Trouble drawing the ball?

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions I'm going to try and weave some of them into my practice tomorrow and maybe try and devote more time to other areas of practice as I may have been putting the carriage before the horse in some ways.

If anyone has any beginner drills they would like to recommend I right now I tend to practice something around this routine

-First I try to just shoot end to end and bring the cue ball back to my cue a few times to get a good feel that I'm aligned
-I shoot 30-40 balls just into the pockets trying to feel that balanced and straight etc. as tor lowry recommends in his videos
-Next I practice cut shots from different distances progressing further with each successful shot
-Then I start practicing stop/follow/draw
-next I try to practice "the wagon wheel" to control where my cueball might land but its pretty much not doable with my skill level it feels
- then I try lining up 4 balls between the shot line and the short rail and attempt to control where I'm going to land, try and run out all the balls

at that point I go back and spend the rest of my time practicing what I bombed if anyone has any suggestions on exercises to add to this I'd love to hear.
 
Bryce1552 said:
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions I'm going to try and weave some of them into my practice tomorrow and maybe try and devote more time to other areas of practice as I may have been putting the carriage before the horse in some ways.

If anyone has any beginner drills they would like to recommend I right now I tend to practice something around this routine

-First I try to just shoot end to end and bring the cue ball back to my cue a few times to get a good feel that I'm aligned
-I shoot 30-40 balls just into the pockets trying to feel that balanced and straight etc. as tor lowry recommends in his videos
-Next I practice cut shots from different distances progressing further with each successful shot
-Then I start practicing stop/follow/draw
-next I try to practice "the wagon wheel" to control where my cueball might land but its pretty much not doable with my skill level it feels
- then I try lining up 4 balls between the shot line and the short rail and attempt to control where I'm going to land, try and run out all the balls

at that point I go back and spend the rest of my time practicing what I bombed if anyone has any suggestions on exercises to add to this I'd love to hear.
Click to expand...
Take it easy...don’t burn yourself out! Keep the fun in your game.
 
Bryce1552 said:
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions I'm going to try and weave some of them into my practice tomorrow and maybe try and devote more time to other areas of practice as I may have been putting the carriage before the horse in some ways.

If anyone has any beginner drills they would like to recommend I right now I tend to practice something around this routine

-First I try to just shoot end to end and bring the cue ball back to my cue a few times to get a good feel that I'm aligned
-I shoot 30-40 balls just into the pockets trying to feel that balanced and straight etc. as tor lowry recommends in his videos
-Next I practice cut shots from different distances progressing further with each successful shot
-Then I start practicing stop/follow/draw
-next I try to practice "the wagon wheel" to control where my cueball might land but its pretty much not doable with my skill level it feels
- then I try lining up 4 balls between the shot line and the short rail and attempt to control where I'm going to land, try and run out all the balls

at that point I go back and spend the rest of my time practicing what I bombed if anyone has any suggestions on exercises to add to this I'd love to hear.
Click to expand...

That's very good you have a structure to your practice time. Time is valuable.
If you want to know what the European practice regiment is based on, use these work books, the structure and drills are designed to take you one step at a time to a higher level.

https://www.bebobpublishing.com/searchresults.asp?Search=Ipat&Submit=Submit

Like others have said, no use practicing shots before you learn the technique....
The beginner workbook might take you a month or a year to master, but at least you'll know your practice time is not wasted and you are working to a new level.

https://www.bebobpublishing.com/product-p/pws.htm

https://www.bebobpublishing.com/product-p/pw1.htm
 
I will fix your draw in a minute, over the phone, free of cost. It will be easy since you are a newer player. Send me a PM.
 
Bryce1552 said:
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions I'm going to try and weave some of them into my practice tomorrow and maybe try and devote more time to other areas of practice as I may have been putting the carriage before the horse in some ways.

If anyone has any beginner drills they would like to recommend I right now I tend to practice something around this routine

-First I try to just shoot end to end and bring the cue ball back to my cue a few times to get a good feel that I'm aligned
-I shoot 30-40 balls just into the pockets trying to feel that balanced and straight etc. as tor lowry recommends in his videos
-Next I practice cut shots from different distances progressing further with each successful shot
-Then I start practicing stop/follow/draw
-next I try to practice "the wagon wheel" to control where my cueball might land but its pretty much not doable with my skill level it feels
- then I try lining up 4 balls between the shot line and the short rail and attempt to control where I'm going to land, try and run out all the balls

at that point I go back and spend the rest of my time practicing what I bombed if anyone has any suggestions on exercises to add to this I'd love to hear.
Click to expand...


Tor’s method of shooting balls into pockets will help build follow-through muscle memory. It helped me a ton. I logged progress until I’ve done 1000.

Everyone in here is telling you good advice. Nothing has been contradictory. Here’s a visualization tip that really helped me. Aim your follow-through beyond the cueball toward the base of the object ball. As you do that, try to get our tip to touch the table as you go through. You need to commit all the way through on a draw shot. Apprehension kills commitment and kills follow-through and kills cueball action.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Loose grip
Smooth medium stroke (allows tip to stay on cue ball longer)
Keep cue tip low
Focus on contact point
Keep elbow up on follow through
And pay attention when using a striped ball or dotted balls spin when drawing it back. If it’s spinning sideways and still drawing your not completely cueing through the ball straight. Nice vertical spins straight back is what you want. Hope this helps.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 
Everything's already been said here, including getting some lessons, so I won't try to add anything new.

What I will say is try to keep things simple when actually shooting the ball.

I have a kind of 'mantra' I try to use when shooting draw (other shots as well, but we don't have to go into all that), which goes something like this:

Dip One Tip: Aim at least one cue tip diameter below the horizon of the cue ball

Flat Stick: Don't jack up the butt of my cue,high angle doesn't help me draw

Tight doesn't make Right: Loose grip and loose wrist

Touch the Carpet after Contact: Follow-through; imagine the cue ball is one inch farther away and stroke through until the tip touches felt.

Last thing: Don't poke the ball! stroke through it.
 
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On thing that has really helped many folks I've worked with is: video. You can record a few shots and see if you are contacting the cue ball where you think you are. It can be very enlightening. [At my house, I have a TV in the pool room. I can live stream from my iPhone to my AppleTV and see exactly where I am contacting the cue ball. ]

-td
 
td873 said:
I have a TV in the pool room. I can live stream from my iPhone to my AppleTV and see exactly where I am contacting the cue ball.
Click to expand...
Being able to watch yourself live from different angles has to be the quickest way to improve your stance/stroke.

pj
chgo
 
EXACTLY RIGHT, JC!

Can't believe all the responses on how to help you "fix your draw", or where to hit the CB, when you - SERIOUSLY - should not even be attempting to draw it.

Draw is a stroke, not just a point on the CB.

Just practice potting balls. Really.

-von

JC said:
If you've only been playing for two weeks drawing the cue ball should not even be on your radar.


Get instruction from a reliable fundamentals coach before you worry about anything that's not dead center of the cue ball.

JC
Click to expand...
 
Do you really expect a player in two weeks of their pool
playing to stick to center ball and perfect fundamentals?

If you wanted to be the best player in the world and
you were at least college level talented in another sport.
You may understand the process and discipline it would
take to get close.

Most people start by playing for fun with friends or family.
Then play a league or gamble cheap for fun and social interaction.

After that, they decide hey, maybe I could get better at this. Buy a book or two. Watch a few videos. Maybe take
a lesson. Practice drills.

Guy wants to draw the ball, I say if you like what happens
when you draw the ball or want to play 4 rail position by hammering the cueball with a bunch of spin for fun.
Hammer away.
The game must first be fun above all.
Practice and getting better is a struggle. The better
you get, the smaller your gains become.
I personally enjoy the struggle.
I also enjoy juicing the cueball for no other
reason then I like to make it dance.
To each their own I guess.
 
.



On a draw shot just move your bridge hand back a few more inches.

Start out with baby steps. Cueball just a foot away then go a little farther once you bet the hang of it.


Try a Meucci....oh yeah----your bridge hand is too high. You need to make a low bridge.




.
 
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Just on Monday of this week I worked with a gal after leagues on her draw stroke. I've got to tell you that I left that night rather baffled.

I gave her all of the instructions that are in all of the links and videos and set up ball after ball for her.

She didn't know how to keep chalk on her tip for one. I had to rough up her tip a bit and show her how to paint the chalk on the tip until it was completely covered.

One of her biggest problems was the fact that she literally couldn't hit the cue ball firm if her life depended on it. What she considered hitting the ball hard, to me was as the very best, a medium hit.

The other big thing was that the cue tip was rising during her follow through. No matter how many times I told her not to drop her elbow, the tip just kept rising when her tip got near the cue ball.

Eventually, she was able to draw the cue ball about 1 to 2 feet about every 5 or 6 attempts. For the other attempts, the cue ball either stopped, or even moved forward a bit.

I literally showed her how easily that I could draw the ball without hitting it hard, jacked-up, with a punch stroke, with a long smooth stroke -- so I think a big part of it is that some people just can't FEEL the hit that they are making.

I'll try again with her next week I guess. It's way more challenging teaching someone something like this than I thought!
 
Get_A_Grip said:
...she literally couldn't hit the cue ball firm if her life depended on it.
Click to expand...
She should be starting out with low speed, short distance draw shots anyway. It'll teach her that draw isn't about power.

she was able to draw the cue ball about 1 to 2 feet about every 5 or 6 attempts. For the other attempts, the cue ball either stopped, or even moved forward a bit.
Click to expand...
Try using a striped ball to show where she needs to hit (near the lower edge of the horizontal stripe) vs. where she actually hits (check chalk marks afterward). I bet you'll both be surprised how scattered her "shot grouping" is - and this is the fundamental problem.

I doubt you'll have much luck until she stops moving her elbow.

pj
chgo
 
If you really just started playing pool two weeks ago, you are rushing things too much for expectations. New players don't need to worry about playing the ghost or worry about table length draw shots. You don't learn to drive and two weeks later ask about how to get out of corners faster in F1 racing. Things will come with practice and working with other players to see what you may be doing wrong.

Bryce1552 said:
I'm new to pool I just started playing about two weeks back and as I work through Dr.Dave's pool workout/test and another recommended by Cuedrills.com I notice my biggest weakness is drawing the ball. Any further than 2 1/2 diamonds away I cant seem to draw. I've been reading "play great pool" and I have focused a lot on getting a good sturdy stance and developing a pendulum swing with a loose grip but for whatever reason it seems I can't seem draw much or stop shot from full table length.

I think I've developed a preference for a soft shot and don't seem to have much power in my shots? I seem to have good control I can shoot full table length and have the ball return to the same spot my tip 8/10 times but I really don't seem to be able to develop the power/speed required for a strong draw.

Additionally the table im playing on has worsted felt similar to simonis it seems to have loosened slightly since installation a few weeks back if I place my have for a bridge, press down with weight and slide my bridge forward I can feel some movement in the cloth but it doesn't seem dramatically loose and I don't want to go blaming the table for my potentially flawed form.

I'm unsure how to proceed because I'm really trying to develop my fundamentals before proceeding to more complex practices/playing the ghost so I've been focusing on draw for my entire 1 1/2 hour practice time each day for the past week with nearly no progress and it only feels right to practice what I'm having the most trouble with rather than leaving it undeveloped.
Click to expand...
 
couldnthinkof01 said:
Do you really expect a player in two weeks of their pool
playing to stick to center ball and perfect fundamentals?
Click to expand...

This guy is serious enough to be reading books and watching videos.

That tells me that his goal isn't to have fun out banging balls with his friends.

So in that regard yes, I do expect him to try to perfect his fundamentals first.

JC
 
JC said:
This guy is serious enough to be reading books and watching videos.

That tells me that his goal isn't to have fun out banging balls with his friends.

So in that regard yes, I do expect him to try to perfect his fundamentals first.

JC
Click to expand...
Just kind of reminds me of that guy sam that used to post here.
2 weeks of playing and already trying to play 1.5 hours
of practice drills. You have to be very mentally hardend to sustain that over a long period of time.
Burnout will get those people 9/10 in short order.

I agree center ball. Pattern study. Playing without chalk.
Getting a coach. All better moves.

With that said 2 weeks in best to have fun.
You want to try draw- heres how you do it
Want to spin the ball- have at it.
No matter what you do, getting better is a long game.
 
It can be so many thing, but not following through is quite common, pausing the cue when hitting the CB is something I see alot. Stand at a 45 degree towards the table, if your stance is off, that will affect the amount of follow through you have. Keep the bridge fairly short.
 
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