New Screw Back Technique

[Cue crafty]

We have a sports teacher in the club who plays with his cue like a sword, the tip finished up around your eyes and he's fully standing when he's finished his stroke. Apparently he's great at all other sports so applies his thinking well but not to snooker; the shame of it is, I've offered to help him but he wants to sort it on his own......I've been going there 6 years.

En Garde! Touché ! 😉

[markz]

We have a sports teacher in the club who plays with his cue like a sword, the tip finished up around your eyes and he's fully standing when he's finished his stroke. Apparently he's great at all other sports so applies his thinking well but not to snooker; the shame of it is, I've offered to help him but he wants to sort it on his own......I've been going there 6 years.

It's amazing, you watch a really good player and they do all the simple stuff. Watch players that can't play and they are trying to play shot of the tournament every shot they play. Most players not heard of playing pocket weight.

[itsnoteasy]

It's amazing, you watch a really good player and they do all the simple stuff. Watch players that can't play and they are trying to play shot of the tournament every shot they play. Most players not heard of playing pocket weight.

Takes a long time to learn that Markz, it's a very very good point,every single person I see that struggles hits the balls way to hard.I have had coaching and it was never mentioned, which looking back now,really surprises me.

[Nic Barrow]

Thanks for making time and get here.
Very useful tactic imo . also to get used to put less effort on cue .

Abit off the topic question in regards to your video ,
But , would be fair to say, the butt diam is a Very Important factor for a player. this in order to close the grip consistently and keep the cue stright during dilevery ?
I'm asking this bcuz i've noticed many players are easy on this part once they decide to buy a new cue . Sumtimes
They do'nt even care about , what's the but diam ?
Which is imo the main part of cueing during scrw back shot .

Good point - Ding is around 27mm or less and some players are 29 and sometimes 30.
I think we should pay more attention to this and perhaps have a set of 5 different butt diameter extensions to test when choosing a new cue - a bit like fitting a golf club and then see which butt diameter gives the best straightness of cueing

[Nic Barrow]

I quite liked that, it's very easy to forget what it's like when you are learning. I don't think I have come across anyone who didnt think( when first starting out) that more screw meant hitting the cue ball harder and with more effort, I include myself in there as well, this is a fine video showing it's the cue that does the work. From my point of view getting this in your head,that it's all about the cue, can't half bring your game on and improve your technique all round very quickly. Tension is a killer in this game.

Yes good point - tightness pulls the cue off line and off height. put the cue on the table and tap it with your finger to see how easy it is to push it off line.
Bear in mind the cue weighs 4-5 times more than the cue ball too.

[Nic Barrow]

Looks like a mike wooldridge cue there. What is your opinion on the blackspin ferrule? Does it help the screw back?

I don't know as it is impossible to test it against a brass ferrule because changing them around would change the wood and thus the feel and reaction of the cue.
I brought it as someone made me an offer I shouldn't refuse on my old cue and my friend had this and I loved the feel so I wanted to broaden my knowledge of cues and how different ones play.

[Nic Barrow]

That would be physically impossible, cue ball reaction is a product of speed/mass/contact point, not much else matters.

Actually the shaft flexibility and end mass of the cue do make a difference to how long the tip hangs on the cue ball to impart spin.
Whilst the difference between the best and middle range cues might only be 15%, it is an edge worth looking for as long as you don't go overboard.

[Nic Barrow]

The Physics Classroom » Physics Tutorial » Newton's Laws » - Newton's Second Law of Motion

Newton's first law of motion predicts the behavior of objects for which all existing forces are balanced. The first law - sometimes referred to as the law of inertia - states that if the forces acting upon an object are balanced, then the acceleration of that object will be 0 m/s/s. Objects at equilibrium (the condition in which all forces balance) will not accelerate. According to Newton, an object will only accelerate if there is a net or unbalanced force acting upon it. The presence of an unbalanced force will accelerate an object - changing its speed, its direction, or both its speed and direction.

Newton's second law of motion pertains to the behavior of objects for which all existing forces are not balanced. The second law states that the acceleration of an object is dependent upon two variables - the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. The acceleration of an object depends directly upon the net force acting upon the object, and inversely upon the mass of the object. As the force acting upon an object is increased, the acceleration of the object is increased. As the mass of an object is increased, the acceleration of the object is decreased.

The BIG Equation
Newton's second law of motion can be formally stated as follows:

The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
This verbal statement can be expressed in equation form as follows:

a = Fnet / m
The above equation is often rearranged to a more familiar form as shown below. The net force is equated to the product of the mass times the acceleration.

Fnet = m • a
In this entire discussion, the emphasis has been on the net force. The acceleration is directly proportional to the net force; the net force equals mass times acceleration; the acceleration in the same direction as the net force; an acceleration is produced by a net force. The NET FORCE. It is important to remember this distinction. Do not use the value of merely "any 'ole force" in the above equation. It is the net force that is related to acceleration. As discussed in an earlier lesson, the net force is the vector sum of all the forces. If all the individual forces acting upon an object are known, then the net force can be determined. If necessary, review this principle by returning to the practice questions in Lesson 2.



Consistent with the above equation, a unit of force is equal to a unit of mass times a unit of acceleration. By substituting standard metric units for force, mass, and acceleration into the above equation, the following unit equivalency can be written.

1 Newton = 1 kg • m/s2
The definition of the standard metric unit of force is stated by the above equation. One Newton is defined as the amount of force required to give a 1-kg mass an acceleration of 1 m/s/s.

Force = Mass X Acceleration.
So, a cue travelling at the same speed on cue ball impact will impart MORE speed and spin into the cue ball if it is ACCELERATING on impact than if it is travelling at a set speed.
That is why top players START SLOW on the delivery and FINISH FAST, having gradually ACCELERATED all the way through the delivery. This stops rapid over accelerations of the cue which cannot be done without over tightening the hand which in turn guarantees you will pull the cue off the line / height of the cue ball.

[Nic Barrow]

I don't understand why this shot is singled out as being difficult, apart from the fear factor of a miscue or cloth rip.

Aim low on the cue ball and make sure your impact point doesn't lift on the final strike. In other words, don't chicken out.
Relaxed arm and light grip on cue. Shot must be tension free.
Keep still during and after the shot, particularly the head.
Pause at final feather and then again at the end of a smooth, slow backswing.
Accelerate the cue smoothly towards the white ball.
Following through and stop. No recoil of tip or jab motion. Finish point is through the white ball and the cue stops at its forward most position.
Popular tips include lowering the bridge hand and keeping the cue as parallel as possible, but these aren't strictly essential if you get the timing right.

No secret methods necessary, just practise the damn shot.

All good points.
Pretend it is a top spin shot and deliver the same way.
Don't go too parallel though - as the V of the bridge will eventually flatten. This is why all pro's will be higher at the butt on a deep screw shot than on a top spin shot as their fingers are not thin enough to bridge that low and keep a decent V.

[Nic Barrow]

Has anyone ever actually witnessed someone ripping the cloth with a borked screw shot attempt? That seems to be one of those urban legends that everyone has heard of but nobody has actually seen, but are so sure it can happen. I can see the ferrule ripping into the cloth if it had a sharp edge and a very undersized tip on it so the brass could actually contact the cloth, but a leather tip?

Peter Ebdon at the World Champs one year - but he was digging down on the cue ball slightly, had a mushroom tip which cut into the cloth more and was playing on the very thing number 10 cloth.

[Nic Barrow]

Most do not have the technique to strike the cue ball accurately and the lower you go on the ball the more difficult it is, also generating the required cue speed for the big shots always causes tension in arm slowing the cue and in the grip pulling the cue off it's intended path that is the reason this and extreme top spin shots are a challenge for new players.

100% agreed - and maximum side spin shots too.

[Nic Barrow]

Timing schmiming, timing is just the point along the stroke at which you expect to strike the ball usually at the peak of acceleration and it has zero effect on reaction.
Same speed same point and angle of contact and the heavier cue will get more reaction, I'm afraid this is not even debatable.
Question: If you were crossing the road would you rather be hit by a Smart car or a Mack truck?

Depends how much they were accelerating!
But all things being equal, of course the lighter car

[Nic Barrow]

We have a sports teacher in the club who plays with his cue like a sword, the tip finished up around your eyes and he's fully standing when he's finished his stroke. Apparently he's great at all other sports so applies his thinking well but not to snooker; the shame of it is, I've offered to help him but he wants to sort it on his own......I've been going there 6 years.

Interesting - shows that knowledge in one field does not necessarily translate into another.

[Nic Barrow]

It's amazing, you watch a really good player and they do all the simple stuff. Watch players that can't play and they are trying to play shot of the tournament every shot they play. Most players not heard of playing pocket weight.

Always play pocket weight, unless you have to play more speed.
There should always be a reason for playing more than pocket speed to keep the average speed as low as possible and therefore the pockets as big as possible.

[pottr]

Once again something pure and simple made to look ddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppp, innovative and perceptive.

Exactly, cue power is all in the grip and how well you time the ball. Any decent player learnt that very early on.

It's not new either, I showed all my mates this exact thing when I was about 17... Didn't have a youtube account and a catchy 'Lettuce' name though

This might drive the point home to a lesser player that you don't have to hit the ball hard but without the necessary timing they'll still have a **** poor screw back shot.