let's put it this way...
Jaden,
Can you quantify "massive amounts of side spin?" As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I've avoided BHE because while I freely use side spin, I rarely go out more than 1 full tip, maybe 1-1/2 tip max. (I'll push top and bottom to more extremes, but it seems like I can get where I want to go without more than 1 full tip of english). Also, I use an LD shaft that seems pretty forgiving (i.e. no change in aim) for moderate side spin using parallel.
(I recall a Kinnister video in which he shows a shot where he's got the left edge of his tip literally lined up with the left edge of the ball! His point was that the tip/ball contact point is still within the miscue limit. I'm never out that far!)
But your post has me thinking that maybe I should experiment with BHE and "massive amounts of side spin", just for the experience if nothing else.
The only shots I haven't been able to use uncorrected BHE successfully on, are really soft shots...
Let me give a couple of reasons why and how it won't work though.
One thing I've found that increases its' efficacy is to raise and lower your bridge when using side spin in conjunction with draw or follow to help minimize swerve.
The farther away from the OB the CB is, the firmer it has to be struck to not need adjustment, but when I say firmer, you still don't have to slam a full table shot when your cue is as level to the table as possible.
When you start using BHE, you'll quickly find the few limitations and slightly alter your shot selection to compensate, but that's where having more knowledge about how and where it works comes into play.
This game is all about gaining knowledge, it isn't about hitting a million balls, there are plenty of bar box league bangers (nothing against league players here) that have hit millions of balls that still can't get out to save their lives.
I was pretty much a natural when I first dedicated myself to this game. At nineteen in the nineties I was looking at going somewhere in the game.
Then something happened. I had a bad relationship and my confidence and my mental game suffered.
Being a total feel player meant that I had nothing to fall back on. I gave up the game for six years and when I came back I had to reinvent my game basically from the ground up.
It took me the better part of a decade to overcome my mental game deficiencies and I still have a few ghosts in the attic that I am working through.
That's one of the reasons I am so thankful to a few people that I consider friends.
Shawn Putnam, Donny Mills, Oscar Dominguez and the clan that have put together the Mezz West State Tour.
Working with Donny and Shawn helped me to realize what I was doing differently in situations where I felt I had something to prove.
I've been able to work on avoiding doing those things that were causing me to miss and it's helped quite a bit.
I got a little cocky and stopped practicing after I beat Geronimo, but the disparity in my play against the non-top pros and Oscar and Vilmos this last weekend has given me a taste of humble pie and I'm hitting the practice table again.
I've cashed in the only real tournament(the swannee) I've played in the last several years and I'm consistently cashing in the mezz west state tour, so I can't be too dissatisfied with my progress at overcoming my demons...
None of that really matters all that much though..
I have worked from being a total feel player to being a total systems player to being a hybrid systems feel player.
Everyone who's successful uses systems of some type and more importantly, they use knowledge. You have to, to get to a high level in any sport or game. diamond systems, ghost ball systems, mirror systems, preshot routines (which are systems for maintaining consistency) understanding tangent lines and the 30 degree rule... These are ALL systems that people learn and use.
There's a problem with listening to players who have achieved a high level working mostly off of feel.
They're already AT a high level of play without understanding a lot of what they did to get there. So are they REALLY the best people to listen to for those that are struggling to get to a high level of play?
I have a unique perspective in that I achieved a high level ability from solely feel and THEN I relearned how to be a deliberate player because of the mental game issues that I developed.
I don't want people to think that I'm saying you should listen to me over everyone else. I'm not.
If anything, I'm saying you SHOULDN'T listen to people who tell you not to use a system.
Sure it's fine for someone who HAS achieved a high level of play relying mostly on feel, but that's not the majority of the players out there.
I suggest trying anything and everything and seeing what works best for you.
I'm also saying to those who want to prescribe playing solely by feel...
Don't be a dick, Dick...
Jaden
p.s. Feel will ALWAYS be a part of the game. You have to feel all speed control, you have to feel all banks and kicks to a degree, so saying there's a successful system for everything is a misnomer. There's a lot of systems out there that will help a LOT of people get closer to their goals in this game, even if it IS HAMB. Find the ones that work best for you and keep at it.
