This sounds obvious, right? But I'm amazed at how often even strong players don't have this concept clear in their mind and how that translates into mistakes.
During this post I'm going to focus on the vertical axis, from draw to topspin. And to keep it simple let's say there are five levels of spin:
1) Draw. Full zippy backspin.
2) Punch draw. My own word for when the cue ball has just a small amount of backspin and dribbles slowly back a little bit.
3) Slide. Stop/stun type of hit, the cue ball is sliding at impact.
4) Punch follow. My own word for when the cue ball is turning forward but not fully rolling, a 'stun run through' type of hit.
5) Follow. Natural roll.
Due to friction on the table the most energy efficient way for the cue ball to move is to roll. This means that as time passes any trace of backspin wears off and it will develop into a naturally rolling ball. Even if you cue with maximum draw it will still turn into a roll shot given enough time, this is the 'drag draw'. Time across the felt equates to descending down these levels towards roll. It turns out that Time = Distance x Speed, so distance and soft speeds equate to a lot of time across the table which is why it is difficult to draw the ball when shooting from distance or at soft speeds.
So what are the common mistakes I see people make?
1. Cueing high unnecessarily. (Diagram 1). When shooting a medium speed follow shot from distance they cue way too high. Why? The table will develop the roll on the cue ball anyway, there is no reason to make the shot more difficult by shooting extremely high. Just cue half a tip above center and let the cue ball develop roll on it's own. A common mistake is to think that cueing very high gives it 'overspin', but in reality the highest you can strike the cue ball will just have it rolling naturally off the tip. Overspin can only be achieved when the cue ball strikes an object ball. Similarly 'force follow' is a weird term. Follow is just roll, so 'force follow' is just a fast roll. When I set up shots with follow for my students they'll ask me "How high are you hitting that?" and I respond "I consider the distance and speed, then I cue just high enough to ensure it is fully rolling when it reaches the object ball. Letting the table develop roll is very important as you add sidespin, because if you're cueing high you can't get as far to the side, so you are limiting your tools by habitually going to the top of the ball without need.
2. Not cueing high enough when they are close to the object ball. (Diagram 2). This is the opposite of the last example. Players shoot most follow shots softly or from a few feet away and get some help from the table to develop a full roll. Suddenly they need to shoot a follow shot from close distance with medium speed and they end up with a stun run through. Ironically they think because they didn't follow far enough they needed more speed, whereas that would actually make the cue ball follow less (it would pick up even less roll en route to the object ball). I say it this way: "If you want the cue ball to follow someone has to make it roll, you or the table. If you're shooting far/soft you can cue center, if you're shooting firm/close you better cue high because you're not getting any help!"
3. Shooting all stun shots half a tip low with firm speed. (Diagram 3). I've seen 650 players do this. In their mind a stun shot is a half tip low with firm speed. In reality a stun simply means that the cue ball is sliding at impact. The same way you can shoot stop shots with a variety of speeds and tip positions you can do the same with stun shots. The lower you start your tip the softer you can cue and still retain a sliding ball. The soft stun shot is one of the most important tools in pool and is surprisingly underdeveloped by almost all players. Often I see people shoot stun shots too hard to keep their slide and overrun their position. Cue low and learn how to make the cue ball crawl, not race, down the tangent line.
This may all seem obvious but it can't be because I work with players between 550-650 week after week and they all struggle in one or more of these areas. What prompted this post is this thread: https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/object-ball-throw.536131/ Let me ask you a question: What is the difference between #2 (medium hit rolling cue ball) and #3 (medium hit cue ball with high spin)? High spin is just roll, so if the speed is the same then they are the same shot. Where your tip strikes the cue ball doesn't matter, the only question is what is the speed and is the cue ball fully rolling at contact.
In summary, just be aware that there is a difference between where your tip strikes the cue ball and what the cue ball is doing at CB/OB impact. Having a better model of how the balls work is critical to mastering this game.
During this post I'm going to focus on the vertical axis, from draw to topspin. And to keep it simple let's say there are five levels of spin:
1) Draw. Full zippy backspin.
2) Punch draw. My own word for when the cue ball has just a small amount of backspin and dribbles slowly back a little bit.
3) Slide. Stop/stun type of hit, the cue ball is sliding at impact.
4) Punch follow. My own word for when the cue ball is turning forward but not fully rolling, a 'stun run through' type of hit.
5) Follow. Natural roll.
Due to friction on the table the most energy efficient way for the cue ball to move is to roll. This means that as time passes any trace of backspin wears off and it will develop into a naturally rolling ball. Even if you cue with maximum draw it will still turn into a roll shot given enough time, this is the 'drag draw'. Time across the felt equates to descending down these levels towards roll. It turns out that Time = Distance x Speed, so distance and soft speeds equate to a lot of time across the table which is why it is difficult to draw the ball when shooting from distance or at soft speeds.
So what are the common mistakes I see people make?
1. Cueing high unnecessarily. (Diagram 1). When shooting a medium speed follow shot from distance they cue way too high. Why? The table will develop the roll on the cue ball anyway, there is no reason to make the shot more difficult by shooting extremely high. Just cue half a tip above center and let the cue ball develop roll on it's own. A common mistake is to think that cueing very high gives it 'overspin', but in reality the highest you can strike the cue ball will just have it rolling naturally off the tip. Overspin can only be achieved when the cue ball strikes an object ball. Similarly 'force follow' is a weird term. Follow is just roll, so 'force follow' is just a fast roll. When I set up shots with follow for my students they'll ask me "How high are you hitting that?" and I respond "I consider the distance and speed, then I cue just high enough to ensure it is fully rolling when it reaches the object ball. Letting the table develop roll is very important as you add sidespin, because if you're cueing high you can't get as far to the side, so you are limiting your tools by habitually going to the top of the ball without need.
2. Not cueing high enough when they are close to the object ball. (Diagram 2). This is the opposite of the last example. Players shoot most follow shots softly or from a few feet away and get some help from the table to develop a full roll. Suddenly they need to shoot a follow shot from close distance with medium speed and they end up with a stun run through. Ironically they think because they didn't follow far enough they needed more speed, whereas that would actually make the cue ball follow less (it would pick up even less roll en route to the object ball). I say it this way: "If you want the cue ball to follow someone has to make it roll, you or the table. If you're shooting far/soft you can cue center, if you're shooting firm/close you better cue high because you're not getting any help!"
3. Shooting all stun shots half a tip low with firm speed. (Diagram 3). I've seen 650 players do this. In their mind a stun shot is a half tip low with firm speed. In reality a stun simply means that the cue ball is sliding at impact. The same way you can shoot stop shots with a variety of speeds and tip positions you can do the same with stun shots. The lower you start your tip the softer you can cue and still retain a sliding ball. The soft stun shot is one of the most important tools in pool and is surprisingly underdeveloped by almost all players. Often I see people shoot stun shots too hard to keep their slide and overrun their position. Cue low and learn how to make the cue ball crawl, not race, down the tangent line.
This may all seem obvious but it can't be because I work with players between 550-650 week after week and they all struggle in one or more of these areas. What prompted this post is this thread: https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/object-ball-throw.536131/ Let me ask you a question: What is the difference between #2 (medium hit rolling cue ball) and #3 (medium hit cue ball with high spin)? High spin is just roll, so if the speed is the same then they are the same shot. Where your tip strikes the cue ball doesn't matter, the only question is what is the speed and is the cue ball fully rolling at contact.
In summary, just be aware that there is a difference between where your tip strikes the cue ball and what the cue ball is doing at CB/OB impact. Having a better model of how the balls work is critical to mastering this game.