Why Don't Players Practice The Lag?

[oldplayer]

I do 2 drills in one by practicing the lag, and I do believe it very important (you gotta find the speed for that table for one), anyway, I put a ball on each side of the cb at the first diamond from the short rail and 1 diamond out from the long rail. I shoot the cb up to the other short rail and send the cb between the 2 balls (approx. 3/4 " from cb) and see if my stroke is good for the day by passing between the 2 object balls without touching and then see if the cb goes to the rail from whence I began.....tests your stroke and the speed. I always do this first before the other drills. if you stroke if off what is the point of the other drills? :shrug:

 

[SouthernDraw]

How big an advantage do you think the break is now? Among equal players around ranking 20 or so in the world, how likely is the breaker at nine ball to win each game? Where are the statisticians when you need them?

For the pro's, I guess any advantage is a huge advantage. Especially this past weeks BB 8-ball championships where it's a race to 3 or five.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment!

 

[Johnnyt]

I do 2 drills in one by practicing the lag, and I do believe it very important (you gotta find the speed for that table for one), anyway, I put a ball on each side of the cb at the first diamond from the short rail and 1 diamond out from the long rail. I shoot the cb up to the other short rail and send the cb between the 2 balls (approx. 3/4 " from cb) and see if my stroke is good for the day by passing between the 2 object balls without touching and then see if the cb goes to the rail from whence I began.....tests your stroke and the speed. I always do this first before the other drills. if you stroke if off what is the point of the other drills? :shrug:

You're right. W/O a straight stroke you'll never get anywhere. I think some of us when we were young had such good eye-hand and fast reflexes that we could straighten the last stroke out before the cue hit the CB. As we get older we need to have perfect basics to have good straight stroke. Johnnyt

 

[CreeDo]

Because the speed will be different on every table, and you usually don't even know what table
you'll be on, until 5 minutes before you must play on it.

That said, I've seen a few players practice the lag 2 or 3 times during those minutes.

 

[fastone371]

Why put in so much time working on a shot that's never going to play the same on every table?

I can practice the lag on one table for hours, and get it perfect. Then go to a different table, lag the same way, and get an entirely different result.

Because if you can accurately hit target speeds on your practice table it makes it much easier to adjust to the speeds of other tables. An example would be a lag on my table is 2 diamonds short on the table I play on later, so now I know how hard to hit all shots on the unfamiliar table.
I practice the lag along with other speed drills.

 

[mosconiac]

FYP :thumbup:

Why put in so much time working on a shot that's never going to play the same on every table?

I can practice the break on one table for hours, and get it perfect. Then go to a different table, break the same way, and get an entirely different result.

Why put in so much time working on a shot that's never going to play the same on every table?

I can practice the draw on one table for hours, and get it perfect. Then go to a different table, draw the same way, and get an entirely different result.

Why put in so much time working on a shot that's never going to play the same on every table?

I can practice the masse' on one table for hours, and get it perfect. Then go to a different table, masse' the same way, and get an entirely different result.

Why put in so much time working on a shot that's never going to play the same on every table?

I can practice the 3-rail kick on one table for hours, and get it perfect. Then go to a different table, 3-rail kick the same way, and get an entirely different result.

Why put in so much time working on a shot that's never going to play the same on every table?

I can practice the jump on one table for hours, and get it perfect. Then go to a different table, jump the same way, and get an entirely different result.

 

[chefjeff]

I do 2 drills in one by practicing the lag, and I do believe it very important (you gotta find the speed for that table for one), anyway, I put a ball on each side of the cb at the first diamond from the short rail and 1 diamond out from the long rail. I shoot the cb up to the other short rail and send the cb between the 2 balls (approx. 3/4 " from cb) and see if my stroke is good for the day by passing between the 2 object balls without touching and then see if the cb goes to the rail from whence I began.....tests your stroke and the speed. I always do this first before the other drills. if you stroke if off what is the point of the other drills? :shrug:

I use the same technique and thoughts to get my stroke in the center of the cue ball.

I used to practice the lag when young and broke. I couldn't afford to drop money into the table so the only ball to hit was the cueball (it didn't get locked up with the other balls back then). I also practice it when waiting for the racker to get done, though some really don't like that.

After all these years, I'm not too bad at lagging on any table.

Jeff Livingston

 

[Nostroke]

All golf greens are different-That is why you never will see a pro practice putting!!

 

[dr_dave]

When practicing the lag, does it increase the margin of error to just kiss the head rail?

Yes.

FYI, this and other strategy/technique advice concerning the lag can be found on the lag resource page. I wrote an article on this topic for BD a while back. Here it is:

"The Lag Shot" (BD, October, 2011)

Enjoy,
Dave

PS: The lag shot is arguably one of the most important shots in today's pro tournaments, so it is certainly worth practicing on the tournament tables.

 

[Ralph Kramden]

All golf greens are different-That is why you never will see a pro practice putting!!

I have seen the pros practice putting at every tournament that I've gone to.
They hit balls, chip, and then practice their putting stroke before teeing off.