Question For Instructors

D

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ok, Scott, Randy, Blackjack, Pooltchr, and other instructors, i have a question - here goes:

when you have a straight in shot it qualifies as a great big ole Duh that your eyes focus on the Object Ball. but, when you have a cut shot as thin as the one below, what is it your eyes should be focusing on?

A) the thin side of the object ball where you want the contact?
B) ghost method, where the cue ball should be when it contacts the object ball? in this case your eyes wouldnt be focusing on anything, just the empty spot where the cueball should be.
C) the entire object ball?
D) another stupid question by DCP

DCP

CueTable Help

 
while I'm not certified, I focus hard on the point of contact on the OB and when my eyes shift to the cue ball, I try to imagine that point on the opposite side of the ball that I can't see running into that point of contact.

On some shots though, I think I am subconsciously just judging the thinness of the hit instead of worrying about a contact point, usually with shots that are pretty close to maximum thinness. I sort of estimate where I'd aim to just brush the ball then cut less and less until I have a lock on the thin angle I want.
 
im no instructor, but i did stay at a holiday inn last night. Well that and also ive been to both the advanced and expert level of pool school with randyg and scott.

other than the personal eye patterns training im sure scott went over with you........youre gonna have to decide what works for you best. For me......once ive picked exactly where i wanna hit the ball (using sam), lined up and aimed and took my practice strokes.......focus on your sam point as you hit the cueball. Its kind of like motorcycling, you learn during track days if someone wrecks in front of you dont look, cuz you naturally steer where you are looking. To me its the same with pool, i shoot the cueball where im looking.
 
Scott Lee said:
Mike...For the answer to this and ALL other questions...REVIEW your dvds!:rolleyes:

Answer: D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...
Well, just not long ago in another thread, he was saying he'll be taking lessons from you. Then in another post same thread he said after the lesson you're gonna learn something. So at some point it set me off wondering..you teach him or he teach you..ok, now it's pretty clear..

No offence to anyone, just appeasing my own mind that's all.

(Disclaimer: Me not an instructor, just a player)
 
I believe that you should address all of your questions to Scott Lee to ensure that whatever you are doing is in accordance to what he has taught you.
 
pooltchr said:
Scott...did you touch on SAM with him????
Steve
Click to expand...

SAM?

havent got all the way through the video of the lesson, but is this the aiming method where you determine which type of cut the shot is, as follows:
1 = straight
2 = slight cut
3 = medium cut
4 = thin cut
5 = not feasible, play safe

seem to recall we talked about this very briefly at the end, but certainly in no detail. at this point not really sure what the benefits of SAM are, but then again, not really sure what SAM is exactly.

DCP
 
Matt_24 said:
Yeah, you have a private instructor now. Save ALL of your questions for him.
Click to expand...

but all he does is take those little jabs at me. if i knew the answer to my original question i wouldnt have asked. perhaps its possible i forgot, or needed a reminder. to watch three (3) hours on a dvd to try and find one answer is alot of time - time i could be spending at the table working on the Mother Drills.

DCP
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
to watch three (3) hours on a dvd to try and find one answer is alot of time - time i could be spending at the table working on the Mother Drills.

DCP
Click to expand...

DCP,
A serious student of the game would have already watched those 3 hours of DVD; and either memorized them, or taken notes on all material that they didn't know if they couldn't memorize them. Hopefully next week we will be treated to an exhaustive report on the DVD's. Many of the serious students on this forum would welcome such a thread - and I personally am very curious as to the contents and value of the DVD's (I suspect they are great).
 
Please...we've told you a million times. People do different things. If you have trouble with a shot. Hit is 100 times in a row until you can make it consistently.....you shouldn't be THINKING about what you're looking at fast. A pro can't tell you what they look at fast. They just practice, eventually memorize the mechanics on shots...and just EXECUTE without much thought besides where do I want the cue ball.

Just practice this stuff. Asking on AZ isn't really going to help you, because in the end you're just going to have to practice whatever it is you want to do until you can do it. Period.
 
SAM has 6 points of interests

1-6

And they all can be made! 5 and 6 are a little more difficult to make, but they can be made and be made proficiently.

The picture you have up there isn't a very thin cut shot. Maybe a 3 or 4 using SAM.

If you are looking at that picture, and you are hitting vertical center of the cue ball and trying to use a SAM 4. Then the right side of your ferrule in theory should be aimed at the very edge of the 3 ball. (At least for most people).

That being said look where ever you need to in order to line that up!

Follow your PEP and do what you have been taught to do.

SAM 5 and 6 take a lot more practice, but a SAM 4 is simple!

SAM is great and you really should learn it!
 
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DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, Scott, Randy, Blackjack, Pooltchr, and other instructors, i have a question - here goes:

when you have a straight in shot it qualifies as a great big ole Duh that your eyes focus on the Object Ball. but, when you have a cut shot as thin as the one below, what is it your eyes should be focusing on?

A) the thin side of the object ball where you want the contact?
B) ghost method, where the cue ball should be when it contacts the object ball? in this case your eyes wouldnt be focusing on anything, just the empty spot where the cueball should be.
C) the entire object ball?
D) another stupid question by DCP

DCP


CueTable Help

Click to expand...

Hi Mike, let me take a wack at this.

First off: A straight in shot is very touchy. This is the only time that the Aim Point and the Contact Point are the same. Because the object ball is 2-1/4 inches wide it is very difficult for some players to find exact dead center. In school we offer another solution to aiming straight in. Let your eyes focus on the base of the object ball right where it sits on the felt. By default you are aiming dead center. Then if you have a great SPF Stroke, the shot could become easy.

Second. When aiming off the edge of the object ball, like you describe, let your eyes once again focus on a point on the felt. I agree that it's very hard to focus on nothing. Another method is to aim with the inside edge of you shaft to the outside edge of the object ball.

All of the above take time to learn. If this game were easy, we would all be golfing.........SPF=randyg
 
Don't know about anybody's school but I put a nine inch nail through that sucker with the nail pointing to the pocket. Hammer it with the cue ball. Sometime you gotta use the side of the cue ball to hit it right. I gues that would be edge aiming lining up the tracks of the CB (center and edge) with the center of the cue stick.
 
holiday inn express

scottycoyote said:
im no instructor, but i did stay at a holiday inn last night. Well that and also ive been to both the advanced and expert level of pool school with randyg and scott.

other than the personal eye patterns training im sure scott went over with you........youre gonna have to decide what works for you best. For me......once ive picked exactly where i wanna hit the ball (using sam), lined up and aimed and took my practice strokes.......focus on your sam point as you hit the cueball. Its kind of like motorcycling, you learn during track days if someone wrecks in front of you dont look, cuz you naturally steer where you are looking. To me its the same with pool, i shoot the cueball where im looking.
Click to expand...
this only counts at the express
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
ok, Scott, Randy, Blackjack, Pooltchr, and other instructors, i have a question - here goes:

when you have a straight in shot it qualifies as a great big ole Duh that your eyes focus on the Object Ball. but, when you have a cut shot as thin as the one below, what is it your eyes should be focusing on?

A) the thin side of the object ball where you want the contact?
B) ghost method, where the cue ball should be when it contacts the object ball? in this case your eyes wouldnt be focusing on anything, just the empty spot where the cueball should be.
C) the entire object ball?
D) another stupid question by DCP

DCP
Click to expand...
The answer is B, but it is the center of the empty spot where the cueball should be if you are using vertical center cueball. If you use bottom left aim the top inside of your tip to hit the bottom outside of the imaginary cueball and be sure to not let the cueball curve.

Mr. Lee would probably be more amenable to anwering your questions via pm, so he doesn't have to give free lessons to everybody.

unknownpro
 
randyg said:
Hi Mike, let me take a wack at this.

First off: A straight in shot is very touchy. This is the only time that the Aim Point and the Contact Point are the same. Because the object ball is 2-1/4 inches wide it is very difficult for some players to find exact dead center. In school we offer another solution to aiming straight in. Let your eyes focus on the base of the object ball right where it sits on the felt. By default you are aiming dead center. Then if you have a great SPF Stroke, the shot could become easy.

Second. When aiming off the edge of the object ball, like you describe, let your eyes once again focus on a point on the felt. I agree that it's very hard to focus on nothing. Another method is to aim with the inside edge of you shaft to the outside edge of the object ball.

All of the above take time to learn. If this game were easy, we would all be golfing.........SPF=randyg
Click to expand...

Randy,

One thing is aiming, the other is the speed of the stroke, and where the cue ball is struck on the vertical axis, which I'm assuming (always a dangerous thing to do, I know). Then there's the issue of whether one's eyes are truly seeing things as they really are. In my case, when I cut to the left, I need to aim one way, when I cut to the right, it's different. Probably due to an eye dominance question.

So, back to the issue here: which way do you recommend shooting the shot? True center ball, a touch below center, above center, touch of left or right??

Thanks,

Flex
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
... but, when you have a cut shot as thin as the one below, what is it your eyes should be focusing on? ..
Click to expand...
While you are learning the angles, you might consider using Babe Cranfield's "Arrow" to give yourself a visible spot to aim at. Babe considered it a very valuable learning tool, and he played pretty good. If you don't have his book, I can point you to an on-line version of the Arrow, and you can make one in about 3 minutes with just a piece of paper, a ruler and a pair of scissors.
 
Flex said:
Randy,

One thing is aiming, the other is the speed of the stroke, and where the cue ball is struck on the vertical axis, which I'm assuming (always a dangerous thing to do, I know). Then there's the issue of whether one's eyes are truly seeing things as they really are. In my case, when I cut to the left, I need to aim one way, when I cut to the right, it's different. Probably due to an eye dominance question.

So, back to the issue here: which way do you recommend shooting the shot? True center ball, a touch below center, above center, touch of left or right??

Thanks,

Flex
Click to expand...

One tip above center on the Vertical Center of the cueball.....SPF=randyg
 
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