While down on the shot: do you roll your eyes along THE line between the 2 points?

[JarnoV]

The "Quiet Eye" studies suggest you should not quickly switch anything. Look at the cueball contact point for a solid couple seconds while completely still (Shane often does this for about five seconds), and then SMOOTHLY switch your gaze to a specific point in your target (object ball ) area.

This is just me hypothesizing, but I think the underlying reason that Quiet Eye matters is that when a player's gaze is fixated it follows that conscious attention is directed at gazing and the player lets the body to execute the stroke without interference. So to me, it seems that Quiet Eye is a good technique, but possibly not the only one, at controlling the conscious attention.

This is not to say that I disagree with you. I was merely trying to elaborate on the point.

 

[Antfarm]

I tend to do things in a very specific order when lining up.

1. I stand over the ball an look from cue ball to object ball while chalking (helps set up a routine).
2. I get down on the shot and roll eyes as you say from CB to OB.
3. I look at where I want to hit the CB and begin 'practice stroking'
4. My eyes snap to the object ball and stay locked there until I pull the trigger. (of course I can still see the CB in my perfierry)
5. Finally, I miss by a mile and wonder what the hell I'm doing wrong!!!!

Greg

 

[JoeW]

After reading the responses I am in the minority. Here is how I see it.

1. If you don’t know what you are going to hit, how can you hit it accurately? So I spend time while standing trying to see the contact point and find the contact point by drawing the line from about 9” behind the contact point back to the ball to the part of the pocket I will be using. Then I try to visualize the cue ball roll down that line.

2. While walking into and bending over the shot my eye never leaves the contact point. I continue to stare at the contact point for a few seconds after I am in the shooting position. The quiet eye is of great benefit in setting the target in one’s mind. The sight picture changes from the standing position to the bent over position and watching the transition in the sight picture also helps to establish the contact point target. If it is a difficult cut shot I try to visualize the object ball rolling towards the pocket from the bent over position.

3. Once my target is firmly fixed in my mind I turn to the cue ball and look at my stick placement from my right hand through the cue ball and for another six inches or so. This helps me establish that the front and rear of the of the cue ball are on the line to the target.

4. Because I use front and back hand English the cue stick may not be parallel to the cue ball's line of travel and I have to adjust the cue stick so that it propels the cue ball down the line to the target.

5. To establish this line to the target on long shots I often compare some intermediate aim point to the target itself. I later learned that this intermediate target is also used in golf. I find it to be useful when a length of table thin cut shot is required.

Maybe it is just the Irish BS but this long verbalization really does go through my head – and I still miss more often than I want to but less often than before I developed this approach.

BTW I do not move until after the CB has made contact and I have found that many (not all) of my misses are due to somehting other than my aim. bad rolls, poor estimation of mechanical effects and similar errors can be observed. I used to comment that I got a bad slow roll due to the cloth or some such but these things happen so often and it sounds so much like mere whinning that I no longer comment on table conditions and have learned to just shut up and try to correct for it on the next shot if needed. Like anyone else I do not like to miss but the game is much more enjoyable when I know why I missed.

 

[ArizonaPete]

On the more difficult shots, I'll aim it out on the OB with my cue, then focus where I want to hit the CB, then back and focus directily on the spot I want to hit on the OB fpr a few seconds and then pull the pin. On a lot of these shots I don't even stroke before pulling the pin. I usually make the shot. On the easier shots I do stroke two or three times before shooting. I don't know whether this technique is good or bad but it works for me.

 

[Tbeaux]

I roll eyes the full path of the shot to confirm I'm lined up right, then focus in on the cue ball contact point (usually the object ball is in my periphery). Then shoot and make the shot. Or a girl with a nice rack walks by and distracts me and I miss (also happens when the drunk in the corner turns his eyelids inside out). :grin:

 

[whitewolf]

2. While walking into and bending over the shot my eye never leaves the contact point. I continue to stare at the contact point for a few seconds after I am in the shooting position.

Perhaps this is why you are not pocketing balls as good as you could.

Somebody else on this forum said that his motorcycle instructor told him that if you stare at the tree, you will become the tree.

You know that your stick should not be pointed at the contract point, right? Well, if you are staring at the contact point so much your cue will most likely gravitate there, and your aim will be off.

Try something like the ghost ball theory and you will be much better off. Keep it simple. All that stuff you are figiditing with makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

 

[whitewolf]

After reading the responses I am in the minority. Here is how I see it.

1. If you don’t know what you are going to hit, how can you hit it accurately? So I spend time while standing trying to see the contact point and find the contact point by drawing the line from about 9” behind the contact point back to the ball to the part of the pocket I will be using. Then I try to visualize the cue ball roll down that line.

2. While walking into and bending over the shot my eye never leaves the contact point. I continue to stare at the contact point for a few seconds after I am in the shooting position. The quiet eye is of great benefit in setting the target in one’s mind. The sight picture changes from the standing position to the bent over position and watching the transition in the sight picture also helps to establish the contact point target. If it is a difficult cut shot I try to visualize the object ball rolling towards the pocket from the bent over position.

3. Once my target is firmly fixed in my mind I turn to the cue ball and look at my stick placement from my right hand through the cue ball and for another six inches or so. This helps me establish that the front and rear of the of the cue ball are on the line to the target.

4. Because I use front and back hand English the cue stick may not be parallel to the cue ball's line of travel and I have to adjust the cue stick so that it propels the cue ball down the line to the target.

5. To establish this line to the target on long shots I often compare some intermediate aim point to the target itself. I later learned that this intermediate target is also used in golf. I find it to be useful when a length of table thin cut shot is required.

Maybe it is just the Irish BS but this long verbalization really does go through my head – and I still miss more often than I want to but less often than before I developed this approach.

BTW I do not move until after the CB has made contact and I have found that many (not all) of my misses are due to somehting other than my aim. bad rolls, poor estimation of mechanical effects and similar errors can be observed. I used to comment that I got a bad slow roll due to the cloth or some such but these things happen so often and it sounds so much like mere whinning that I no longer comment on table conditions and have learned to just shut up and try to correct for it on the next shot if needed. Like anyone else I do not like to miss but the game is much more enjoyable when I know why I missed.

Perhaps this is why you are not pocketing balls as good as you could.

Somebody else on this forum said that his motorcycle instructor told him that if you stare at the tree, you will become the tree.

You know that your stick should not be pointed at the contract point, right? Well, if you are staring at the contact point so much your cue will most likely gravitate there, and your aim will be off.

Try something like the ghost ball theory and you will be much better off. Keep it simple. All that stuff you are figiditing with makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

 

[Siz]

... an alternative would be to roll your eyes (as the pros do), back and forth from the cue to the object ball and back

Not something that I have tried myself (I just switch back and forth a couple of times). How does your friend know that this is what pros do? He must watch them very carefully!

as ive aged my vision has deteriorated from 20-15 to 20-30 in one eye and 20-40 in the other....Ive adjusted my game to allow for me to use my glasses to sight and discovered that its easier to aim while standing up and easier to stroke accurately while down on the shot....
jaden

Excellent advice IMHO, and not just when your eyesight has deteriorated.

The "Quiet Eye" studies suggest you should not quickly switch anything... http://www.howtobreak80.com/articles/sink-more-putts-with-the-quiet-eye.php

The link provided to Jack Moorehouse's piece was very interesting. I don't remember anything on the speed / smoothness of eye switching when I read Vickers on Quiet Eye, but I may have missed it. Alternatively, Moorehouse might have thrown in a few ideas that he has picked up from elsewhere (and nothing wrong with that). Smooth switching certainly seems like a useful idea to me, and might well be an aid to keeping the mind still at the crucial final stages of the stroke.

This is just me hypothesizing, but I think the underlying reason that Quiet Eye matters is that when a player's gaze is fixated it follows that conscious attention is directed at gazing...

In fact Vickers points out that it is very easy for the focus of attention to become dissociated from the object of the gaze. But interestingly, when you are switching your gaze from one object (for example the c.b.) to another (o.b.) it is impossible not to be focused on the object that your gaze is switching to.

 

[Siz]

I strongly reccomend the Advanced Pro Book for those interested. The last half of the book covers some higher level shots, safetys and positon routes that are great to have in the bag and win games.

Not cheap, but your recommendation is good enough for me (excellent post)

 

[3RAILKICK]

When I switch my eyes rapidly between cb and ob, I have trouble establishing focus on the ob and get a little dizzy. So I do it more slowly. Probably a vision thing. Depending on the distance of the shot(sort/medium distance), I will look last at the cb if the critical part of the shot is manipulating the cb.

Long distance, I miss a lot.

 

[s'portplayer]

After I get down on the shot, I'm on the OB for a couple seconds, then CB for a couple seconds, back to the OB for a short time, then I pull the trigger.

 

[bulletjr]

Well this is how I was taught by a great teacher.....

Find a comfortable stroke and address the ball the same....every time.

Consistency and Feel

If you stroke the ball the same on every shot and you line up the same every time and whatever this is feel's comfortable, build your game around this. Pool is 99% feel and the reason is because if you are feeling the same stroke hit the ball during the same line up and you happen to miss, You will know what you did wrong because you will feel what you did wrong. If you go throughout your Pool career just poking at a point here or looking at a line there, you will never FEEL what you did wrong when you missed and will never correct your mistakes. You will just be guessing at your missed shots so to speak. So........In the words of a good one, Develop your stroke and let your stroke do the work for you.

 

[Measle Ball]

This is a very good question, one that I haven't really given much thought to at all.

Since I don't have my Diamond nine-footer (yet), I can only go from my ever-getting-so-senile memory. The one thing I know I do is draw the shooting line mentally before getting down over the ball. From there it seems I look at the CB, then looking at the OB and repeating this at least once just before vaporizing the CB and OB.

For me, this question is worth more study as there's always room for improvement. Thank you to the OP for posting it.

 

[deanoc]

once i bend over barely glance at the cue ball,most of the time