you get more draw by hitting the CB closer to center!
- With a draw shot, for a desired draw distance, a slower cue speed with more tip offset will result in better CB position control than a faster cue speed with less offset (see the slopes of the curves in Graphs A and G at a given draw distance).
- Stop shots (draw distance = 0) are much less sensitive to tip offset position than draw shots are (see Graphs G, H, I, N, and O). In other words, CB position is much easier to control with a stop shot, as compared to a draw shot.
- For a short stop shot, slower speed offers slightly better control (see the overall slopes of the curves in Graph I). For longer stop shots, faster speed appears to offer slightly better control (see Graphs N and O).
- For stun-through (small controlled follow) and stun-back (small controlled draw), a firmer hit closer to center offers better CB control (see Graphs L and M).
- It is much easier to control draw distance on a new, slick cloth than it is on a "sticky" cloth, especially with lower-speed shots (see Graph T).
Thank you in advance for sharing your comments, thoughts, and experiences,
Dave