Timing the Shot?

[karakiksi]

Good comments!
I haven´t even thought about that featering and the backswing should be the at the same speed or the that backswing should be about a half slower than featers. I have always been featering slowly and having a slow backswing. I need to try the differences tonight.
Well for some reason I have not been able to have a good acceleration for to past three days and i dont know the reason even i do things slowly. I was really hitting the ball well like a week ago. I think I have changed the cueing rythim somehow in my mind and I am not regognising it. Hitting the ball feels heavy and almost no spin, like a dead hit. Even you try to hit the chest everytime it does not help you if your mind is not set in the acceleration position I think... But how do you get this right mind setting everytime. I think the acceleration is all about how your mind is set. What do you think?

[CoachGavin]

Personally I find that if I concentrate too much on finishing at the chest I can still hit the ball too hard and get no reaction. It helps my game when I think more of pushing the white around and keeping the tip accelerating as the white moves forward. In practice this works well and I just need to practice it more so that I always push through and time the ball better.

[DandyA]

Personally I find that if I concentrate too much on finishing at the chest I can still hit the ball too hard and get no reaction. It helps my game when I think more of pushing the white around and keeping the tip accelerating as the white moves forward. In practice this works well and I just need to practice it more so that I always push through and time the ball better.

I totally agree Gavin ... thanks to the coaches on TSF (especially you and Terry) and youtube videos such as Dr Dave and Snooker Pro Tips plus others, I've felt for a while that my cueing setup and action is OK (apart from the whoopsies lol) so now when I get down on the shot, I try to leave that all on autopilot and concentrate solely on the moment when the cue-tip hits the cueball ...

I find it makes a big difference ...

[Dknox1]

Thanks for your help everyone :-D

[karakiksi]

I think I solved my problem las night while testing the cuing rythym and found that i was just simply hitting the cue ball too hard or I would say I hit the ball hard without acceleration. Then I started to hit the ball with less power and the acceleration just came back instantly like I had a week ago.
I dont know, maybe I ought to start to hit the ball more softly when I come to the club and then increase the power after the warmup. I have always thought it was the other way. In the beginning start hitting with power to get a feeling and then reduce the power in order to have a smooth cue action. I dont know i need to try both options to find out what works for me.

[cantpotforshíte]

Imagery works better than words so...
You can imagine that the cue ball is made of plasticine, or other soft material like blu-tac, rolled into a perfect ball. Then you stroke it as if you need to make it go a long way but without denting the plasticine ball.
Basically your tip will need to be in contact with the cueball for longer and you'll have to accelerate quite suddenly as the tip impacts the cue ball to make the cue ball travel at speed without damaging the plasticine surface.
Makes sense in my little world anyway.

[sydneygeorge]

[QUOTE=cantpotforshíte;668124]Imagery works better than words so...

Like to hear more from you !!

[karakiksi]

"Imagery works better than words so..."

Well said and this is exactly what i am looking for to my game. The mental side and tips.

[damienlch]

Imagery works better than words so...
You can imagine that the cue ball is made of plasticine, or other soft material like blu-tac, rolled into a perfect ball. Then you stroke it as if you need to make it go a long way but without denting the plasticine ball.
Basically your tip will need to be in contact with the cueball for longer and you'll have to accelerate quite suddenly as the tip impacts the cue ball to make the cue ball travel at speed without damaging the plasticine surface.
Makes sense in my little world anyway.

As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words, unless you are literally painting a picture of a thousand words of course...

Your imagery might work for me as I tend to put too much into the cueball, especially longish shots... going to try it out. I sometimes use imagery too; picturing imaginary lines I need the cueball to get close to for position.

[mick farrell]

Imagery works better than words so...
You can imagine that the cue ball is made of plasticine, or other soft material like blu-tac, rolled into a perfect ball. Then you stroke it as if you need to make it go a long way but without denting the plasticine ball.
Basically your tip will need to be in contact with the cueball for longer and you'll have to accelerate quite suddenly as the tip impacts the cue ball to make the cue ball travel at speed without damaging the plasticine surface.
Makes sense in my little world anyway.

This does makes a lot of sense. Alex Higgins once mentioned one of his books about striking the cue ball as if it were an egg. He was given this advice when he was a kid and I think it was meant that you don't try to break the shell as you strike. Now we all know that Alex didn't follow this advice on a lot of his shots but when you saw him at his absolute best (spells in the '83 UK Final) he was hitting the white ball softly & sweetly.

[Sidd]

This is indeed a great post with excellent information and explanation on timing; something we all desire... Excellent!!!

[dcrackers147]

Now let me start by saying i have seen 2 well respected coaches over the past 10 years and I really believe in a solid technique. For me some of the threads that alot of you post talk about minor parts of the overall technique in alot of detail almost obsessed by it. Some of you comment that certain things are really working i would ask how?? what breaks are you making?? are you winning matches comfortably?? does the new technique hold up under pressure?? I would just warn you as I know alot of players myself included who have constantly strived for the perfect cue action/technique. Looking back it probably cost them and me alot of progression. you need to feel the shots not cue like a robot, Ronnie is a perfect example of this, if you look at when he burst onto the scene he had a very quick cue action with almost no pause yet he felt every shot, Mark Williams is another example he has not got the best technique in the world but he feels the shots so well and plays shots in the way he is most comfortable. Please dont think I am saying technique is not important what i am trying to say is strive to find a solid technique not a perfect one (there is no such thing!)