Ways to Practice for 9' Tables

[Mikey Town]

Hello,

I currently have a 7' table in my home (don't have room for a bigger one). It's a nice Brunswick, 4.5" pockets, plays well, etc... Problem is that I've been playing more on 9' tables lately and making the adjustment is difficult. It's happening, but it's not coming easily.

I know that the best way to practice for 9' tables is by putting in more time on the 9' tables. However, since I have a 7' table accessible 24/7, it would be nice to know if there are any drills or practice methods that I could do at home that will help get my stroke ready for the 9 footers.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.


Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[The8reader]

didnt c what thread i was in. but if i have to have something to fix it i would just say work on your foundation skills. stroke. stance ect....

 

[YOLO]

I am struggling with this as well. I notice more clusters on small table, and more spread on large tables. On a small table I tend to hit harder, for a variety of reasons. The softer I hit on 9 footers the better position I tend to get. I am not there yet which is why I'm headed out to play now

 

[thelmstetter]

Using pocket reducers may help since it will make you focus on hitting the balls in the center of the pocket.

 

[RWOJO]

9' table

To practice on a 7' table but simulate a 9' table I would practice:

Long shots (straight in and cut shots)
Position play from one end of the table to the next (really moving the cue ball)


Drills - try the 3 ball corner drill but set it up on 2 opposite corner pockets. Play 1 ball from the first corner and play position for the 1st ball on the opposite corner. See if you can play position back and forth and run all 6 balls. You could do this with 5 balls on each corner.

Another drill is setup the 3 ball drill in front of all the corner pockets. Play 1 ball from each corner in order (clockwise or counterclockwise) around the table. This gets you moving the cue ball more and playing position (or taking longer shots). You can also up this to 4 or 5 balls at each pocket. A way to make this tough is use 3 balls in front of all 4 corner pockets, then the last 3 balls in the middle of the table (dont' contact these balls until all the corner pocket balls are made, then you run these 3 in any pocket)