GetMeThere:
Before I go any further, let me point out that I'm a natural ghostballer. I "see" the ghostball plain as day, and often make the analogy that the ghostball "pops up" for me at the correct spot next to the object ball (to make it in the pocket, with throw already calculated in many cases), just like those whack-a-mole games. All I have to do is shoot the mole dead-center in the face, using the best fundamentals I can muster to do so.
I don't use CTE. However, I *do* see the value of CTE, one of the reasons for which you touched on in the bolded paragraph above. Here are my thoughts on the values (if not virtues) of CTE:
1. Many people have problems "finding the center" of something. For example, I'd just about bet my hat that probably 50% (if not more) of the readership on these boards could not do the "lag the cue ball the length of the table and back [kitchen to footrail and back], and have the cue ball return to the cue tip, without moving the cue" exercise, say, 10 out of 10 times. A pretty stiff challenge, I know, but I've seen it all too often. There are several reasons for this, but mostly due to eye-dominance (either known or unknown) playing a factor in the player's perception, the player's stance/head-eye placement over the cue, etc. Regardless what it is, many players can't hit the exact center of the cue ball.
2. Extending this outwards, many players can't see the "middle" of the object ball, either. Here's an experiment: line-up a straight-in shot towards a pocket, and then obscure the pocket from the player (e.g. place something across the table that is opaque, but with just enough room under it for the object ball to travel under). Remember: the cue ball and the object ball are still lined-up dead-straight into the pocket behind the blinder. Ask the player to shoot the cue ball straight into the object ball as if it were a straight-in shot. You may be surprised at the results (I certainly was when I first tried this as a proposition shot to a couple casual players). Many of them won't pocket the ball -- and worse yet, many will probably miss the pocket by a large margin! The reason is simple: those folks need to see the pocket in the background, as a reference point to home in on, because they simply can't see nor use the "middle-ness" of the object ball alone. To them, there's the left edge of the object ball, and the right edge of the object ball, and some "stuff" in-between. They can't find the middle of that "stuff."
3. You can see how the problem is exacerbated when the shooter is having problems finding the middle of objects they *can* physically see on the table, much less a ghostball -- something they have to visualize / can't physically see. Combine the "can't find the center of the cue ball" with the "can't find the center of the object ball" anomalies with the obvious problems in doing the same for a non-existent object (ghostball), and you can see where a system like CTE, that uses easily-locatable/-focusable (if that's a word?) fixed points on the cue ball and object ball, comes into the fray.
These folks find that being able to see and focus on the edges of the balls, and then pivoting a determined amount to point the cue somewhere into that "stuff," is able to get them on line for the shot. There's nothing wrong with that technique.
IMHO, it's just a way of end-running the "visualize the ghostball" thing, because they aren't using a ghostball whatsoever. They bypass the ghostball completely. Do pivot-aiming techniques, when they're properly conducted (either intentionally, or "accidentally" as you like to say, GetMeThere), ultimately get the shooter to point the cue ball at the proper ghostball location prior to pulling the trigger? It sure does. Does the pocket come into play for the shot? You betcha -- although it's only a cursory (and much glossed-over) preliminary step before beginning the CTE process. That's where the thick/thin/thinner aspect comes into play -- that decision as to whether the shot is a "thick," "thin," or "thinner" shot USES THE POCKET IN THE BACKGROUND to make that initial/cursory decision. After that, the pocket is discarded/ignored for the
entire rest of the CTE process.
And yes, I have played with CTE as part of my explorations of the technique. Do I make balls with it? Yes, I do. Am I comfortable with it? So-so -- I do find it extremely hard to ignore that ghostball "mole" that automatically and naturally (for me) pops-up in the correct spot. It's difficult to just throw that information away. Am I more comfortable with ghostball and make balls more consistently and accurately than I do with CTE? Yes, I do -- but CTE advocates will quickly point out that I haven't committed to muscle memory (and haven't completely drowned out / killed-off the ghostball "mole") the CTE methodology to be second nature. Whether that's the "correct" method for me remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure -- it's my decision to make, not any one of the CTE advocates. That's why -- and the only reason -- you'll see me jump into CTE threads, and that is to kill or quash the insane sales pitches (e.g. "Sean, if you'll just commit yourself to CTE, you'll go up 'x' number of balls in your ability!" Grrrr!!
)
Anyway, I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
