Stroke practice with empty bottle.
- Thread starter MRP2k12
- Start date
You will also want to pretend that the hole in the bottle is the QB.
Line up the hole as though lining up a shot. Come down from a standing position with your cue tip pointing exactly in the center of the hole.
If your pre shot routine is off it will show up here.
John
Line up the hole as though lining up a shot. Come down from a standing position with your cue tip pointing exactly in the center of the hole.
If your pre shot routine is off it will show up here.
John
You didn't say you actually have a table at home but assuming you do, I find just using the CB is good practice. Simply place the CB on the head spot and hit it to the middle diamond on the foot rail (over the foot spot). Any unintended side spin will show up immediately. I like the instant feedback.
It's a good basic drill, but in actual play you'll have to deliver the tip more accurately and to a variety of heights.
Once you're on a pool table I really like the golf tee drill for helping straighten out your stroke.
Once you're on a pool table I really like the golf tee drill for helping straighten out your stroke.
The 'bottle drill' reinforces poor stroke habits, imo. You can't practice a pendulum swing using a bottle...it has to be a piston stroke (which may or may not be delivered in a straight line accurately). Since there is no proven advantage to the piston stroke, and it's a more complex movement (and therefore prone to more likely errors), I'm more in favor of the pendulum. KISS! You can fine tune and hone an accurate & repeatable pendulum stroke without a bottle. To get the greatest benefit you will need to use a pool table though! 
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
I think a blow up doll would be better and a hell of a lot less painful!!!!!:smile:
Regardless of the pending debate on stroke styles that this thread will develop, the big problem with this kind of drill is that it doesn't diagnose the problem.
You have a crooked stroke for one primary reason: something between the bridge, head, shoulder, elbow, and stroking hand is not lined up correctly. The sooner you can isolate that problem, the sooner you'll naturally develop a better stroke. The bottle drill or similiar isolation training aid may help you learn what it feels to have a good stroke, but it isn't going to do much to create a great stroke. Until your alignment gets fixed you'll always run into inconsistencies.
The best tonic for a bad stroke is a video camera. Even the one on your cell phone will open your eyes to what is really going on back there.
While expensive, this is a fantastic tool for when you can't get to the table or when you want to 'stay in stroke'. Just like the bottle type drills it doesn't fix the root alignment issues but it will help jiggle those small parts into place once the big parts all get lined up correctly. And, unlike the bottle type drills, it's style independent. Great for curing grip and wrist problems that may be steering the stroke slightly off course. Most importantly, you get to feel a perfectly straight stroke from full extension to full follow through.
You have a crooked stroke for one primary reason: something between the bridge, head, shoulder, elbow, and stroking hand is not lined up correctly. The sooner you can isolate that problem, the sooner you'll naturally develop a better stroke. The bottle drill or similiar isolation training aid may help you learn what it feels to have a good stroke, but it isn't going to do much to create a great stroke. Until your alignment gets fixed you'll always run into inconsistencies.
The best tonic for a bad stroke is a video camera. Even the one on your cell phone will open your eyes to what is really going on back there.
While expensive, this is a fantastic tool for when you can't get to the table or when you want to 'stay in stroke'. Just like the bottle type drills it doesn't fix the root alignment issues but it will help jiggle those small parts into place once the big parts all get lined up correctly. And, unlike the bottle type drills, it's style independent. Great for curing grip and wrist problems that may be steering the stroke slightly off course. Most importantly, you get to feel a perfectly straight stroke from full extension to full follow through.
What does pretending that the hole in the bottle is the quarterback do for your stroke?
This is an excellent drill to straighten your stroke. Mike Sigel did it many times. Steve Mizerak wrote a book a while back in which he recommended this drill. If you stroke without touching the bottle, it's proof that you're stroking straight and will carry over to your game. If you stroke is crooked, you'll touch the bottle. If you get good at it, you can stroke really fast without touching the bottle.
But think how much better those players could have been if they were using a proper pendulumn stroke!
What?
I'm just SAYin!
Short Bus Russ
(P.S. I have recently have had a fairly big jump in my game when I went back to the bottle drill. Take this for what it's worth, considering how bad I play..)
Buddy Hall cue guide
Ebay has the Buddy Hall cue guides for sale for less than $15.00. They are a 3/4" plastic tube with removable ends that adjust the angle of the opening. They work better than a bottle because you can vary the angle for the cue tip entry. I bought several and they do make a great gift. Buddys name is on them but a fellow named Rodrigueze markets them and he is easy to deal with. Check them out.
Ebay has the Buddy Hall cue guides for sale for less than $15.00. They are a 3/4" plastic tube with removable ends that adjust the angle of the opening. They work better than a bottle because you can vary the angle for the cue tip entry. I bought several and they do make a great gift. Buddys name is on them but a fellow named Rodrigueze markets them and he is easy to deal with. Check them out.
Its outstanding i was really able to define my stroke with it, i dont regret buying it.