Picture This Cue Scenario

[DrCue'sProtege]

i was working on straight in draw shots into the corner pocket. OB was about a foot from the corner pocket, and the cue ball about 2 feet from the OB.

i had set up about 3 balls on each side of the line, and was trying to draw the cue ball straight back through the 2 lines of balls without touching them. the 2 lines of balls were about 6"-8" wide.

i was shooting with the Cuetec and was having a difficult time drawing the cue ball back straight through the line of balls, i kept drawing it back left and right, not straight.

then i switched to the Nova Custom cue and was a whole lot better at drawing the cue ball back between the balls.

coincidence?
much better cue?
one of those things?

any thoughts posters? would a custom cue make that much difference?

DCP

 

[drivermaker]

i was working on straight in draw shots into the corner pocket. OB was about a foot from the corner pocket, and the cue ball about 2 feet from the OB.

i had set up about 3 balls on each side of the line, and was trying to draw the cue ball straight back through the 2 lines of balls without touching them. the 2 lines of balls were about 6"-8" wide.

i was shooting with the Cuetec and was having a difficult time drawing the cue ball back straight through the line of balls, i kept drawing it back left and right, not straight.

then i switched to the Nova Custom cue and was a whole lot better at drawing the cue ball back between the balls.

coincidence?
much better cue?
one of those things?

any thoughts posters? would a custom cue make that much difference?

DCP

Maybe....Yes....Could be....Yes....Maybe

 

[Drake]

I got to hold Archer's cue about a year ago and let me tell something. If you work hard enough and your cue is straight and has a good tip on it........You can shoot that same shot with good results. How Johnny plays so good with inferior equipment makes me stand behind telling everybody to buy a good sneaky Pete with a good joint from a custom cue maker, and that's all you will ever need.

 

[cuewhiz189]

what experience do you have in cuemaking to call a cue by someone else inferior......i know you are a helluva player and you are very smart but if you know nothing of cuemaking why talk down about someone elses product.......juston

 

[Bob Jewett]

i was shooting with the Cuetec and was having a difficult time drawing the cue ball back straight through the line of balls, i kept drawing it back left and right, not straight.

Maybe that cue is a little crooked. You could mark the ferrule or shaft -- like the Meucci Black Dot idea -- and try repeating the shot with the cue always in the same orientation. It might even be that the tip is a little off.

 

[Drake]

what experience do you have in cuemaking to call a cue by someone else inferior......i know you are a helluva player

Juston, You are right...I know nothing about cue making. However, I do appreciate you calling me "one helluva player." The cue stick I'm referring to was one of the earlier Scorpions and when I went to unscrew,in front of Johnny, the cue the Metal Joint Collar came undone with the shaft.....I would call that Inferior equipment. Wouldn't you?? Maybe they have fine tuned their production process with Scorpion cues, But at that time it hit like a wal-mart cue. I'm sure Johnny has set them straight by now.

 

[biGhuK]

Too many factors can come into play here, tip hardness and shape, your stroke, your follow through... Make sure you are stroking through the ball to the felt with a consistant and smooth stroke. You can take a 5000$ barry with a moori on it and use a bad stroke/follow through jabbing the ball, and you'll get inaccurate draw results.

A couple things i'd check would be.

Your bridge. If it's open, close it up if table layout allows. The tip could be jumping off the cueball and you not realizing it.

Tip shape. Many would argue that tip shape between nick and dime doesn't effect how the cue ball recieves english. I personally believe a dime gives me more accurate results. With a medium controlled stroke I can get the same amount of draw and control it more consistantly as opposed to using a nick and having to stroke the ball harder which decreases my chance of controlling the draw. Try em both and see which gives you better results.

Tip hardness. A softer tip will grab the ball more and allow more english to be applied to the ball. There isn't a whole hell of a lot of difference though. If you use the right technique you can achieve the same amount of draw with a hard tip as you can a soft.

Stroke. Keep it straight and follow through to the felt.

hope this helps,
huK