Sure-Fire Sighting Confirmation Method

[Terry Davidson]

The attached photos show a method I developed for confirming sighting accurately. The first photo shows the device I used which is a LAZERPRO 'Laser Tool Kit' Model CL2062XL from Team Products International (pictures 3, 4 & 5). Their website is no longer active but I did find some on both Amazon and eBay for $30 or less. It takes 2 x AAA batteries.

The first thing I did (first picture) was place the cueball on the yellow spot and then set the laser up over the opposite top pocket (had to put a thin ruler underneath to get the spot on the cueball near centre-ball). Unfortunately my camera won't pick up the red dot at the centre of the cueball but with the eyes it's really bright.

Then I have the student get down into the address position sighting his cue through the cueball to the laser emitter which is easily visible and can be compared to 'BOB'.

Then I take away the cueball and see where the laser beam is shining on his cue (second picture). Again, the laser is barely visible on the cue but readily seen by the naked eye. If the laser is dead centre on the cue then I take that as absolute confirmation the student is sighting the cue correctly and I can start looking for other reasons why he can't pot consistently.

The width of the laser beam is somewhere around 1-2mm and the distance is around 10ft so any errors should be easily visible and the coach can make adjustments to the student's set-up to ensure he is sighting correctly.

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

When I tried this out my cue ended up right on line with the laser centered on the shaft. If you tell the student to address the cueball with a little bit of bottom the laser will show on about 4 inches of the shaft and it's very easy to see and determine where it is on the shaft.

So now I know I sight perfectly so why in hell don't I make every pot I take on? Obviously I'm not delivering the cue consistently straight along my sighting line. Now I have to do some further work on my technique but then again even the pros don't deliver perfectly 100% of the time (but come a hell of a lot closer than I do!).

I think this would be a good thing for any coach to add to his training toolkit.

Terry

[DeanH]

Very interesting, thanks for the update.

[hotpot]

When I tried this out my cue ended up right on line with the laser centered on the shaft. If you tell the student to address the cueball with a little bit of bottom the laser will show on about 4 inches of the shaft and it's very easy to see and determine where it is on the shaft.

So now I know I sight perfectly so why in hell don't I make every pot I take on? Obviously I'm not delivering the cue consistently straight along my sighting line. Now I have to do some further work on my technique but then again even the pros don't deliver perfectly 100% of the time (but come a hell of a lot closer than I do!).

I think this would be a good thing for any coach to add to his training toolkit.

Terry

Mark Selby does not cue straight at all probably due to body movement , i can only think he straightens his cue out on the final delivery but sways when he,s feathering .

[itsnoteasy]

Terry could you try the laser above the pocket or just behind it you could pot the white and look at the cue on the laser in the final position, if its a dead straight shot it should show if you are cueing to left or right

[Terry Davidson]

hotpot:

As Selby is one of the best players in the world I don't think there's any doubt he delivers the cue straight and if my memory serves me he does the swaying when he first gets down and feathers but he is the exception, not the norm. Are you saying this method wouldn't work with him or someone who does that?

Of course the cue has to be in the address position and still but I can't remember if Selby has a front pause or not but it would be checked at that time. He does stop the cue at some point though as it's the only way he can confirm his sighting.

Terry

[alabadi]

So now I know I sight perfectly so why in hell don't I make every pot I take on? Obviously I'm not delivering the cue consistently straight along my sighting line.

Terry

Terry

Isn't it possible that the point selected on BOB is wrong, rather than not delivering the cue straight. i had a session with my coach last week and i asked him to check whether i am sighting correctly. a few times he would stand over the pocket and put his finger where he thought i would put the OB, he was spot on each time.
so i was actually delivering the cue to the spot i selected and delivered the cue straight otherwise i wouldn't hit that spot, my issue was selecting the correct contact point.

just a thought

Alabbadi

[itsnoteasy]

Terry could you try the laser above the pocket or just behind it you could pot the white and look at the cue on the laser in the final position, if its a dead straight shot it should show if you are cueing to left or right

take it this was a daft question lol.
Alabadi this was (is)my biggest problem, i can hit what i am aiming at i just aim at the wrong point, I watched Nic Barrow on video, and read umpteem times on here anyone can pick the right line, well believe me i cant , and it has been proven in front of a top coach, that i cue straight, but cant aim to save myself(although Chris has given me the tools to sort it and it is so so much better) i think this is something that is over looked, and causes more problems than people think as they look for other reasons, like sighting, grip, getting down offline (again more important than sighting i think). As far as i know sighting is just to check everything you have done before is still correct, and to lock on to bob.

[alabadi]

take it this was a daft question lol.
Alabadi this was (is)my biggest problem, i can hit what i am aiming at i just aim at the wrong point, I watched Nic Barrow on video, and read umpteem times on here anyone can pick the right line, well believe me i cant , and it has been proven in front of a top coach, that i cue straight, but cant aim to save myself(although Chris has given me the tools to sort it and it is so so much better) i think this is something that is over looked, and causes more problems than people think as they look for other reasons, like sighting, grip, getting down offline (again more important than sighting i think). As far as i know sighting is just to check everything you have done before is still correct, and to lock on to bob.

yes i do believe that i don't always pick the correct point, just as i mentioned above it was proven with my coach, even when i was playing shots to come off the cushion the cueball had no side, so i was cueing straight and hitting center.

i even asked the coach don't you want to look at the way i sight, he said maybe at a later date, so for now i am working on smooth cueing and position. although i would be much more happier if i know that i am selecting the correct contact point every time.

Alabbadi

[itsnoteasy]

your not sighting wrong , your aiming wrong (i think) as you pick bob standing up, this is aiming, sighting is done once down on the shot , it checks you are still on the line of aim you picked( this is why the whole thing of sighting is over blown in my opinion, you can pot a ball with your eyes shut without sighting, but you cant do it without aiming)

[Terry Davidson]

itsnoteasy:

I believe every player can select the correct potting angle since after all it's just making contact with the plant position but some players like yourself are unable to get down correctly into the exact aiming position they selected when standing behind the shot where they get the best perspective of the angle.

On your other question...not really daft but all I had to do is first check if the laser was centered on the cue at the front pause and then deliver the cue and see if the laser is still on the shaft. In my case I think I have a 'stutter' to the left after I impact the cueball and then come back onto the right line, especially if I do it with power. Where the problem arises is I can't see if my cue is moving sideways since for some reason neither my camera or my video camera can pick up the laser yet if I look with my eyes it's very bright.

As Chris taught you, the pre-shot routine before assuming the address position is very important and that line of aim must be maintained all the way down. This is why I agree with Nic Barrow and say use the nose and drop it straight down as it provides a good reference point but a lot of people on here poo-poohed that idea, but I think it helps keep the head straight.

alabadi:

You are correct. There are two places where a player can 'lose the plot' and the first one is aiming while standing behind the shot. There even might be something to be said for those 'head's-up' players who cue with their chin around 6" above the cue as they are still getting a better perspective on the contact point (but not a great visual on the actual sighting). Perhaps the best thing is a compromise, where you start getting down into the shot and stop about 10" or so before the address position and confirm everything is OK and then continue down straight into the chin-on-cue address position, keeping your nose pointed at BOB.

I have always believed given the right procedure that any player can detect the correct line of aim and get down into the correct line of aim but it does take a little practice and patience.

The other point, and probably the most abused, is actually delivering the cue straight. Even at the pro level this doesn't happen 100% of the time because after all we are all humans and subject to little quirks even if we are a trained professional. At least we don't have to worry about the wind like golfers do (unless it's our own wind of course).

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

It's a real pity the camera doesn't show what's going on well. For the picture from behind the laser level the red dot on the cueball was almost blinding to the naked eye but there was nothing from the camera and I couldn't figure out how to show that effectively.

Even with the laser on the shaft the line is very bright to the eyes but the camera hardly sees it. Maybe some photographer can tell me why this is so and I can fix it with a filter or something and take better pictures.

However, if someone in Britain does get one of these things or something similar where you can aim a laser dot at a cueball I think it would be really helpful as a training aid.

For instance, you can set this up on the pink ball so the laser is shining right over the pink spot and into the centre of the pocket (you can do the same with the black too) and then set up a pot with pink or black on spot and of any angle on the pink/black and the laser dot will show exactly where BOB is, even when viewed from the side. Now of course you don't aim the cue at the dot as the shot isn't straight in, but this might help both itsnoteasy and alabadi to get some practice determining exactly where BOB is on an angled pot.

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

Ah thats a pity about the camera not picking it up, i dont know if having dimmer lighting would help, if its a mill to one side or the other, it would be really hard to pick up with just video footage and even slow motion and the naked eye.
Honestly Terry i cant pick the line, Chris and i did a drill where i picked my line, didnt move, then he stood in front of me in the correct place and i was always two to three inches to the right of him lol, i am bloody hopeless(well i think i have dramatically improved to hopeless now.) Dont get me wrong i was also not getting down correct either lol.

[DandyA]

just to note as well as Terry's homemade system (see note 1) a quick Google of "laser training aids" reveals things like ...

laserstroke ... http://www.laserstroke.com/
anglebuddy ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KKR8KMyDLo (sound starts working a few seconds into the video)

note 1 ... with deference to the war going on in the cues section at the moment, Terry never said "homemade" and I'm sure if he badges his invention and sells it at a massive markup, he'll do the right thing and mark it as "customised" LOL ...

in reply to the red laser light not showing up well on the camera, I guess it's because most camera sensors aren't very sensitive to red light ... if you watch the anglebuddy promo, you can't see the line from it's laser either (the line on the video is clearly edited in afterwards) ...

[laverda]

Terry could you try using your video camera on night vision mode with low light in your table room. I'm not 100% sure but I think you will get the beam then.
Cheers,
Mick