Feathering

[Malachi-b]

Right i have a problem, well i used to try and copy other proffesionals feathers like shaun murphy but lately i been down the snooker hall a lot and even up to 12 hours some days, so i kind of started doing what felt right and natural rather then something i force myself to do.


Lately i have realised i have been potting a lot better with having only two feathers which are pretty fast which feels good and natural to me, but when i try and slow down and take more time feathering it feels really repetitive and i tend to miss a lot more.

so although i am fast i tend to pot a lot better i actually play better without having any feathers and just keeping the cue still for a few seconds before the backswing.


so should i just do what i think it natural or should i try and take my time although i find it a lot harder to play?

[saddler79]

Ive always played with a still cue for a few seconds and no feathers. Ive tried to introduce feathers to my game several times and it made me 100 times worse. I would say play with whatever feels natural but only if it gives good results.

However, there are only a handful of professionals that do not feather so there must be something in it. For the coaches and better players on the board, what does feathering the cue bring to your game from a technical viewpoint?

[MasterBreak147]

so should i just do what i think it natural

Im no coach but you can't go wrong with this really, enjoy the game do whats natural to you i say

[inevermissblue]

Feathering!

When i play i have never ever really feathered the ball that much at all since starting to play, probably once or twice. This is because when i just hold the cue there still it helps me to keep momentum throughout a break when playing soft stuns and run throughs. However it does have its advantages! I tend to find that if you feather the ball on long pots, it seems to give you more time to locate the potting angle alot more frequently. :snooker: :snooker: :snooker:

[thai_son22]

feathering in my opinion is just to make sure you have captured your line. weather you feather once or a ten times or more, as long as you know you have captured your line and confident you are going to hit that spot, then you should be fine!!. if your natural game allows you to capture that line, then keep potting away!!:snooker:

[Terry Davidson]

The reason most pros feather is that they were taught to do that at an early age either by their coaches or from watching better players.

They are doing what's 'natural' for them. Obviously Marco Fu (who learned snooker in Canada by the way) picked up a 'no feather' approach when he was young and is now doing what's natural to him (Terry Griffiths has been trying to get him to feather, but like you he finds it throws off his natural rhythm).

The golden rule for a snooker coach and the players themselves is this 'COMFORT is the first rule of snooker and anything that makes your technique feel UNCOMFORTABLE is not right for you'.

Keep doing whatever you feel most comfortable with. I do 2 short feathers, then a front pause and then my delivery. Everyone is different in this regard. (Thank Goodness)

inevermissblue

If you are 'finding your aim' while you are feathering then it's too late buddy. You should only do your aiming when standing up tall behind the shot as you get the best perspective from there and never adjust your aim when down on the shot.

I am saying this for the players who might have read your post and decided it was OK to adjust their aim during the feathering stage.

Terry

[Malachi-b]

Thanks so much for the input everyone ive decided to stay with whats natural to me although, my cue action is fast so i tend to be a bit fast around the table also so ive started to slow down and think a bit more. so hopfully this will all be for the best. thanks again





-Malachi-b

[inevermissblue]

The reason most pros feather is that they were taught to do that at an early age either by their coaches or from watching better players.

They are doing what's 'natural' for them. Obviously Marco Fu (who learned snooker in Canada by the way) picked up a 'no feather' approach when he was young and is now doing what's natural to him (Terry Griffiths has been trying to get him to feather, but like you he finds it throws off his natural rhythm).

The golden rule for a snooker coach and the players themselves is this 'COMFORT is the first rule of snooker and anything that makes your technique feel UNCOMFORTABLE is not right for you'.

Keep doing whatever you feel most comfortable with. I do 2 short feathers, then a front pause and then my delivery. Everyone is different in this regard. (Thank Goodness)

inevermissblue

If you are 'finding your aim' while you are feathering then it's too late buddy. You should only do your aiming when standing up tall behind the shot as you get the best perspective from there and never adjust your aim when down on the shot.

I am saying this for the players who might have read your post and decided it was OK to adjust their aim during the feathering stage.

Terry

Thats an interesting opinion you have. Personally your advise rings alarm bells to me as you seem to think that the line of aim is "totally" fixed from the standing position! This is a major flaw in helping to assist people to be in the correct position for the shot, imo.

To assume that someone is in the correct position to play the shot from the standing position is out and out madness, as their perspective of the shot could be changing as they drop into position. From my own experience, the longer you play you get a feel for the right position and whether you are actually in it once you have "Dropped" into the shot, so a minor adjustment to the required potting angle can be made while in position(this is a very minimal adjustment).

The feathering which i do is made only to steady myself for the accuracy required for a long pot and its resulting cueball postion, merely as an aid. Otherwise throughout a break with close cueball control i don't bearly feather at all.

Everyone has their own way of developing their game as i have mine. I have never been coached and have made many century breaks adopting the very same procedure. I do value your opinion though do not agree with it.

[poolqjunkie]

If you are down on a shot and the angle does not look right, I was told you should stand up and get down again. I have missed many shots when i tried to adjust my aim while down on the shot.

[Terry Davidson]

poolqjunkie:

As inevermissblue says this is just my opinion as a coach. You are absolutely correct in standing back up if you feel your line of aim is incorrect. You should not adjust your line of aim when you are down on the table (although a lot of us - including myself - from time to time catch themselves making 'micro' adjustments while down on the shot, however this is most common, for me anyway, on easy shots around the black when I've not stood behind the shot properly before getting down).

I still advocate a player gets the best perspective on his line of aim when he is standing up behind the shot and if he places his nose (lean a bit to the right) on that line and then drops his head straight down with no sideways movement then he should be on the correct line of aim when his feathering starts. The one thing to remember is to keep your eyes on the object ball as you get into your stance and do not look at the cueball until your bridge hand is on the table and you are getting ready to start feathering.

Terry

[poolqjunkie]

Thanks Terry.
What do you mean about the "nose," I am afraid I do not understand that.
For me personally, if I try to judge or re-evaluate the angle when I am already down, I will usually miss because the angle looks very different--the cue ball is much bigger and the depth of vision is distorted. I also find that it confuses me as I like to be only focusing on my aim and my delivery as I shot, rather than asking myself, "is this the right angle" when I am getting ready to pull the trigger.
I look at the cue ball and then the object ball as I get down. I want to make sure I am placing my bridge in the right place so I am striking the cue ball precisely as intended. And when I try to apply side, I definitely look at the cue ball a bit more. I also tend to check the cue ball quite often when I am playing a long screw shot or a stun follow, just to make sure I am not applying unintentional side. Is that a bad habit in your opinion?
Thank you.

[Mr O]

I still advocate a player gets the best perspective on his line of aim when he is standing up behind the shot and if he places his nose (lean a bit to the right) on that line and then drops his head straight down with no sideways movement then he should be on the correct line of aim when his feathering starts. .

Terry

Right, so I'm standing behind the shot, cue in my left hand, I'm thinking if I lean over to the right a bit I'd be well off my line...

Not really lol I'm right handed like most people but you see my point

[Terry Davidson]

Mr. O:

If you are right handed then why are you standing behind the shot with the cue in your left hand? I don't get that point at all

When you are standing behind the shot the cue should be across your hips with the grip hand on the butt where you normally hold the cue (or will on this shot) with your final grip already formed (nice and loose) and with your thumb and 4 fingers of your left hand underneath, supporting the cue up the shaft somewhere.

Your nose/eyes should be pointed at BOB (Back of Ball - the spot on the object ball furthest away from the part of the pocket you want it to go into) and then you place your right foot on the line of aim (of the cue) and at a distance from the cueball where it will be directly under your grip hand when the right forearm is in the address position and vertical. Keep your nose/eyes on BOB (which means you will be leaning a bit to the right to stay over your right foot).

Place your left foot wherever you're most comfortable and stable but somewhere near the same distance as the right foot but never behind it, but some players like it ahead of the right foot for a not-quite-square stance.

Once your feet are placed in their final position, with your nose/eyes still pointing towards BOB swing your cue over to behind the cueball and form your bridge as the cue is swinging over and place your bridge so the 'V' is somewhere around 11-12in from the back of the cueball and ensure YOUR HEAD DROPS STRAIGHT DOWN ALONG THE LINE OF AIM without any sideways movement. Also ensure your right hip is out of the way of the cue by bending your left leg and twisting your back slightly to shift the hip clear of the backswing. Get your left armpit down as far as you comfortably can without introducing any stress, as this will raise and lock your right shoulder into place where it should be.

When your bridge hand hits the table the cue should be in the address position and you can quickly check the line of aim and start your feathering, ensuring you are lined up to the centre (or side if applicable) of the cueball.

If you are not lined up correctly, or feel you aren't, then stand back up and repeat this process or else you can do as 'inevermissblue' does and adjust your cue and aim while you are down on the table (which I don't advise or teach).

Don't worry about lining up to the centre of the cueball, as it will be in your peripheral vision and hopefully you've put your right foot on the correct line through the centre of the cueball.

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

poolqjunkie:

By 'nose' (since it's normally in the centre between the eyes and it's normally pointy, so you can point it like a short finger) I mean nose/eyes or even the head if you like.

If you switch your eyes to the cueball as you drop down into the shot you are risking losing the line of aim as sometimes the object ball is too far away to be in your peripheral vision, however the cueball will always be in your peripheral vision as you're closer to it.

Doing that, you will have to re-gain the correct line of aim during your feathers unless you are certain you drop straight down onto the line of aim every time with no sideways movement of the head.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but experiment with it a bit and try locking your nose/eyes on BOB until you have your bridge on the table and are in the address position. I assure you the cue will be at the centre of the cueball and you will be on the line of aim you've chosen.

Where it gets a little tricky and even I do it, is when you are applying side I will flick my eyes to the cueball as I'm coming down sometimes as I am just getting used to this method myself after Nic taught it to me in September of last year (hey, I'm old and it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks!)

Your last question regarding the 'bad habit or not'...it's fine when you're feathering to check the cueball as many times as you feel comfortable with to ensure you're going to hit the right spot.

Also, I may have misunderstood your comment, as it's also fine (and in fact correct) to look at the cueball before you drop down into the shot but you should focus on BOB once you start dropping your head into the address position. (As an aside, I note myself that I sometimes stop my head about a foot above the table on some shorter shots, like 4-5ft, just to confirm my chosen line of aim and I don't know why I choose to do that).

To select the correct line of aim, you have to start at the pocket opening, then bring your eyes to the object ball to determine BOB and then bring your eyes to the cueball to determine the line of aim to BOB.

Don't worry, as some beginners do, that except for dead-in shots BOB is not really the line of aim of the cue which is actually offset anywhere up to 1-1/32nd of an inch, depending on the severity of the angle of the shot. (Have I confused you yet?) Your brain will sort that out through feedback, which you will get if you remain down on the shot with your cue extended for a second or two until the object ball (hopefully) drops into the pocket. This also encourages stillness in the shot - see Shaun Murphy for the best example of this last pause in the cue action - delivery.

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

Mr O:

By the way, since the vast majority of snooker players are right-handed most coaches explain everything from that assumption and hope the left-hander can sort out reversing the right and left directions him/her self.

I think that's the point you were trying to make but I'm too lazy to do this...grip the cue with the right hand (left hand for lefties) every time I type a coaching instruction. I hope you understand and you likely do as you are right-handed.

Terry