Problem with my Draw/Mechanics

[Snapshot9]

Lol

You're biggest problem might be not listening when you should have ...

If you have an exagerated downward angle with cue and have the tip real low on the cue ball, this will cause it. You should always have your butt as low as possible and still be able to stroke. Think about your tip and how much of it makes contact with the cue ball the way you are stroking it, and then think about the same thing the way I recommended. A light bulb should light up about now!!!!

BUT, if by some outside chance, you are already keeping the butt low, then you are either just stroking too low, or you dip your tip on contact, which often results from having, what I call, the Hully-Gully stroke (aka as the Dipsy Doodle stroke).

The last thing is your tip might be shaped wrong, especially for power draws.

Many players have problems with specialty shots that the cause of the problem goes back to having a good proper stroke, and not some variation that you developed on your own. But, at times though, depending on the situationa and player, you can develop unconscious little quirks that you are not aware of.

 

[axejunkie]

FWIW, I have a friend who has a pretty powerful stroke when hitting center ball but has a real problem drawing the ball. I think he tightens his wrist up just before contact and it kills his cueball action. I mean he really strokes it hard but there's just a hair of draw.

As I understand, his cue speed is decelerating due to the wrist tightening and it effectively limits his draw stroke.

 

[SPINDOKTOR]

FWIW, I have a friend who has a pretty powerful stroke when hitting center ball but has a real problem drawing the ball. I think he tightens his wrist up just before contact and it kills his cueball action. I mean he really strokes it hard but there's just a hair of draw.

As I understand, his cue speed is decelerating due to the wrist tightening and it effectively limits his draw stroke.

Thats my understanding as well, If you grip the butt of the cue to tight it has basicaly the same effect. I grip the cue with my pointer finger and Thumb, my middle finger only feels slight pressure, the rest of my fingers are completly relaxed. At times I will find I leave a blue dot (I use blue chalk) at the extreme end of my followthrough, as much as 12" after making contact with the cue ball, Ive tried to elimate that but it happens.

I think your friend is anticipating the initial hit, flexing so to speak before actualy striking the cue ball, if you can get your friend to hit a target beyond the cue ball with his tip, I useualy will dab a bit of chalk on the felt as a visual mark. I think you will find his draw stroke may be powerful as well.


My idea of a powerful draw stroke, the player can strike the cue ball where they intend to, they can then follow through hitting that spot on the cue ball, and extend the the tip on that plane for at least 4-6" after contact before the tip actualy touches the cloth, if a player can do this consistantly they will develop a very powerful draw stroke. This also applies to follow and side. I personaly havent witnessed a player who could do this and not be able to draw the ball effectively.


SPINDOKTOR

 

[PKM]

I have a problem with my mechanics lately and I can't seem to figure out exactly what it is. Over the last month or so I have had a huge problem of miscueing when I try to draw the cueball. At first I thought it was a problem with my tip,but I have tried 4 different cues and have the same problem with all of them. Anybody have any ideas on what's causing my problem?

I came across an article that will likely interest you if you haven't seen it. George Onoda, "Avoiding Miscues on Draw Shots," from Billiards Digest. Link to pdf with a bunch of articles:

http://www.sfbilliards.com/onoda_all_txt.pdf
See p. 11

 

[Bob Jewett]

I came across an article that will likely interest you if you haven't seen it. George Onoda, "Avoiding Miscues on Draw Shots," from Billiards Digest. Link to pdf with a bunch of articles:

http://www.sfbilliards.com/onoda_all_txt.pdf
See p. 11

In reading Onoda's article, there is one recent discovery to include when deciding about whether miscues with draw usually involve hitting the cloth first. It is now understood that when the tip strikes the cue ball off-center, the rotation of the cue ball carries the tip away from the center of the cue ball while the tip is on the ball. This motion will necessarily continue after the ball leaves the tip. This action could cause the tip to leave a chalk mark on the tell-tale paper even without having hit the table first. I suppose one way to test this idea is to place a teflon spacer on the cloth the tip can't touch the cloth but will be supported from below by the teflon for moderate tip offsets.

 

[jes_playin]

I think I've finally figure it out with a little help from some of you. I believe I am hitting too low. I've self-analyzed my shots and I've noticed that the miscues usually happen on a shot that could potentially scratch. I think I was self-consciously hitting too low to make sure I didn't scratch.

Thanks for the help.