pausing on the shot and feathering

[Malachi-b]

Basically watching the snooker i have realised things i may have been getting wrong. most proffesionals pause on the backswing and i was wondering what advantage does this give?

also i realised the softer the shot the smaller the feathering is and vise versa for hard shots is that what you are ment to be doing because i bring the tip of the cue all the way back to my bridge on every shot including really soft shots is this wrong?

thanks for your help everyone.

Malachi.

[mooneyy]

Pausing after the final backswing (or sometimes before) can give you the last
bit of concentration you need for a shot. Apart from that, you start the actual
shot from a static situation which can help in terms of accuracy.
The pause is very individual as some may feel it is rather unimportant for them.
And the length of that pause can vary greatly. You'll have to find out
what works best for you.

With varying your backswing length you can play a variety of strengths by
always hitting at the same speed.
That sounds a little strange but is quite logical. Let's say you play two shots
with the same strength and backswing.
Number one is with the cueball at 9" away from your bridge. The ball travels
up and down the table.
Number two is almost the same but this time somebody puts the cue-ball
just 1" in front of your bridge whilst you pause after the final backswing.
With the same amount of power, this ball will travel a much shorter distance
just because your cue hasn't been so fast whilst contacting the cue-ball.

Hope you can understand this... sorry if not!

cheers

[dantuck_7]

The pause on the backswing gives your eyes a chance to move from the point on the cue ball you're hitting to the object ball.

I don't play with that much of a pause, but I notice when I start timing shots well it's there unintentionally! How is the practise on screw shots going Malachi?

[Malachi-b]

my practise with screw shots is going well i am really getting the hang of it im just finding the things stated in this topic hard now. im not sure what im doing right wrong etc.

[RocketRoy1983]

Watching the Worlds is good because you tend to study the players and their varying techniques with scrutiny. I feather pretty much the same on every shot but try shortening your feathering on softer or shorter distance shots if this helps you. Get on the practice table!! The idea of the pause is to give you every opportunity to check that you have addressed the cueball in the desired position before flicking your eyes over to the correct point of contact on the object ball. All this should happen within a split second although this will vary again in different players.

[Malachi-b]

Watching the Worlds is good because you tend to study the players and their varying techniques with scrutiny. I feather pretty much the same on every shot but try shortening your feathering on softer or shorter distance shots if this helps you. Get on the practice table!! The idea of the pause is to give you every opportunity to check that you have addressed the cueball in the desired position before flicking your eyes over to the correct point of contact on the object ball. All this should happen within a split second although this will vary again in different players.

thanks for the help. the pause i am on about is now the one where you pause with the tip near the cue ball but on the backswing where you are about to do your final follow through.

[CoachGavin]

Yeah you are on about the pause before delivering the cue. Most players use this to switch their eyes up to the point on the object ball that they want to hit for the perfect shot (make the pot/play the safety etc). A good final pause also helps you to finish the backswing properly before making a positive delivery of the cue. Many players without a pause before the final backswing tend to snatch or rush the shot through especially under pressure. Try doing your normal feathers and then as you bring the cue back for the final time hold for a second and lift your eyes up to the object ball. Then when you are ready deliver the cue through. Once you have it ingrained into your technique you will start timing the ball better as well.

[Malachi-b]

Yeah you are on about the pause before delivering the cue. Most players use this to switch their eyes up to the point on the object ball that they want to hit for the perfect shot (make the pot/play the safety etc). A good final pause also helps you to finish the backswing properly before making a positive delivery of the cue. Many players without a pause before the final backswing tend to snatch or rush the shot through especially under pressure. Try doing your normal feathers and then as you bring the cue back for the final time hold for a second and lift your eyes up to the object ball. Then when you are ready deliver the cue through. Once you have it ingrained into your technique you will start timing the ball better as well.

thanks for that I will impliment it when I go snooker tomorrow I hope to see some positive results

[Belloz22]

i recently come back from a coaching session with wayne griffiths, and he was making apoint about my backswing being to long for most shots, so he tried to adapt me by altering the length of my feathering to suit the type of shot i am playing, so for a soft soft i should only be feathering approx 2inches, pause 2inches from white, then play the shot with full confidence so my hand hits my chest. However, for a hard shot, my feathering could increase to approx 6inches, so i would feather that length, pause 6inches from the white, and again play the shot with confidence.

It takes a while to adapt, but it can allow better control of the cue and the shot

The pause is not always needed, however it is recommended for 2 reasons - 1) to allow you eyes to focus back on the object ball 2) to give you the moment to compose yourself and minimise any adverse effects that the backswing can have on your swing - if you swing back and then forward straight away, it can encourage you to cue off line - all your shot power should come from the final forward motion and no more

[brettski]

I've been working on this is my game mala its really helping, cueing straighter these days.

[Malachi-b]

tried it today it was great was potting loads of long balls and i even got screw back from a huge distance really improving thanks everyone for the help.

[brettski]

Good to hear mala its helping me to, just have everything else to work on now lol