Feathers and where to look?!

[Dknox1]

Hey, got a few questions ...
Should a player use the same amount of feathers on each shot no matter what the situation, to keep a consistent technique?
Also is it best to look at the cue ball when pointing at the white, and looking at the object ball when drawing back, for every feather, looks to me as if this is what John Higgins is doing when he plays, he has one of the best techniques, so I'm wondering whether is it a good idea?
Also, from experimentation, I've found that I can pot much better without feathering, just pointing and delivering... Is this something which isn't advised and will fail under pressure?
Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Dan

[Smeeagain]

Hey, got a few questions ...
Should a player use the same amount of feathers on each shot no matter what the situation, to keep a consistent technique?
Also is it best to look at the cue ball when pointing at the white, and looking at the object ball when drawing back, for every feather, looks to me as if this is what John Higgins is doing when he plays, he has one of the best techniques, so I'm wondering whether is it a good idea?
Also, from experimentation, I've found that I can pot much better without feathering, just pointing and delivering... Is this something which isn't advised and will fail under pressure?
Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Dan

Hi - I'm not trying to hijack your post, but can you explain to me what you mean by feathering?

[Smeeagain]

Hey, got a few questions ...
Should a player use the same amount of feathers on each shot no matter what the situation, to keep a consistent technique?
Also is it best to look at the cue ball when pointing at the white, and looking at the object ball when drawing back, for every feather, looks to me as if this is what John Higgins is doing when he plays, he has one of the best techniques, so I'm wondering whether is it a good idea?
Also, from experimentation, I've found that I can pot much better without feathering, just pointing and delivering... Is this something which isn't advised and will fail under pressure?
Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Dan

Hi - I'm not trying to hijack your post, but can you explain to me what you mean by feathering?

[Smeeagain]

Hi - I'm not trying to hijack your post, but can you explain to me what you mean by feathering?

Sorry pc issues didnt mean to post the same thing twice

[j6uk]

For me, you said a key word 'experiment'.
Has anyone knocked in a tone against you yet? How did you respond, was there any difference technically with what you've mentioned above?

[Dknox1]

Feathering is just the sort of 'practise strokes' before actually playing the shot...

[Dknox1]

Nobody has made a ton against me yet?!

[j6uk]

I think while your experimenting it would be a good idea to find some quality players to spar with a couple of times a week. Someone who's gonna punish your mistakes and put a question mark over your technique with scoring pressure. There's really nothing like it. I feel then you'd have a clearer picture of were your at.
I spent a good few years picking out balls as a young apprentice. On reflection If I could have that time back I would of practiced half of that time instead.

[CueAce]

To actually answer your question, feathering is normally done to get a feel for the shot you are about to play. There may be some benefit to having the same number of feathers on every shot but for most people it will very by up to +-1 or 2 depending on the shot they are playing.

If you prefer not feathering at all, that isn't automatically a bad thing, this is exactly the way that Marco Fu plays and certainly doesn't seem to do him any harm!

[j6uk]

I agree with the post above. My take on you Dan, as much as I know of you, is really its time to go into battle! You know what I mean? I think the amateur scene is good at the moment in the UK. I rate what you have now, from your youtube videos, so take what you've got to the match table. Then come back to your home table, and assess..
I do hope you have ambitions to compete, otherwise your just playing for fun in a vacuum and who cares about that?! Unless your planning to tour the globe, playing for money

[Terry Davidson]

Feathering and the associated eye rhythm is all a matter of personal timing and is an individual thing. The 'ideal' is usually no more than 2-3 feathers on any shot with the eyes flicking back and forth between cueball and object ball but I don't try to teach where in the feathering movement that the eyes should go, like OB on the backswing, CB on the forward swing.

It's all a matter of personal choice and you should do some solo practice and experiment and find out what you like best. If it happens to be no feathering then go with that or whatever you find. Excessive feathering gives the body a chance to move a bit and that will take the cue off-line so if you happen to unconsciously lift your head during the backswing in the feathering then it's probably a good idea to recude or eliminate the feathering altogether. I am not recommending that however and feel it's usually better to have 1 or 2 feathers.

Terry

[j6uk]

As you know Dan when you plant your feet into the shot and your 'on balance' nothing should take you off that line, no matter how many so called feathers you wanna do. I can see that excessive feathering could spoil ones tempo and concentration. Of course all of this will be highlighted when your competing

[buddfridgeman]

I think it goes deeper than that, I have had a few cue changes and for me at least ...some cues deliver better with feathering and some play better just holding steady and pushing thru.

I have hundreds of tons some with feathering and some with no feathering.....the feathering cues are more consistant and I am more relaxed with, but the cues that I feel should be held and pushed thru tend to play better..much better but patchy..very patchy..great long potting and powers shots in some sessions then not so good the next day.

I think its a rythe thing but the cues that feel really good at pushing thru tend not to feel so good when feathering....never worked it out but I can usually tell which cue it will be within a few minutes..must be the throw of the ball...so try both

[Dknox1]

Thanks Terry, I didn't know that the eye-movement was simply a matter of choice
Yeah j6uk, i do enter competitions (if i hadnt said). I've just finished the season in the Cuestars U21s Silver Open, ranked 2nd, and am moving up to gold next season. Will be continuing with the Regional Junior Tour in the upcoming season, and intend to play in other events, but only the Regional Tour and Cuestars are guaranteed at the moment.
I'm going to give feathering a go for at least a month, i find that with feathering i have days where I can't pot a ball, whereas without feathering, I can still make breaks and pot long balls no matter what
Thanks