Rick over my 35 years of pool, when i fail is say to myself, oh well i am not talented and have no feel to tip or cue and quit trying. But last i'd say 4 to 5 years i learned that these two things are in the mind, and will only slow your progress if you believe they exist. Naji, 'Feel' & Natural Talent DO exist. You are deluding yourself if you think otherwise. But...thinking that they do not exist might be what YOU NEED to allow yourself to continue to give it your best effort. But to say that they 'absolutely' do not exist here on AZB may not be a good thing for others to read. Pool cue manufacturers, as well as tips and shafts, wants you to believe in the feel concept so that they tell you, this cue, or that tip, has special feel so you continue to experiment, unfortunately, in the wrong area, where as a $1.00 tip would do just fine, provided you kept practicing the right thing, an believe you have talent as good or better than anyone else, just need to put the time into it. Naji, I developed a very good 'feel' when I was a teenager & never bought any special cue, etc. so if you are saying that THEY are saying that this or that can give you 'feel' then I agree with you BUT...since we are are all of different 'talent levels' concerning 'feel' the make up of one's equipment, type of cue, weight of cue, & type of tip can enhance or deter one from obtaining a sense of 'feel'.
Final word, sure there are talented people when it comes to being born with such as, good music ears, being tall , good voice, good brain (not really needed for pool), but other things such as math, physics..etc maybe couple more, but pool baseball, tennis, and golf, all it needs is time, the more time invested, the better you will be. Naji, I can agree that the more investment of time you spend with something the better one will get if the time is invested properly. But... some can spend all the time in the world & will NEVER reach the upper echelon of a given endeavor or sport & especially in the 3 that you have chosen as examples. There are literally millions of young boys that have put in the time & with the best instruction & coaching that while becoming very good in the game of baseball will NEVER even get to play baseball at the upper echelon of the sport. The same thing can be said for football, basketball, golf, tennis, etc. While the difference that separates them from the upper echelon of players might be very small it is significant enough of a difference to make a difference. The thing is that there are a limited number of spots at the top levels. If not, then sure, everyone that wants to play could play, but that is simply not the case. There are levels of separation & yes those levels can sometimes be crossed by some of those that put in the extra work. AND those are the individuals that we admire most because it was 'easy' for the more 'talented' individual. But to say that anyone can be a major league baseball player by simply putting in enough time & work is simply not true.
Ok some tips are harder than other, sounds and probably has a bit of different feel, so what if i miss the shot who cares about feel then! i played with many players that shoot with house cues, rarely beat them even with spot.... Naji, Like I said I developed some good 'feel' as a teenager with nothing but a house cue. Have you considered the fact that those guys are simply more talented & have a better 'feel'? Like I said before, If one's equipment fits them & their style of play then they can focus more on playing the game. Sometimes if the equipment is a bad fit, then even all the good focus can not overcome the bad fit.
In 1996 Mark Brooks was at the height of his golfing career winning 3 tournaments including winning the PGA, a Major Championship & then for monetary gain switched to another make of golf clubs & basically was never heard of again because his game dropped so low. He's not the only golf pro to make such a mistake.
