Draw drag? Is that basically shooting with higher speed but because of the draw the cue slows down just before the strike when it grips the table?
Yes, but cue ball slows down well before contact with object ball
Apologize for my first response - I thought you were talking about the cue ball staying on the rail.
I have always found that inside english will help keep the object ball to stay on the rail
(it probably also helps you to his barely rail first as well)
Robert Byrne explains this very well in both print and video
Watching his 1.5hr thing now in bits, is that the video you are referring to? Not much else I can find from him, nothing related to just rail shots. Lots of good stuff so far in his practice routine tips.
I've heard that inside english thing too to keep the target ball more on the rail, thats why I was asking about the Tor video's top spin to achieve the same effect, so I think it depends on the angle? If its a finer tougher cut, then side spin, if its a more direct hit, topspin?
The best approach, imo, is planning ahead. Wherever possible position the cue ball off other shots so the rail shot will give you a good leave when you get to it. I also try to use earlier shots in the rack to try to send the cue ball into a ball frozen to the rail to get it better positioned off the rail. These are not always options and sometimes you just need to work with the possibility of a difficult leave but forethought helps in these situations. When I'm examining the table after the break looking for trouble balls I always take note of these shots just as I would clusters.
Outside English can also be used to throw these shots toward the pocket, as well as heavy inside English if you're at a steep angle.
I am still trying to figure out how the cue comes off the rail from a frozen target ball. In yesterdays match, I had a couple of touch shots where I had such a shot, target frozen, and I needed to position the cue for the next ball which wasn't easy. I had a couple of these, and I tried aggressive top and draw, and I felt like the ball just didn't much. Thinking back, I think it would have had more "action" if I put no spin, but then it would have left the cue in a dicey position for the next shot. Seems like a whole practice session on this alone is in effect.
So the type of spin you put DOES depend on how much angle you need to cut for the shot? So it not that inside or top is ALWAYS the way to make the target stick to the rail more into the pocket?