I have a flaw that I cannot find a solution to. Help needed!

[LeeMills]

Hi people,

I'm 30 and I have played the game for about seven years now. I consider myself a descent club player who has had a 76 break in a match and with several centuries in practice. I consider myself quite sound technically and when I’m cueing at my very best I can make the game look quite easy.

I am only a club player and so don’t expect to achieve anything great in the game, maybe the odd tournament in the local club. I do have a flaw that I have had in my game since the day I started and I have never been able to resolve it. I have tried almost everything and when I do think I have solved it it comes back with a vengeance. I hit the object ball too far to the right more often than not. Short range potting isn’t really a problem but my long game is virtually non-existent. I did think I leaned over to the right of the cue and assumed that by straightening up my head the problem would disappear. It didn’t. I did think my wrist moved on the shot. It doesn’t. I have a good stance and I get as low as I can so there are no problems there. The majority of balls I do pot ALWAYS hit the left-hand side of the pocket almost every time. Rarely do I get them bang in the middle of the pocket. If you love the game like me you will probably see how frustrating it can be.

I recently watched Ronnie O’Sullivan score his 147 against Marco Fu in 2003 at the World Championship. There are several shots where Ronnie pulls his back arm out to the right as he goes through the shot. If you look at the red on 48 points and the black on 89 points he really pulls his arm out. He does it on many of the other shots but not as much. I decided to try this as nothing else seemed to work. I couldn’t believe it but my long game came back and my pots were hitting the back of the pocket. The problem with this is I began pulling it out too far and I began putting left hand side on. It has affected my confidence now and it is like a personal hell with the game that seems will never go away. It is driving me crazy!

If you have experienced anything like this I would like to hear from you. Even if you still have the same problem or if you have resolved it. If you have any ideas for me to try I am prepared to give it a go.

Thank you,

Lee.

[cally]

Hi Lee, you need to stop pulling the arm out intentionally bud...

Not good bud..., on a long backswing the arm will feel like it wants to 'pull out' but you need to be aware of this and try to correct it and keep the cue on the line of aim as best as possible.

Stop trying to be ron and play your own game bud..

[Slh]

i don't see ronnie pulling his harm out to the right to be honest.

[LeeMills]

Hi people,

Thanks for the reply. The dilemma I have is this; if I have a flaw in my game I don't want to introduce another flaw to cancel the first flaw out. I really don't want to go down that path but at the moment it appear to work.

I have been thinking that maybe the cue isn't perfectly aligned to the shot. Maybe it is pointing slightly to the right. If it is then the adjustment would be miniscule; probably not even a millimetre. I am a very good potter and in practice I don't usually miss; when I do the ball hits the left side of the pocket in exactly the same place; it is consistent.

Unfortunately I copied Ronnie O'Sullivan's style when I first started playing; from his stance, grip, arms, feathering, how he drops his arm, everything. It is the only way I know to play the game and I don't think I can change the way I play. I have managed to score several centuries in practice so I'm not doing too bad in all honesty. I feel I could be far more consistent if I were to remove this flaw I have. Does anybody have any ideas apart from the few I have mentioned? It would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Lee.

[boggz]

your probably the best player at your locall and if you have managed to copy ronnnnies action then the gammmmmmme seems to easy resultinnnnnnng in a lack of concentration or taking yer eye off the ballllllllllllll
trust me i know

[nrage]

If the object ball is hitting the left side of the pocket, then the white must be moving right of the line of aim. There are 2 reasons it might do that:

1. Squirt/Deflection. When you hit the /left/ side of the white it will head right of the line of aim.

2. Swerve. Typically if you hit the /right/ side of the white (it will squirt left but) over distance it will swerve back to the right.

This video explains both squirt and swerve really well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXJ7b...K_Mzytku6k72s=

That said, it's possible the problem you have is not exactly what you're thinking. If you're making breaks of 70-100 you must be pretty accurate most of the time, but .. most people have trouble with shots where there is more power involved, either because they:
a. Pull the cue back further than normal, and this is harder to control.
b. Accelerate the cue faster, introducing excess unwanted movement.

So, it could be that you introduce a small amount of inaccuracy with high power shots. Do you notice the ball go to the left of the pocket on soft shots? If not, then this might explain things. Short range high power shots would be "ok" because the amount you introduce only has the effect of sending the object to the left of the pocket, not missing completely. But over distance it will add up.

If so, do you increase the backswing distance for long pots? Or on all pots with high power? Or do you have a short backswing and do you accelerate the cue faster? How are you with potting long balls at low power (only enough to prevent the object ball drifting off the line)?

Lastly, sometimes you can see the problem if you get a video camera and film yourself. You can try a normal camera, and it will show larger faults, but I don't think (from the sound of this) that's what you've got.

Ideally you want a high speed camera and someone who knows what to look for. I believe Nic Barrows does high speed video capture coaching so booking a session with him is a good option. Explain exactly what you believe is happening and what you want to get out of it and he should be able to sort you out.

[Jake O'Sullivan]

I'm sure Terry will help you out with this problem soon enough mate..

[Terry Davidson]

I can't help with this as I don't have enough information. You need to post a video showing a few long blues with the camera behind the top pocket and have the cueball to top of the elbow in focus. Then some more shots with the camera showing the grip hand to the elbow

You best bet is to book a session with Nic Barrow in Milton Keynes as nrage has suggested and I would be Nic would solve the problem for you in one 2hr or 3hr session

Terry

[LittleMissAlexa]

Hi people,

I'm 30 and I have played the game for about seven years now. I consider myself a descent club player who has had a 76 break in a match and with several centuries in practice. I consider myself quite sound technically and when I’m cueing at my very best I can make the game look quite easy.

I am only a club player and so don’t expect to achieve anything great in the game, maybe the odd tournament in the local club. I do have a flaw that I have had in my game since the day I started and I have never been able to resolve it. I have tried almost everything and when I do think I have solved it it comes back with a vengeance. I hit the object ball too far to the right more often than not. Short range potting isn’t really a problem but my long game is virtually non-existent. I did think I leaned over to the right of the cue and assumed that by straightening up my head the problem would disappear. It didn’t. I did think my wrist moved on the shot. It doesn’t. I have a good stance and I get as low as I can so there are no problems there. The majority of balls I do pot ALWAYS hit the left-hand side of the pocket almost every time. Rarely do I get them bang in the middle of the pocket. If you love the game like me you will probably see how frustrating it can be.

I recently watched Ronnie O’Sullivan score his 147 against Marco Fu in 2003 at the World Championship. There are several shots where Ronnie pulls his back arm out to the right as he goes through the shot. If you look at the red on 48 points and the black on 89 points he really pulls his arm out. He does it on many of the other shots but not as much. I decided to try this as nothing else seemed to work. I couldn’t believe it but my long game came back and my pots were hitting the back of the pocket. The problem with this is I began pulling it out too far and I began putting left hand side on. It has affected my confidence now and it is like a personal hell with the game that seems will never go away. It is driving me crazy!

If you have experienced anything like this I would like to hear from you. Even if you still have the same problem or if you have resolved it. If you have any ideas for me to try I am prepared to give it a go.

Thank you,

Lee.

There is a player in the top sixteen who also seems to have an issue like this (I have never seen Bingham hit a ball plain ball) sounds like your cue is not going through straight.

unorthodox techniques arent always a bad thing for instance when im hampered i actually play the shot better if my bridge isnt planted i can play that way because I have a very steady bridge hand and it gives me more height on the cue obviously and i can hit more of the cue ball also helps me because as you guessed I have smaller hands than most snooker players

Another unorthodox technique I have perfected is a flexibility one where a player plays a shot behind their back i can bend over the table backwards and cue over my body (the advantage it gives me is a better view when playing a shot)

this is why i think you can be over coached as these shots are not in the manual but they suit me

[Drac]

I was told by a former pro that Stuart Bingham ALWAYS uses side and NEVER plays plain ball... When asked, Stuart said it was a choice and not a FAULT....

[Slh]

I was told by a former pro that Stuart Bingham ALWAYS uses side and NEVER plays plain ball... When asked, Stuart said it was a choice and not a FAULT....

I remember that Mike Sigel ( a great pool player) said if you use side spin, a bad contact is less likely. He always used a little bit of spin in every shot to avoid them. I don't know if this theory can be prove.

[DG GIBERT]

I assume a left pot he would use a bit of right hand side and visa versa

[mattyshinobi22]

I was told by a former pro that Stuart Bingham ALWAYS uses side and NEVER plays plain ball... When asked, Stuart said it was a choice and not a FAULT....

can be very dangerous using side when you dont need to....... prob reason why he hasnt won many tornaments. as he has the ability

[pottr]

I'd imagine someone of the immense pedigree and talent of Mr Bingham uses side when it's necessary and not as a rule of thumb.

[CoachGavin]

This is just a guess. I had a similar problem which seemed to be cured when I pulled my backswing out slightly. However the original fault was that I was not addressing centre of the white. I was actually addressing slight right hand side. Ask someone or video yourself just to check you are actually aiming at the middle of the white.