Speed control is one of those "feel" things that must be learned through trial-and-error experience, but there are ways to speed up the learning process. An important one (for learning many "feel" things, not just speed control) is to choose specific targets and consciously compare your results with them. To reinforce the lesson you might even "coach" yourself (silently or aloud) about what to do differently.
pj
chgo
I would play the 4 railer, but I'm a maniac!
You'd love my plan B then Robin, for when I'm really in the mood to bash'em good!Nice one Colin.
There is nothing to what he said. A player who has mastered his speed control is not forcing anything. He is just comfortable enough with the shot that he knows he can land the cue ball up close. A weaker player such as Patrick Johnson does not have confidence in his speed control so he would leave himself a long shot because he is too scared of over rolling position.
The key to speed control is playing proper angles and understanding positional zones that allows for reducing the margins of errors and using the rails properly. When you master these aspects of the game, you don't need to rely on cue ball speed control very much except for positions that requires rolling the ball or a little draw shot and those are so easy to do that it's a non issue..
I would play the 4 railer, but I'm a maniac!
There is nothing to what he said. A player who has mastered his speed control is not forcing anything. He is just comfortable enough with the shot that he knows he can land the cue ball up close. A weaker player such as Patrick Johnson does not have confidence in his speed control so he would leave himself a long shot because he is too scared of over rolling position.
Wow, you're really something: ask a question and then insult people who take the time to answer.
BTW, you're also wrong. Case in point -- Mika Immonen. He's certainly no slouch in moving the CB to get position. But watch his play closely and you'll see that he OFTEN chooses to leave a long shot when there's any question about getting position (I hadn't noticed it until Billy Incardona mentioned it while commentating an Immonen match...then it became quite apparent). But, maybe Immonen is just a "weaker player."
Better players play positional routes where speed is mostly a non-factor due to the direction of the cue ball and the use of rails as guides. Any position where you are relying on pinpoint speed control with suboptimal position if you are even slightly off is just asking for an unforced error.
This is not to say that good players don't have superb speed control, but that they almost never rely on it in situations where it is not absolutely necessary.
Better players play positional routes where speed is mostly a non-factor due to the direction of the cue ball and the use of rails as guides. Any position where you are relying on pinpoint speed control with suboptimal position if you are even slightly off is just asking for an unforced error.
This is not to say that good players don't have superb speed control, but that they almost never rely on it in situations where it is not absolutely necessary.