What is your FAVORITE drill using JUST the Cue Ball?

[Majic]

I posted this in the "Ask the instructor forum", too, but I wanted to open it up to all to REALLY get some good feedback and share some gems!

I'm looking for your favorite drills that build stroke/accuracy/etc. using ONLY a cue ball.

I've seen some of the timeless classics, like driving the cb down the table and trying to make it come back and hit the tip of the cue.

I know there are some more gems like this out there, so please post what you use!

Thanks!

Practicing the diamond system by trying to hit specific points.

 

[3kushn]

My most useful drill is calibrating my English so I know exactly what spin I'm applying. The drill also includes the dead ball drill spot to ctr diamong bach over the spot.

Dead ball
1 diamond spin
2 diamonds spin
3 diamonds spin

The spin is across the short.

 

[Dakota Cues]

This isn't really a drill, just an exercise. You can hit the cue ball to a diamond on the far end of the table and bring it back but it doesn't really matter. It is counterproductive to shoot an object ball doing this since it distracts from what you are trying to accomplish.

Simply a stroke exercise. Groove in your practice stroke routine doing the same thing over and over and then really focus on slowing the stick as you bring it back on the final stroke. Use a smooth transition or slight pause before beginning forward motion, depending on how you normally shoot. Then really focus on starting forward slowly and gradually increasing speed. Focus on a gradual increase in speed of muscle contraction all the way through the cue ball. This is the real purpose of this exercise, developing and maintaining a "pure" stroke. We can't really accelerate the tip through the cue ball but we can accelerate muscle contraction through the cue ball. Best to start off with soft shots and focus on the muscles in your arm speeding up their contraction as you power through the cue ball even if it only rolls a few feet. What you learn in slow motion will transfer over to what you do at all speeds if you stick with it.

Not trying to get tremendous speed in this exercise although this will help both normal shots and the break. This is grooving in "muscle memory" to prevent jabbing or punching at the cue ball or popping up on your shots.

Spend five minutes on this drill at the beginning and end of practice. Not quite as effective but it can also be done at home without a cue ball.

Most players feel they are far beyond doing such a simple exercise. Most players still occasionally punch stroke when they don't plan to or pop up on a shot though. Slowing to a pause or smooth transition on the backstroke and a smooth gathering of power on the forward stroke instead of a jerky start will pay huge dividends in both accuracy and cue ball control. Nine out of ten people reading this won't try this exercise for five or ten minutes a day for a week though, it is just too simple.

Tiger still works on his stroke fundamentals in golf . . . . .

Hu

Hu,

This is a PERFECT example of what I was looking for. I brought this up because it seems like some of the drills split your focus between what you are trying to do (or work on) with your stroke, by also using a certain amount of mental energy to actually pocket the ball. I figured there were some drills that would really allow you to focus on the mechanics of the stroke. By slowing it down like you said, this is a great way to do just that.

From the other responses I've gotten, it seems that a HUGE benefit of cue ball only excercises is working on your kicking. Especially when you're not using object balls, but trying to split chalk cubes. That is awesome, and I'm sure I never would have thought of that one on my own.

Thanks again for all the input so far. It just goes to show how valuable the knowledge base is here on Az.

 

[JE54]

Alot of good ideas............