Front Pause aka The Dave Harold Freeze Technique

[armstm]

i have long suspected i have had subconscious adjustments as i am getting down on the shot. you know sometimes the cue feels too far from the hips or perhaps you don't think you're hitting the centre of the cueball or maybe the angle doesn't look right when you're down on the shot.

i recently tried doing a 'freeze' for about 2 seconds just after i've got down on the shot. then feather as usual. i think its produced much greater reliability but its early days so far. its a good thing to do in pressure situations as you're more prone to interfere with the angle you determined standing up.

[cyberheater]

Interesting. Terry was talking about something similar the other day on another thread.

2 seconds seems quite long. Probably good for long shots though to focus the mind.

[throtts]

When I go down I front pause straight away to "lock" on the part of the object ball I want to hit, then I do 2 feathers which are short ones, not like S Murphy, then I rear pause and then deliver the cue. Yes, my first initial front pause is around 2 seconds.

When I am flowing and striking the cue ball beautifully I sometimes leave out the couple of feathers when I am in and around the black / pink spot..

Always do the short couple of feathers or more for long pots though.

[cyberheater]

@ throtts

That's pretty much what I do now. And only a couple of feathers. Just to build up a rhythm but not overdo it.