Question for any pool instructor

[The Renfro]

This says it all. Great insight on what's going on.

The eyes do have to be in the right position to overcome all the optical illusions that these little round balls create. They are the windows to the mind.

Some players do this better than others naturally. But everyone can be taught how to get their eyes in the perfect position on every shot. If your missing shots that seem to look good or they just look off from the start you need to learn how to put these eyes in the most correct position possible.

Once your mind has the proper picture the results can be unlimited.

With the windows in the right place and the mind getting the best picture possible you can now practice coordinating the body to do the task at hand.

They should can it eye, hand and mind coordination.

Great post and insight.

BTW Geno..... I am having to aim less and less since things are starting to look right consistently again... This is a beautiful game when you can get out of your own way.... Thanks again for your help......

 

[dr_dave]

i have a serious question too any top notch pool instructor pro/champion player when u sighting ur shot an about too shoot what part of the ob u look at

A.Contact Point
B.Ghost Ball
C.Cue Ball

Or.......

Other thinks one might focus on included:

D. point on the cloth at the desired ghost-ball center
E. amount of ball overlap desired
F. line from CB contact point to OB contact point
G. distant point on cushion or rail along line through ghost-ball center
etc.
​

I see most of these things as variations of ghost-ball aiming.

I agree with robsnotes4u that our minds probably use a combination of these things when locking in the final aim, and the combination might be different on different shots, depending on which might be easier to visualize for a particular individual on a particular shot.

As Gene points out, probably the most important part of aiming is making sure your eyes are in the right place (see vision center for more info).

And as JoeW pointed out, using quiet eyes when checking your CB tip-contact point and the alignment of your cue as you focus on your aiming "target" is also very important.

BTW, I recently wrote a series of article for Billiards Digest that deal with many topics related to aiming, alignment, and sighting. You and others might find them interesting. Here they are:

“Aim, Align, Sight - Part I: Introduction and Ghost Ball Systems” (June, 2011).
“Aim, Align, Sight - Part II: Visual Alignment” (July, 2011).
“Aim, Align, Sight - Part III: Sighting” (August, 2011).
​

Also, I have an entire resource page dedicated to vision-related topics including sighting and visual alignment. Check it out.

Regards,
Dave

 

[robsnotes4u]

Thanks, Dr. Dave I will read your article. I have purchased information from you, and really love your insight.

There are a lot of talented people on this thread, and each has contributed awesome information.

Thanks everyone

 

[robsnotes4u]

I think this is pretty dead on... We visualize the complete shot and then we execute it... For most shots there is no ghostball or contact point only the first frame of the movie that just played out inside of our minds...

I also think that some shots never seem to match up when we are down on them... In these instances you have to pick something... That something will vary by shot and will have to be learned... Once learned the images will begin to match up.....

On cut shots I am unfamiliar with that do not want to match up I usually use spot on the table or a pivot system similar to CTE.... For straighter shots that won't match up I use overlap and contact point... Rail shots get a parallel method....

Myriad of systems in response to a myriad of shots... In the zone when everything is matching up I need no system I just match reality with the sequence playing out inside of my imagination..

Wow, great explanation

 

[C.Milian]

It's very hard to miss the cueball. You should glue a tennis racquet to the tip if you have this problem.

 

[duckie]

One day I was having extreme difficulty on making a certain cut shot. Nothing special about it at all. I just kept hitting to the left of the pocket.

But I was aligning everything up right.

Upon reflecting on the previous shots, I realized I was putting the OB right where I was aiming to the left of the pocket. The reason for this was because I was not looking dead center at where I wanted the OB to go, but more at where I did not want the OB to go.

I started making sure I looked right at where I wanted the OB to go and forget about where I didn't.

After that little change in thinking, that shot is now cake and all shots really.

Sometimes you are lining everything up right, but you just pick the wrong spot to put the OB. This means the only thing you needs to change is how you pick where you put the OB and not change anything else.