Can anyone offer any drills that can improve speed control, or does that not exist due to enviromental conditions of the table and it's surrondings?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Speed Control
- Thread starter tigerallenyim
- Start date
There is a whole chapter of speed control drills in Glenn Bonds video/book combo. I think it's called "bowtie, zig-zag, and other drills", or something close to that. Those speed drills have helped my 1-hole game immensely. Heres a couple of them-
1 - Line up 8-10 balls on the head string. Shoot the first ball as softly as possible toward the bottom rail (should move less than an inch). Shoot the next ball just past the first, and the third just past the second, and so on. The goal is to have the last ball not reach the bottom rail. As a variation, set up the same thing, only the first ball should just hit the bottom rail, and the next should bounce off the bottom rail just past the first, and so on, with the last ball being like a lag shot. Variation #2 is doing the same drills but using the cue ball and taking BIH for each shot.
2- Place the cue ball in the jaws of the side pocket. Try to make the cue ball cross side using as many hits as possible. For a variation, place an object ball in front of the cue ball a few inches away, and try to make the object ball cross side with as many strikes as possible.
These may seem like easy drills at first, but they are harder than they appear, and will give you a good idea of where your speed control really is.
1 - Line up 8-10 balls on the head string. Shoot the first ball as softly as possible toward the bottom rail (should move less than an inch). Shoot the next ball just past the first, and the third just past the second, and so on. The goal is to have the last ball not reach the bottom rail. As a variation, set up the same thing, only the first ball should just hit the bottom rail, and the next should bounce off the bottom rail just past the first, and so on, with the last ball being like a lag shot. Variation #2 is doing the same drills but using the cue ball and taking BIH for each shot.
2- Place the cue ball in the jaws of the side pocket. Try to make the cue ball cross side using as many hits as possible. For a variation, place an object ball in front of the cue ball a few inches away, and try to make the object ball cross side with as many strikes as possible.
These may seem like easy drills at first, but they are harder than they appear, and will give you a good idea of where your speed control really is.
Last edited:
desert1pocket said:
Thanks, I will try this out and check out the vid/book. And yeah.... I don't take anything things like this for granted!
Cue ball speed control is my biggest problem. Getting the cue ball to stop within say a 4 inch diameter circle after making a ball and rolling two to three diamonds or more. One diamond away from object ball contact I can usually do pretty good. Two diamonds, OK. Three or more diamonds of roll and the circle that I can count on starts getting bigger.
Any hints on what someone does to help this would be much appreciated. The one hole drills mentioned here are good but I don't play one hole. I don't have the patients for it.
Any hints on what someone does to help this would be much appreciated. The one hole drills mentioned here are good but I don't play one hole. I don't have the patients for it.
One I came up with is to use a piece of paper or cloth about 4" square. Break a rack of 9 ball. Then take ball in hand. Mark the position of the cueball and object ball before the first shot with some chalk or stickers. Put the square exactly where you want to get position. Try to get the cueball to land on or at least touch the square. Repeat until you succeed. Then repeat for the next ball.
Some shots are very easy. Others can take 10 or 20 shots to land on the cloth. After doing this drill you will definitely notice an improvement in your cueball control. This drill can get very frustrating. I recommend to only do it for about 30 minutes at a time.
Some shots are very easy. Others can take 10 or 20 shots to land on the cloth. After doing this drill you will definitely notice an improvement in your cueball control. This drill can get very frustrating. I recommend to only do it for about 30 minutes at a time.
Do you mean on stop shots, of where the cue ball lies after impact? Stop shots I normally don't have problems with. It's speed control in general after impact of an object ball, a cushion, and both.CaptainJR said:
Break a full rack, then shoot each ball so it rolls up to the pocket but does *not* drop into the pocket. Leave each object ball sitting right in front of the pocket.
This teaches you the first "ingreedient" of speed control - hitting a ball full on requires very little speed to get the object ball to the pocket, hitting a ball with a thin cut requires a lot of speed. (And all the in-between.)
Practice this every day. Then with this information stored upstairs... You will be able to shoot certain shots quite slowly - just enough speed to pocket the ball and have a minimum of cue ball travel after the shot. Very handy in certain situations. You will also understand that the cue ball will travel quite a distance after a thin cut and will tend to die with a full on shot.
Also shoot *just* the cue ball 1/2 diamond and stop (quite difficult, try shooting high on the ball). Then 1 diamond and stop. Then 2, 3, 4, 5 diamonds and stop, etc. Then to far rail and stop. Then far rail and come back one diamond. Keep doing this up to 3 rails. This will teach you to shoot the cue ball at different speeds.
Practice daily for 6 months.
This teaches you the first "ingreedient" of speed control - hitting a ball full on requires very little speed to get the object ball to the pocket, hitting a ball with a thin cut requires a lot of speed. (And all the in-between.)
Practice this every day. Then with this information stored upstairs... You will be able to shoot certain shots quite slowly - just enough speed to pocket the ball and have a minimum of cue ball travel after the shot. Very handy in certain situations. You will also understand that the cue ball will travel quite a distance after a thin cut and will tend to die with a full on shot.
Also shoot *just* the cue ball 1/2 diamond and stop (quite difficult, try shooting high on the ball). Then 1 diamond and stop. Then 2, 3, 4, 5 diamonds and stop, etc. Then to far rail and stop. Then far rail and come back one diamond. Keep doing this up to 3 rails. This will teach you to shoot the cue ball at different speeds.
Practice daily for 6 months.
The first thing I do in all my daily practice sessions is to put the cueball in the center of the table and try to bank it three rails to the exact spot for about ten to fifteen attempts.
Then, incorporating a technique that I got from Williebetmore's post on straight pool drills (thanks Willie), I place the cue ball on the foot spot and lag directly at the center diamond on the head rail to come back down to the bottom rail. This has the added benefit of improving your ability to hit the cueball on the exact vertical axis, since you will also be trying to ensure that the cue ball banks straight back without any deviation due to unintended english.
After about five minutes of that, I then increase the speed to bank two rails up to the head rail, once again making sure that I don't place unintended english on the cue ball.
These three drills have not only brought about significant improvement in my speed control, but also in the quality and accuracy of my stroke.
Then, incorporating a technique that I got from Williebetmore's post on straight pool drills (thanks Willie), I place the cue ball on the foot spot and lag directly at the center diamond on the head rail to come back down to the bottom rail. This has the added benefit of improving your ability to hit the cueball on the exact vertical axis, since you will also be trying to ensure that the cue ball banks straight back without any deviation due to unintended english.
After about five minutes of that, I then increase the speed to bank two rails up to the head rail, once again making sure that I don't place unintended english on the cue ball.
These three drills have not only brought about significant improvement in my speed control, but also in the quality and accuracy of my stroke.
Last edited:
CaptainJR said:
Those aren't 1-pocket drills, they are just speed control drills that have helped my 1-pocket game. They are good for speed control in any game, especialy soft shots, and safeties.
VIProfessor said:
Actually your first tip brought the introduction of this thread. I was unsure where the cue ball was to be placed initially. Thanks.... that helps a lot.
The third tip i have not worked too much on.
You are correct that it would increase accuracy of a person's stroke. But I work on a different drill for that particular aspect.
Billy_Bob said:
im going to try this out. That first drill will look like im trying to practice my hustle LOL j/k
i have been looking for some drills to practice defense in 9ball, but it is pretty much impossible to create scenarios because there are way too many.......these drills are perfect!!!!!!
tigerallenyim said:
The "L" drill is very good. Watch this video to see Andy Lincoln executing it very well. He's shooting the balls in a specific order for a contest, but start by shooting them in location order (start at one end of the string of balls and work your way to the other). Try to go one rail on each shot, each time getting a good angle to go one rail to the next one. Getting a good angle for natural one-rail position several shots in a row is quite a feat of speed control. Finishing all 15 balls without missing shape shows mastery of the cue ball. You can really develop your touch with this one.
-Andrew
These are great posts!
Thanks!
Thanks!
CaptainJR said:
JR try this, just lengthen or shorten bridge distance with the same swing speed. The more you have coming 'through' the shot the more forward momentum/follow will be applied.
"Patients" (spelling) gave gave a good giggle, patience comes with age. I've got the age thing working but still, like yourself wish I had more patience, but if I had more patients
at the table I would have more good scores, all in fun, hope my idea helps out. My thinking of pro players nowadays having a much greater bridge distance than those of the last era, 9-ball needs more cue ball movement, straight pool is quite the opposite.
tigerallenyim said:
There are many more factors to speed control than feel and touch. Drills will help but there are other factors at work.
Here are some:
- You can improve your speed control on rail shots by improving your accuracy. The first thing I would suggest is playing all your cut shots precisely, and as much as you can to center pocket. This will give you a feel for the amount of cut you are taking on the OB, which affects the rebound speed.
- Make a smooth, unhurried forward stroke. Shoot firmly but never shoot harder than necessary.
- The mental image is very important in controlling speed. After I set up and aim, my very last thought before I contact the ball is about the force I'm using.
- On angled shots when a cue ball is rolling, it's easier to get the cue ball to bounce off a rail and stop than it is to just roll to a spot on the cloth. If the choice is to baby a shot or go an extra rail, I go an extra rail and imagine the ball bouncing off the rail to position.
- Spin affects speed. In some cases I find spin is easier to control than strength of stroke. For example, many times I will use a little english off a rail to back a ball up or roll forward instead of draw or follow.
- Play good angles. When I play shape, I try to come straight into the line I need. This gives you a lot of room for error. If you are crossing your line to get shape, speed control must be very precise - not a relaible thing to count on.
- I don't know your level but short draw and follow shots, like 1 foot and 2 foot, are well worth mastering and are entirely do-able. That takes care of most of the shots you will see. Then a couple of two rail positions.
- There are a couple of shots well worth practicing when it comes to speed control. I practice spot shots and try to bring the cue ball back to the headstring. Rail shots are well worth practicing. I like to practice rail cut shots on the full length of the table from various angles, bringing the cue ball back to the center of the table and to the further rail. This is like lagging, but the cut angle affects the speed.
- On soft shots, instead of thinking "hit it soft" , take the tip back only an inch or two on the back stroke and smoothly forward through the ball. It's amazing at how easy this is to do and what you can do with it. I use this on push outs and safeties a lot.
The more you play, the better your speed control, but if you do as I suggest, you will simplify things and not need to rely as much on speed control to obtain position.
Chris
Last edited:
tigerallenyim said:
I'm not sure if this will help you or not but it really helped my game. I put the cueball on the rail (half over the nose) and let it drop to see how far it rolls. I do this at several points around the table to get an idea of table speed (and any roll off in the table).
What I really watch for is how quickly the ball stops in the last 12". Once I've got that in my head, I try to visualize my shots stopping the same way. I'm not sure I can explain it any better than that but doing this has really helped me adjust to different tables. I find now that the slow ones are harder for me to adjust to than fast tables.
Alex
One more tip--visualization. Before you get down into the shot, visualize, the ENTIRE shot in your head, including the path and the resting place of the cue ball. This makes it a lot easier to execute. If you've put in the hours on the table, your body knows subconsciously just how much force to apply in the stroke. By visualizing the shot, you give your body and your mental computer the information as to the desired results without overthinking and placing your conscious mind in the way. If you can develop strong visualization skills, you will soon find yourself accomplishing feats of speed and cue ball route control that you would not have dreamed possible before.
Good luck, and try without trying!
VIProfessor
Good luck, and try without trying!
VIProfessor
Another simple but good suggestion is to simply watch other players. Many times when you see good players control of the cue ball, it could expand your own viewpoint for what is possible. Gives you a target to strive for and an image to put in your head. Then you can try and execute it as best as you can. Close the gap between what they can do, and what you can do.
Also, it can be interesting to watch beginners or even players slightly lower than you. See their common mistakes, how badly they execute, and how little attention to detail. After that little chuckle about how embarrassing it must be for them to play that way, then comes the tough part. Get an honest assessment of how close your game is to theirs. With those other players, they can have the excuse that they are just recreational players. If you're not a recreational player, and you have some dedication to the game, then what's missing to take your game to the next level?
Positive reinforcement is always preferred. Sometimes when that doesn't work, seeing the negative side can quickly provide the motivation to improve.
For most, it'll take some work and effort to improve, but if you think of how much time you'll spend playing the game over your lifetime, why not improve? You'll feel better looking back and seeing all the improvement that you've made, all the hurdles that you've overcome, and even the war stories that you've had along the way. Pool can be a lifetime challenge, but the rewards are in the journey!
Also, it can be interesting to watch beginners or even players slightly lower than you. See their common mistakes, how badly they execute, and how little attention to detail. After that little chuckle about how embarrassing it must be for them to play that way, then comes the tough part. Get an honest assessment of how close your game is to theirs. With those other players, they can have the excuse that they are just recreational players. If you're not a recreational player, and you have some dedication to the game, then what's missing to take your game to the next level?
Positive reinforcement is always preferred. Sometimes when that doesn't work, seeing the negative side can quickly provide the motivation to improve.
For most, it'll take some work and effort to improve, but if you think of how much time you'll spend playing the game over your lifetime, why not improve? You'll feel better looking back and seeing all the improvement that you've made, all the hurdles that you've overcome, and even the war stories that you've had along the way. Pool can be a lifetime challenge, but the rewards are in the journey!
VIProfessor said:
Plus, if you do mess up after visualizing the shot, you are learning from your mistake, because your mind is absorbing a result different than anticipated. This hones your skills. Shooting shots with vague expectations teach you nothing.
Chris
S
sonia
Guest
Vizualizing Shots
TATE said: