hitting the cue ball above center

[nathan_b]

hi can anyone advise me on when i should be hitting above center, should it be every shot or only when i want the cue ball to go further after hitting the object ball.

[hotpot]

Hi Nathan , welcome to the forum mucka . The higher you hit the white the more topspin you create and the white runs on further , Unlees the object ball is over a pocket and close to a cushion where centre ball striking is need to create the follow through .

[nathan_b]

so are you saying unless in those two situations you mentioned i should usually be hitting above centre?

[hotpot]

Well it all depends on on where you want to position the cue ball . Theres no substiture for getting on the table and experimenting , thats the only way to find the feel for the white so to speak .

[nathan_b]

ok thanks.

[Terry Davidson]

There is a positional method used by a lot of good players, called 'The Perfect Stun Angle'. It's simply this:

If you had the two balls in a vacuum with no friction and hit the cueball so as to perfectly stun it off the object ball then that cueball will travel at a 90degree angle off the object ball in relation to the line of aim.

Once you realize that then depending on where you want the cueball you use either above centre striking to make the angle less than 90 or below centre striking to increase the angle of the cueball.

Of course it's not an absolutely perfect method as there is friction on the cloth and between the balls but it really helps when using follow to figure out how much you want to use.

Practice this and you will soon be playing better position.

Terry

[nathan_b]

thanks terry thats something ive never noticed before but it will certainly help.