Screwing Back : I'm ending up with no back spin when I hit the object ball

[Little Reggie]

I also agree with the Tomwalker post. When I see people struggle to screw back (especially if they are stunning the shot), the most common thing i see is a lack of follow through. Staying down in the shot is a must for most shots, so that tends not to be the route of the problem, it's normally the follow through.

Follow through isn't essential at all. Hitting the bottom of the CB with maximum force is what it's actually about. I've seen deep screw from awful cue actions that are very industrial but effective. However, timing and quality of cue action along with follow through (like Stephen Lee) improves the type of hit and leaves the cue ball jumping less and results in less missed shots due to the forearm going off line less.

Leave a red a foot from the black pocket (so the pot is easy) and the white a few feet back and practice deep screw up to baulk. Everyone can do this simple routine with practice. Make sure you keep your thumb upright throughout the shot so you get no cue rotation. Keep the back fingers relaxed and open them up naturally and gently to begin with; no jerking! At the limit, only the pinkie tip should be touching the cue. Some choose to release the rear fingers from the cue altogether and this can lead to lots of power but also, lots of tranverse wobble and misses. Whether you practice elbow drop ala Lee and ROS is moot as lots of 'coaches' have poo pooed it. What do they know eh?

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Follow through isn't essential at all. Hitting the bottom of the CB with maximum force is what it's actually about. I've seen deep screw from awful cue actions that are very industrial but effective. However, timing and quality of cue action along with follow through (like Stephen Lee) improves the type of hit and leaves the cue ball jumping less and results in less missed shots due to the forearm going off line less.

Leave a red a foot from the black pocket (so the pot is easy) and the white a few feet back and practice deep screw up to baulk. Everyone can do this simple routine with practice. Make sure you keep your thumb upright throughout the shot so you get no cue rotation. Keep the back fingers relaxed and open them up naturally and gently to begin with; no jerking! At the limit, only the pinkie tip should be touching the cue. Some choose to release the rear fingers from the cue altogether and this can lead to lots of power but also, lots of tranverse wobble and misses. Whether you practice elbow drop ala Lee and ROS is moot as lots of 'coaches' have poo pooed it. What do they know eh?

Elbow drop is fine as long as it is after contact, so as part of the follow through.

[Little Reggie]

Elbow drop is fine as long as it is after contact, so as part of the follow through.

I'll check with an online coach in Timbukto who can't make the shot, and get back to you.

[Terry Davidson]

I'll check with an online coach in Timbukto who can't make the shot, and get back to you.

I'm not in Timbukto but...I think you are missing the point by saying follow-through is not essential. What is essential is timing and accelerating through and beyond the cueball and in order to do this consistently you need follow-through which is an essential aspect of 'timing'. I can't make this shot like Stephen does and I don't think I did it that well even when I played better in the 80's but then again there aren't a lot of non-pros who can do it either. It requires a long backswing and then the 'drive' through the cueball. It's that long backswing which starts it off and you get results like what Ronnie, Murphy, Lee, Robertson and a few others can achieve.

My advice would be (in solo practice) to start with a long and slow backswing and then graduate the acceleration, trying to hit the OB with your tip. The backswing must be slow enough to be controlled to be absolutely straight. A rear pause helps with this too. Dropping the elbow should occur after the strike in this scenario but I think Lee gets this action because he doesn't raise his elbow on the start of the delivery so it doesn't drop before the strike.

[itsnoteasy]

His elbow doesn't drop straight down either but I think that's more to do with his shape, this is all after contact of course so doesn't matter, just something i noticed.

[throtts]

Lee's final looooooonng back swing is the dogs danglies.

Also, for me, the rear pause helps getting through the CB. A lot of club players twitch on the rear pause because they find the feel of it not natural..I would say to them though to try and stick with it giving it a good chance to sync in.

[itsnoteasy]

Lee's final looooooonng back swing is the dogs danglies.

Also, for me, the rear pause helps getting through the CB. A lot of club players twitch on the rear pause because they find the feel of it not natural..I would say to them though to try and stick with it giving it a good chance to sync in.

It is a thing of beauty isn't it, if you look in the dictionary under the word effortless, there will be a picture of this man cueing.

[pottr]

Follow through isn't essential at all. Hitting the bottom of the CB with maximum force is what it's actually about. I've seen deep screw from awful cue actions that are very industrial but effective. However, timing and quality of cue action along with follow through (like Stephen Lee) improves the type of hit and leaves the cue ball jumping less and results in less missed shots due to the forearm going off line less.

The follow through is immensely important on a deep screw shot...

I haven't read the thread properly but I don't think anyone has mentioned the most important part of these monster screws... It's the grip.

90% the grip and the rest is a mixture of following through and not jerking your body off line... Keeping your head still helps but a slight lift won't matter if you time it correctly.

[Terry Davidson]

The follow through is immensely important on a deep screw shot...

I haven't read the thread properly but I don't think anyone has mentioned the most important part of these monster screws... It's the grip.

90% the grip and the rest is a mixture of following through and not jerking your body off line... Keeping your head still helps but a slight lift won't matter if you time it correctly.

Now you've done it, you've disagreed with Reggie so this post will be regarded as an attack.

Agree with what you said with a little added is it's when you tighten the grip that's important. A lot of learning players will tighten at the start of the delivery when they think they need a positive hold on the cue when exactly the opposite is true.

[pottr]

Agree with what you said with a little added is it's when you tighten the grip that's important. A lot of learning players will tighten at the start of the delivery when they think they need a positive hold on the cue when exactly the opposite is true.

Why on Earth should a player who is learning worry about how to perform a 10 foot screw back when you're 10 feet away from the object ball?

It's not a natural shot and there's very few of us GOD LIKE CUEISTS who can perform it anyway x

[tomwalker147]

Why on Earth should a player who is learning worry about how to perform a 10 foot screw back when you're 10 feet away from the object ball?

It's not a natural shot and there's very few of us GOD LIKE CUEISTS who can perform it anyway x

I can't do it, not blessed with huge cue power on screw shots. What you say about the grip is correct though, I remember a few years back you pointing out to me that the grip should be loose on a screw shot and it was bang on. Loads more screw generated and less pots missed.

[pottr]

*fewer x x

[tomwalker147]

*fewer x x

Which swear words are tolerated on this forum?

[itsnoteasy]

I can't do it, not blessed with huge cue power on screw shots. What you say about the grip is correct though, I remember a few years back you pointing out to me that the grip should be loose on a screw shot and it was bang on. Loads more screw generated and less pots missed.

While obviously not at Pottr and Toms standard , but I have found even screwing around the black area, say on and off the cushion back in to the middle or the other side of the table, is so much easier with a light grip, I feel it helps keep me still as well, and I Im much more accurate on the cue ball. I don't think a lot of us hit the cue ball where we think we do, I know I don't every time and it shows in the different reactions I get on the cue ball.

[Terry Davidson]

Going back to the OP's original statement he says he's 'not getting any screw at all'. This seems to me as he's not hitting the bottom of the cueball at strike because to my mind even someone with the worst technique with a tight grip if he hits the bottom the cueball will come back some distance but not much.

Possible causes are he's just not lowering his bridge hand enough or else he's dropping his elbow before the strike and then the tip comes up.