The switch from "aiming" to "feeling" on longer shots.

IA8baller

IA8baller

Family man.
Silver Member
I'd like to know if it's common for most players to play longer shots more with "feel" than "aim".

I find myself losing the "aim" and going more with "feel" on shots longer than 3/4 table (cue to object ball length). Shots at/about 3/4 table length or less I can see and aim with a certain amount of confidence but at some point near that 3/4 table length or longer it seems I switch to more of a "feel". And for clarification I'm talking about 7' barboxes.

In AZ'ers infinite wisdom I'd like to know if this is a common occurance for other players as well and if not what I should do to remedy it.

I'm guessing that a lot more practice on longer table shots is the answer but I'd like some honest feedback from the AZ community.

Thanks.

Trevor
 
Every shot I tend to go by feel, if I start to aim then I typically second guess myself and start to miss. Are you new to the game? How long you been playing for?
 
IA8baller said:
I'd like to know if it's common for most players to play longer shots more with "feel" than "aim".

I find myself losing the "aim" and going more with "feel" on shots longer than 3/4 table (cue to object ball length). Shots at/about 3/4 table length or less I can see and aim with a certain amount of confidence but at some point near that 3/4 table length or longer it seems I switch to more of a "feel". And for clarification I'm talking about 7' barboxes.

In AZ'ers infinite wisdom I'd like to know if this is a common occurance for other players as well and if not what I should do to remedy it.

I'm guessing that a lot more practice on longer table shots is the answer but I'd like some honest feedback from the AZ community.

Thanks.

Trevor
Click to expand...

Trevor:

Excellent question, and one that a lot of players gloss over.

I think it's an issue with fundamentals. Long distance shots like the ones you describe magnify any discrepancies in your fundamentals. Many players, having not had success with truly "aiming" at these long-distance shots, will just turn their computer off and go by feel, stroking the shot with authority. But the issue with a firm stroke, is that it "greases over" any hitches, hooks, or other anomalies in the stroke. You're essentially turning-up the volume on the car radio to hide engine noises.

I like to practice these shots at slow speed, which is more difficult to do. And, the slow speed allows you to see what you're doing wrong -- any inconsistencies in your stroke will be shown the light of day.

When practicing these long-distance shots, aim at them as if you really mean it, and then carefully take note what happens. If it was a straight-in shot, did you continually cut the ball to the left side? Or to the right side? If so, it could either be a head/eye positioning problem (i.e. parallax error), or, something wrong with your final cue delivery.

The excellent book "Answer to a Pool Player's Prayers" (by Richard Kranicki) deals specifically with the head/eye alignment problem. And, if you've been on these boards for any length of time, you no doubt know about Gene Albrecht's follow-on product that he calls "perfect aim" (fyi, he's giving free phone lessons for the time being, so you may want to take advantage of this).

As to the cue delivery problem, you might be interested in the LaserStroke product. (The embedded video on that site shows what the product is, and how it works.)

And finally, the very best recommendation of all, is to seek out a qualified instructor, like Randy Goettlicher, Scott Lee, Steve Jennings, Fran Crimi, et al. These instructors will use film equipment to show you what you're doing wrong (and precisely where). You can get a feel for what they're capable of, if you post a video of yourself to the "Ask the Instructor" forum. But money spent on personal lessons, for improvements that will last, is money well spent, for sure!

Hope this helps,
-Sean
 
I'm sure everyone here has a different perspective on what they see when they go to a pool table and what feel means to them.

I don;t think I could be accurate without always looking at the contact point and judging how to hit it with the cue ball. I believe the more refined you can make your sight picture the better you'll be.

I usually play on 9' Brunswick tables and sometimes 8'.
 
long shots

I get the felling when you say you "Aim by feel on long shots", you're really saying that you are making an educated guess based on experience.

If that's the case, then you need to incorporate more advanced aiming/sighting strategies to establish a level of precision in the aiming process for longer shots.

If your reference to "aiming by feel" means that you have an established approach but can't desribe the details because they have been engrained by reptition, then given the fact that you're obviously not pocketing those shots with consistency, you also need to establish a more advanced aiming/sighting strategy.
 
randallt6 said:
Every shot I tend to go by feel, if I start to aim then I typically second guess myself and start to miss. Are you new to the game? How long you been playing for?
Click to expand...

No, not new. Been playing for over 20 years. But I should add this.......when I'm playing a quicker pace at the table I guess I'm playing just as many if not more shots by feel, the more routine shots anyway, but when it comes to tougher shots I tend to slow way down and go more with aim. Does that make sense?

I've had many, many times when I can run more than a few racks in a row mainly by feel (deadstroke?) but in more serious competition I slow my game pace down and feel more comfortable with aiming especially due to trying to control the cue ball more precisely when applying any english.

Looking forward to more responses. Thanks.

Trevor
 
Make sure your head is the same distance above your shaft on the long shots as the shorter shots. you need to have the same sight picture.
 
I aim everything. The longer the shot, the more important the fundamentals. Be sure you line up perfectly and shoot with a straight stroke.
 
I spend more time finding the right eclipse view on longer shots and sight until I see the right shot picture that I remember seeing when the shot went in before.

Phil Capelle talks about shot pictures and it has made all the difference for me.
 
mohrt said:
I aim everything. The longer the shot, the more important the fundamentals. Be sure you line up perfectly and shoot with a straight stroke.
Click to expand...

Agree. This is where I have dramatically improved my long cut shots -- using the principles of the pivot as you describe in your blog. Works great for me.
 
I get where you are coming from. I typically play on 9' tables, and once the ball is a certain distance away I have a hard time really "seeing" the correct aim. Since using CTE/Pro1 it's helped, but then again I have a harder time confidently even seeing the lines from ball to ball as the distance increases, especially since at that distance even small variations in accuracy will cause a missed shot.

I think that's where we will sometimes rely on our mental shot picture based on hitting 1000's of similar shots. I've been getting better at taking a few extra moments to really pick up my aiming lines, even if I have to bend down like Steve Moore to really focus in on the shot. The educated guessing is great but will only get you so far on most normal days. Other suggestions about shooting slowly to identify any repetitive problems and paying attention to alignment and sight pictures are right on point as well.

Scott
 
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