down on the shot advice

[pcb]

hi- i know it may sound a bit strange , and i hope you understand what i am about to explain .
when down on the shot are we actually looking at the white ball and the tip of the cue as 1 vision , then trying to aim the white ball onto the contact point on the object ball , or do will simply look at where the tip is aiming on the white and then look at where we want to hit on the object ball flicking our eyes from the middle of the cue ball then the object ball . what i am trying to say is are we trying to super impose the white onto the contact point on the object ball when down sighting.

hope someone can help .
thanks

[Ramon]

i think would be better if u post this thread on coaching section .
Hope u get sum good advice here !!

[Terry Davidson]

What you're talking about is 'ghost ball theory' of aiming which I believe is what everyone uses when first learning the game and then gets confused as they read about other methods.

As long as your eyes are on the object ball at the time of strike then everything else becomes secondary and totally depends on the individual playeer's own rhythm and timing. There are some coaches who advocate flicking the eyes between cueball and object ball in time with the feathering but that has always seemed too mechanical to me and definitely doesn't suit everyone.

You should have your eyes on the object ball when dropping down into the shot and only move your eyes to the cueball once you are down in the address position. At that time you check and see you are lined up on the part of the cueball you want to hit and then start feathering and looking between cueball and object ball a few times but again I disagree with this a bit as I think we should be looking from the bridge through the cueball to the object ball so we have assurance our aiming is correct.

Always try and do a front pause at the end of the feathering and before you start the final backswing. Depending on your age and vision somewhere between the front pause and the end of the backswing (and rear pause if you have one) your eyes should move to the object ball and stay there. The timing is all up to you and what you've developed when learning to play.