Slight difficulty keeping my tip position perfectly still at the cue ball

BlueRaider

Registered
Wanted to give an update on this and say that fixing it (which ultimately was too tight of a grip, which tended to show up mostly on long shots) has led to more consistency in my game than probably any other change I've ever made.

Basically, it required "easing into" changes where every time I practiced, I had to really focus on what a perfect grip felt like, and then have success potting long shots with that grip. It was definitely a one step forward, two steps back kind of thing, but I was making progress with every practice session.

I had to break the habit of wanting to grip tighter on long, tough shots, and instead allow that "secure cradle" to become second-nature while also knowing that it wasn't going to hurt my accuracy. Which, of course, took seeing and more importantly FEELING the correct grip pressure while hitting the cue ball pure.

I spent years trying to loosen my grip but I never committed to it because I would either loosen too much or think about my grip while shooting, which took me out of the shot.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Wanted to give an update on this and say that fixing it (which ultimately was too tight of a grip, which tended to show up mostly on long shots) has led to more consistency in my game than probably any other change I've ever made.

Basically, it required "easing into" changes where every time I practiced, I had to really focus on what a perfect grip felt like, and then have success potting long shots with that grip. It was definitely a one step forward, two steps back kind of thing, but I was making progress with every practice session.

I had to break the habit of wanting to grip tighter on long, tough shots, and instead allow that "secure cradle" to become second-nature while also knowing that it wasn't going to hurt my accuracy. Which, of course, took seeing and more importantly FEELING the correct grip pressure while hitting the cue ball pure.

I spent years trying to loosen my grip but I never committed to it because I would either loosen too much or think about my grip while shooting, which took me out of the shot.
thanks for the feedback.......(y)
not enough posters do that
glad you found a fix to your problem
 

Zerksies

Well-known member
I've had that problem and the best thing about this problem is you know that it exists. Hopefully now, you can pay attention to how your stoke moves. You need to figure out where the problem is coming from. Bridge, grip, elbow or shoulder.

For me it came from my elbow. I had to train myself to correct this. I had to slowdown my warmup strokes and make sure I was lining up correctly. And do a center axis drill

Center axis drill:

Line up a cue ball and object ball. From corner to corner choosing what diamonds to place the balls. Start pretty close and the further the balls are apart the harder it becomes. And the more accurate and consistent your stroke need to become. You need to pocket the OB and CB in the same pocket. You will probably need to do thousands of these. I got to a max of 47 in a row. My goal was to consistently get 14/15 or perfect then i would move to a further level.

On a positive note you will not only straighten out your stroke and make it more consistent, but you will properly learn how to hit the ball right.
 

BlueRaider

Registered
I've had that problem and the best thing about this problem is you know that it exists. Hopefully now, you can pay attention to how your stoke moves. You need to figure out where the problem is coming from. Bridge, grip, elbow or shoulder.

For me it came from my elbow. I had to train myself to correct this. I had to slowdown my warmup strokes and make sure I was lining up correctly. And do a center axis drill

Center axis drill:

Line up a cue ball and object ball. From corner to corner choosing what diamonds to place the balls. Start pretty close and the further the balls are apart the harder it becomes. And the more accurate and consistent your stroke need to become. You need to pocket the OB and CB in the same pocket. You will probably need to do thousands of these. I got to a max of 47 in a row. My goal was to consistently get 14/15 or perfect then i would move to a further level.

On a positive note you will not only straighten out your stroke and make it more consistent, but you will properly learn how to hit the ball right.
This is huge. The "feel" aspect is completely different. I'm stroking the ball now. My stroke was okay before but now it's accurate and powerful. It's an entirely new sensation when my cue tip strikes the cue ball.
 
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