Videotaped My Draw Shot

[DrCue'sProtege]

i set up the camcorder tonight and, as best as i could, videotaped my draw shot/stroke in hopes of finding something. i zoomed in on the ball so i could see what i was doing at delivery.

anyway, i noticed my cue is constantly going to my left on my follow through. anybody have this problem? and is this actually a problem? if so, how can i fix it?

i didnt shoot the shot too bad, got the cue ball to draw back nicely sometimes, but only a couple of times straight back to the tip.

so thats what the videotape revealed, my cue veering to MY left right after impact on just about every shot. i missed some to the right, some to the left, but as i said the cue seemed to head left right after impact.

thoughts posters?
DCP

 

[obrien714]

Bert Kinister Advanced fundamentals tape

Read the other link on the board about this tape, get it and practice it every day, it will straighten you out.

PAt

 

[Celtic]

Your stroking hand is most likely going to the right after impact, away from your body if you are right handed.

Set up the camcorder and try something ten times. Stroke the same draw shot, but as you follow through on the shot focus on rolling the butt of your cue up to your wrist abit. Kind of like rolling the cue in your hand such that it turns abit clockwise as you follow through (from your shooters perspective).

This wont help you draw the cueball, it also wont help on aim. Dont worry about either of those things, just set it up, do it ten times normal, then do it ten times like that, and watch the follow through on tape of all 20 shots after you are done and let us know how it goes.

You likely need to train your stroke such that your stroking arm stays closer to your body. If you have a slight tendancy to once in a while bump your body with your stroking arm on your follow through you are going to need to shift your body slightly to the left such that your stroking arm has a clear path past your body. Watch Mike Sigel on video to see someone who stands quite abit to the side of the shot and gives his stroking arm alot of room to avoid such issues, although he is a lefty so stuff will be opposite for you.

 

[AuntyDan]

I've had problems on long draw shots like this, and of the cue veering to one side on the follow through. One reason for me was clenching my grip hand tight right at the moment of impact to try and get that "snap" of final speed to the cue ball. Doing this will curl you wrist as the tendons in your forearm tighten, causing the cue to change angles at the last moment. It took me ages to realize what I was doing because I always start the stroke with with a nice loose grip that looks fine. It finally took playing with a minor injury in my palm to wake me up to what was happening. (Every time I snapped my grip tight I could feel the pain.)

The other is because I shoot with my chin right down on the cue stick Snooker-style. I find this is fine on most shots, but when I am shooting hard from near the rail my arm gets bent right back and it is hard to swing it easily enough to get a good draw stroke.

 

[bruin70]

if you are right handed, and THE BUTT is going left,,,this is a VERY VERY common problem. i think it's called a "hook". ervolino had it. it's very common. IF THE TIP is going left(ie the butt going right),,,that's weird!

you are lining up your arm the traditional way, right? everything aligned straight up and down,,,grip, shoulder, elbow, wrist.

one possible reason is that on the follow through, players curl their wrist in. this can be the result of holding the cue too tight(so loosen up). or you can consciously line up the thumb side of your grip straight with the cue,,,,or curl you wrist intentionally from the get-go so that you CAN'T curl the wrist anymore,,,,or wear a rubber band on the wrist so that you are always conscious of it. i also think i is a very natural movement to bring the arm in on the follow through, which is why what you are doing is very common

try the mosconi sidewinder style. lot's of player actually don't align their arm straight up and down. their forearm/hand sticks out a little. efren does, i think,,,ortmann does, i know. mosconi did, nagy does in an exagerrated way. when the forearn sticks out a little, it makes it easier to keep it lined up that way on the follow through.

if this is uncomfortable for you, use it ONLY on those long straight shots.

 

[sonia]

BEFORE & AFTER THE BARN

i set up the camcorder tonight and, as best as i could, videotaped my draw shot/stroke in hopes of finding something. i zoomed in on the ball so i could see what i was doing at delivery.

anyway, i noticed my cue is constantly going to my left on my follow through. anybody have this problem? and is this actually a problem? if so, how can i fix it?

i didnt shoot the shot too bad, got the cue ball to draw back nicely sometimes, but only a couple of times straight back to the tip.

so thats what the videotape revealed, my cue veering to MY left right after impact on just about every shot. i missed some to the right, some to the left, but as i said the cue seemed to head left right after impact.

thoughts posters?
DCP

SO, IF YOUR CUE TIP WENT TO THE LEFT (AFTER) HITTING THE CUE BALL, WHY IS THAT A PROBLEM? THE CUE BALL HAS ALREADY LEFT THE BARN

 

[bruin70]

SO, IF YOUR CUE TIP WENT TO THE LEFT (AFTER) HITTING THE CUE BALL, WHY IS THAT A PROBLEM? THE CUE BALL HAS ALREADY LEFT THE BARN

because he's going through the cb crooked to begin with

 

[sonia]

Your stroking hand is most likely going to the right after impact, away from your body if you are right handed.

Set up the camcorder and try something ten times. Stroke the same draw shot, but as you follow through on the shot focus on rolling the butt of your cue up to your wrist abit. Kind of like rolling the cue in your hand such that it turns abit clockwise as you follow through (from your shooters perspective).

This wont help you draw the cueball, it also wont help on aim. Dont worry about either of those things, just set it up, do it ten times normal, then do it ten times like that, and watch the follow through on tape of all 20 shots after you are done and let us know how it goes.

You likely need to train your stroke such that your stroking arm stays closer to your body. If you have a slight tendancy to once in a while bump your body with your stroking arm on your follow through you are going to need to shift your body slightly to the left such that your stroking arm has a clear path past your body. Watch Mike Sigel on video to see someone who stands quite abit to the side of the shot and gives his stroking arm alot of room to avoid such issues, although he is a lefty so stuff will be opposite for you.

ANYTHING HAPPENING AFTER IMPACT IS NOT AN ISSUE. THE BALL HAS LEFT THE BARN. YOU CANNOT AFFECT THE SHOT AFTER IMPACT. WHY IS THAT ANY KIND OF AN ISSUE FOR YOU?

 

[sonia]

I've had problems on long draw shots like this, and of the cue veering to one side on the follow through. One reason for me was clenching my grip hand tight right at the moment of impact to try and get that "snap" of final speed to the cue ball. Doing this will curl you wrist as the tendons in your forearm tighten, causing the cue to change angles at the last moment. It took me ages to realize what I was doing because I always start the stroke with with a nice loose grip that looks fine. It finally took playing with a minor injury in my palm to wake me up to what was happening. (Every time I snapped my grip tight I could feel the pain.)

The other is because I shoot with my chin right down on the cue stick Snooker-style. I find this is fine on most shots, but when I am shooting hard from near the rail my arm gets bent right back and it is hard to swing it easily enough to get a good draw stroke.[/QUOTE:

WHEN A CUE IS RIGHT ON THE CENTER OF A PLAYER'S CHIN, HOW DO THEY SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF AIMING A SHOT WITH THE RIGHT OR LEFT SIDE OF A CUE BALL? THIS IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN WHY PLAYERS NEVER REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. THEY NOW HAVE A PARALLAX VIEW. WHICH MEANS THE PLAYERS NOW HAVE TO IMAGINE A LINE COMING FROM OUTSIDE IN.

 

[Celtic]

ANYTHING HAPPENING AFTER IMPACT IS NOT AN ISSUE. THE BALL HAS LEFT THE BARN. YOU CANNOT AFFECT THE SHOT AFTER IMPACT. WHY IS THAT ANY KIND OF AN ISSUE FOR YOU?

Is your caplocks key broke?

Straight follow through is a useful thing to have when shooting pool. If your cue tip is arcing through the cueball right to left then the control of hitting the cueball in the exact place to want to diminishes. Also if you are hitting right hand siding with a left to right cuetip arc you are going to get slightly less siding on average then you would with a straight stroke. If you play left hand siding with a right to left arc of the cue tip you will be glancing the cueball more and get more siding then you attempt and will have a more likely chance of miscueing.

What happens after impact gives alot of indications of what is happening just before and during impact.

 

[sonia]

Cue Sticks, Trains, Horses

because he's going through the cb crooked to begin with

THE CUE STICK CAN NEVER GO "THROUGH" ANY CUE BALL. THE CUE STICK CANNOT CATCH UP TO THE CUE BALL. THE TRAIN HAS ALREADY LEFT THE PLATFORM. THE HORSE HAS ALREADY LEFT THE BARN.
.

 

[sonia]

Side English

Is your caplocks key broke?

Straight follow through is a useful thing to have when shooting pool. If your cue tip is arcing through the cueball right to left then the control of hitting the cueball in the exact place to want to diminishes. Also if you are hitting right hand siding with a left to right cuetip arc you are going to get slightly less siding on average then you would with a straight stroke. If you play left hand siding with a right to left arc of the cue tip you will be glancing the cueball more and get more siding then you attempt and will have a more likely chance of miscueing.

What happens after impact gives alot of indications of what is happening just before and during impact.

THERE IS NOTHING HAPPENING BEFORE YOU HIT THE BALL. ARE YOU ANTICIPATING MISSING POCKETING BALLS?

WHAT DOES MY CAPLOCK KEY HAVE TO DO WITH THIS DISCUSSION? A RED HERRING, PERHAPS. OUT OF AMMUNITION? A PLOY TO REGROUP?

HAVE A NICE DAY

 

[sonia]

Is your caplocks key broke?

Straight follow through is a useful thing to have when shooting pool. If your cue tip is arcing through the cueball right to left then the control of hitting the cueball in the exact place to want to diminishes. Also if you are hitting right hand siding with a left to right cuetip arc you are going to get slightly less siding on average then you would with a straight stroke. If you play left hand siding with a right to left arc of the cue tip you will be glancing the cueball more and get more siding then you attempt and will have a more likely chance of miscueing.

What happens after impact gives alot of indications of what is happening just before and during impact.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HAPPENING (AFTER) IMPACT?

ZIP, NADA, NOTHING

 

[bruin70]

THE CUE STICK CAN NEVER GO "THROUGH" ANY CUE BALL. THE CUE STICK CANNOT CATCH UP TO THE CUE BALL. THE TRAIN HAS ALREADY LEFT THE PLATFORM. THE HORSE HAS ALREADY LEFT THE BARN.
.

sorry, you're too loud

 

[cuetechasaurus]

Sonia, a couple of things.

1. The best players send the cueball to exactly where they are aiming most of the time.
2. The cuestick is what sends the cueball to exactly where you're aiming, not an aiming system.
3. An aiming system is an aid to visualize where you need to send the cueball.
4. If you can't send the cueball to where you are aiming, even with a perfect aiming system, you will miss.
5. If your stroke is crooked, your cuestick will send the cueball to a spot that you are not aiming to.

That's about as simple as it gets. By the way Sonia, why don't you tell everyone here how good you ever played, and why anyone should listen to you if you never played at a high level?

 

[pinkisntwell]

WHEN A CUE IS RIGHT ON THE CENTER OF A PLAYER'S CHIN, HOW DO THEY SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF AIMING A SHOT WITH THE RIGHT OR LEFT SIDE OF A CUE BALL? THIS IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN WHY PLAYERS NEVER REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. THEY NOW HAVE A PARALLAX VIEW. WHICH MEANS THE PLAYERS NOW HAVE TO IMAGINE A LINE COMING FROM OUTSIDE IN.

This is true. There are people that can line up shots with the cue centered under the chin without problems, but for most people it is impossible. I think it's the first thing that a (complete) amateur can improve about their game.

 

[bruin70]

THE CUE STICK CAN NEVER GO "THROUGH" ANY CUE BALL. THE CUE STICK CANNOT CATCH UP TO THE CUE BALL. THE TRAIN HAS ALREADY LEFT THE PLATFORM. THE HORSE HAS ALREADY LEFT THE BARN.
.

you're quibbling with semantics,,,with pool lexicon. you know very what the expression means. this is not about contact/english.

the cue ball never lies. it is being sent where it's not supposed to. that means either misalignment or "crooked" stroke, and not hitting the cb where he's queuing it.

 

[Gerry]

This same argument can be found in any sport that involves a target. most every golfer has a different swing, but MOST pro golfers look very similar at impact.

I feel if your getting the result you want, not much matters on how you got there, but in this case, he was saying he had trouble with the draw shot, and noticed the cuetip dipping off line after impact. So naturally not a bad place to start looking for a solution.

All I can tell you is I'm a lefty, on alot of my shots the tip goes to the left AFTER impact, but I put the balls where I want mostly, so I don't worry about it. If I try to play with a traditional, chin on cue, right angle elbow, I get all messed up. I play more like a Phillipino style in my estimation. Keep working on it, you'll figure something out, or make an adjustment that worx for you......Gerry

 

[Jaden]

you're wrong.

THE CUE STICK CAN NEVER GO "THROUGH" ANY CUE BALL. THE CUE STICK CANNOT CATCH UP TO THE CUE BALL. THE TRAIN HAS ALREADY LEFT THE PLATFORM. THE HORSE HAS ALREADY LEFT THE BARN.
.

If you don't have a straight follow through, you do not have a straight stroke, and you will NOT be consistent. PERIOD.

 

[Jaden]

actually I was first to reply.

I was the first to reply in his having trouble with straight draw shots and I suggested he watch his follow through to see what he was doing.

O.K. first off, a straight stroke is essential for a good stroke period. Yes, some people at anadvanced level will pull to one side or another or up or down for added english, but this detracts from the consistency and is the exception not the rule. Even when using BHE to adjust for English, you still want to stroke dead straight through the cueball on the NEW stroke line. If his stroke line curves even AFTER impact it means he has a problem with his stroke and that is more than likely the culprit for his missed shots.

To fix it. What I suggest you do, and this is what I do. Take a tennis ball and set a table up against a wall. Aim perpendicular to the wall and practice stroking straight through the ball. If you aim correctly and stroke correctly, the tennis ball should come straight back to your cue.

By using a tennis ball and a normal table you take the imaginings of a game of pool out and can focus entirely on your stroke. Practice about 100 strokes a day, and I guarantee that in a week your stroke will greatly improve.

I would also suggest going through as much of your normal preshot routine as possible i.e. how many practice strokes you do etc. For fun sometimes I'll play a game of table tennis with myself by stroking the ball and hitting it back toward the wall on the fly, but that's because I do timing trick shots and it helps my stroke for that.