Question for Keith McCready

[Kerry]

Keith,
I read your posts from time to time. Recently you said the following about Buddy Hall:
"he tought me how to hesitate balls"

What in the world does this mean? I'm really curious. Is this a technique you can describe?

Eager to learn,
KerryM

 

[Keith McCready]

Kerry, this technique is hard to describe here. It's all about touches and "feels." I compare it to when a painter puts on an extra coat of paint or a golfer takes a couple more practice swings. With me, it is about fine-tuning the grips and "feels" for the shot in order to gage the cue-ball's speed. By lengthening my stroke, I am able to control the speed of the cue-ball with a lot more accuracy.

For instance, as you know, I play pretty fast. If I am one-stroking and two-stroking the cue-ball, I will add a third or fourth stroke in there so I can grip the butt a little longer and firm up my bridge hand before release. Ball speeds vary from shot to shot, as do the englishes, and when applying that Buddy Hall hesitation, first, the "feels" come into play and, second, the cue-ball responds to the longer stroke.