Can a small change really make a difference?

[guernseygooner]

So I've been working on technique over the summer and was wondering if this small change I made can really make a difference or is it a placebo effect?

Basically I have found that when I concentrate on my walk in and dropping my head straight down my cue is slightly off centre to the left of my chin (leftie). Cant explain it but like that everything seems so much more comfy and aligned and I feel like the cue is smoothly coming back and through perfectly straight.

If I make sure the cue is centred on the chin then sometimes I can feel the cue going out to in on the backswing as in the cue wants to go over to where it is positioned when starting to the left of centre.

Just wondering if something like this could really make a difference? Not talking extremes, when the head is dropped straight down its only about half an inch over from the centre of the chin.

[Csmith]

Anything that improves alignment I've found to have immediate impact. Your not necessarily changing anything that would require a period of ingraining new movements into your muscle memory, you're simply getting your cue on the line of aim more consistently. The added focus may also have helped.

Some minor adjustments definitely help a lot. As a general rule, if I make a change I either

A) Wait to see how it feels after a couple weeks, and if it still feels much better, then it was a good change

or

B) Wait to see how well I'm playing overall. If it feels better and I'm playing better but still miss the odd tough shot that everyone misses, then it's probably a good change. But if for example I've turned my foot outwards slightly or something, and all of the sudden I'm potting from the lamp shades, it's probably a placebo effect on a day I'm already playing quite well.

[rimmer10]

you're left eye dominant, simple as that

[Creambun]

Alright Flange?? The cue will automatically fall to its natural position under chin. With me its to the right as im right eye dominant. I (like many other players) used to think I had to consciously position cue under centre of chin, because thats what the text books say. Nic Barrow showed me a way of sighting straight line and when drop onto cue u will see it falls perfectly to natural position. The brain works it out automatically. Alot of the changes I have made since seeing Nic have been fairly small and subtle but they are making great differences to my game.

[vmax4steve]

Everyones eyesight is different as regards to one eye being dominant over the other in order to judge distance. There is a place between the two eyes where the brain sees a straight line and it is usually near to your dominant eye or even sometimes directly under it. Depending on your stance, the brain will select the correct place between the two eye that sees the straight line and the cue will naturally fall into this place. To force the cue into a certain place that is seen as textbook is the wrong way to go.
Trust your eyes and your brain to do what comes naturally.
Follow your eyes, allow them to dictate where you stand and where between your eyes the cue has to be placed. It differs with everyone, there is no one correct place for everyone, only the correct place for you.
Feet position will differ according to a players height and the need to get the body down low to the bed of the table. It doesn't matter where the feet are positioned as long as the cue is on the line of aim and your eyes will place your feet for you if you allow them to.

[Sidd]

Everyones eyesight is different as regards to one eye being dominant over the other in order to judge distance. There is a place between the two eyes where the brain sees a straight line and it is usually near to your dominant eye or even sometimes directly under it. Depending on your stance, the brain will select the correct place between the two eye that sees the straight line and the cue will naturally fall into this place. To force the cue into a certain place that is seen as textbook is the wrong way to go.
Trust your eyes and your brain to do what comes naturally.
Follow your eyes, allow them to dictate where you stand and where between your eyes the cue has to be placed. It differs with everyone, there is no one correct place for everyone, only the correct place for you.
Feet position will differ according to a players height and the need to get the body down low to the bed of the table. It doesn't matter where the feet are positioned as long as the cue is on the line of aim and your eyes will place your feet for you if you allow them to.

I could hardly agree more to this Steve. I had ruined my natural game due to these things. I learnt it the hard way. To prefer my dominant eye I switched to square on stance but being tall it made me go up the bed of the table. When I moved back to boxer's to get myself low on the table, things improved and I cue centre chin without thinking to favour my left eye. The brain is a powerful machine and figures out the best line of vision for you. Unless you have a very weak eye you dont really need to worry about this. My eye sight is really weak and I wear cylindrical glasses but even then centre chin is best for me.

[SonicWave]

I'm no pro, so I don't know. I learnt and practiced all the correct positions then one day said let it settle to where it wants. Most everything stayed the same, just cue moved a little right (dom eye) and grip became a bit more relaxed then they say.

Works for me at my medium standard anyway.