Question for "feel" aimers, which comes first?

[JoeW]

Based on watching many pro matches I have concluded that the pros are not all that confident on some shots. When they get out of line they will take a safety rather than attempt what appears to be a medium to tough shot with the associated position. Linda seems to concur ? practice is important to allow the mind to get back in that grove. However, even in the grove it would appear to me that pros are not all that confident of their shot making skills at some times.

I have never played for thousands of dollars so I do not really know. Based on observation the pros will take the safety when they could attempt the shot and this suggests that many people are not able to say (to themselves) how to control what they do -- they just know what to do. This is probably related to the non-verbal thinking that is required. I have found that verbalizing to myself helps set the desired goal. I know I can look at a spot on the table and think CB goes here and it feels right. On some shots I look at the result and I am surprised that the mind can put it there as easily as it did.

There is another interesting aspect of this that I have only lately stumbled on. At times I will say CB here and then I can feel a kind of nervousness and something like a lack of confidence. It appears that at times that position can not be had given the shot characteristics and at other times the mind is not quite sure how to do that. So lately I have found that if I am sensitive to my mind / body feedback and I "feel" uncomfortable after getting down on a shot it is probably time to get back up and re-think the situation.

On a side note I have also noted that at times I have known what I wanted, did not think I could get there and later found I played a two way shot that resulted in perfect position but not the way I had thought about it. Some of these shots amazed me. That part of the brain can make calculations I can not see if I listen to it.

I know the non-verbal part of the mind will help us learn how we do something. It simply does not have the verbal skills to explain it. There are ways to talk with the non-verbal side and I have not attempted to do this with regard to how one plays pool. I suspect the limited vocabulary will make it difficult.

 

[Roger Long]

For those who just feel the shots, get down and shoot without any conscious system, whether you make adjustments while standing or while down on the shot, which of the following do you do?

1-Do you look at the balls and just know, sort of saying to yourself, "This particular shot needs the cue pointed here," and then place the cue in that position and go?
or
2-Do you get close to where you feel the aim would be, then sort of rehearse that one shot in your mind and decide whether that shot would hit the pocket. Then, if you feel it would miss, adjust slightly and run through another shot, seeing if that will hit the pocket, and continue to adjust this way until you've rehearded the one shot in your mind that would indeed hit the pocket?
or
3-Something else? If so, please explain.

Thanks

Sometimes I do the FIRST, sometimes I do the SECOND, and sometimes I do the THIRD. It all depends on whatever "feels" right for the particular shot in question. And that feel can only come from lots of practice. No system can provide that.

Roger