long potting

[ardvark66]

Since I have started to play again after not playing for 10/15 years my long potting has gone to bits before I was very good at the long stuff now its got that bad I am lucky if I pot 3 in 20 attempts so this is spoiling any chance of getting past 25/30 breaks the highest so far 26 and then came to an end with an attempted long pot. My eyes are not what they were due to diabetes so I have tried with my glasses on and that’s is really no hoper any tips would be great

[lesedwards]

I also just started last fall after about 20 years and I also have diabetes. Yes I agree my eyes are not what they where before but i found that was not the problem. I am not sure where you live as you have not entered all your specifics. But i suggest you get a coach to look at your mechanics. Most will take a video as you are trying to make long pots and see what your cue action looks like. If you want to try something on your own time which i go back to every time I find pots not going in. Take a piece of chalk and put it on the rail directly behind the black spot then take your cue ball and place it on the brown spot and then try cueing the cue ball straight up the table at the chalk and see if you can make the cue ball come back and hit your tip. If this is too hard try cueing along the baulk line. I am sure Terry Davidson will comment on this shortly. Terry is my coach and is a certified coach. Good Luck

[Terry Davidson]

ardvark:

If you can take a video of you attempting long straight blues with the camera over the top pocket and then post the link here I'm sure a lot of people including myself will give you some tips.

Make sure the camera covers from the top of your elbow down to 6" in front of the cueball. It's important to have the long blue straight in as that places your cue over the leather of the yellow or green pocket and we can see if the cue is going sideways on either the backswing or delivery.

Usually when a player has difficulty with long potting it isn't his vision as long as he can see the object ball. It will normally be movement on the shot, turning the wrist or else clutching the cue. All are easy to spot although rectifying them can sometimes be difficult, especially the moving on the shot if it has become ingrained (like it is with me).

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

Ardvark , something I have found is try slowing down the follow through, it helps you start off slow then build speed, sometimes I find I get too quick too soon, then get a bit of movement, if I relax the whole thing and play smooth and still , it's much much better. This could just be me, but it would only take five mins to try as the results are instantaneous for me.

[Bigmeek]

I've heard the commentators on the telly say many times that as we get older the long potting is the first thing to go. I don't think it's the eyesight that is to blame but more the tendency to move on the shot. Maybe you should concentrate more on cue ball control to get the hgh breaks and leave the long potting to the young lads.