by Greg on March 31, 2012
Tony Crosby drilled into me the importance of getting in line with the shot. Getting in line means walking into the shot down the line that you sight to pocket the ball or play safe. Tony watched me for just a few minutes and summarized my old approach as table hugging. That is I walked across the line for the next shot.
Stand back and sight the line to pocket the ball or play safe. Once you have sighted the line to pocket the ball or play safe walk into the line to get set on the table to pocket the ball or play safe.
My shot making percentages go up when I walk into the line to pocket the ball. Oftem times when I miss I reflect that I did not get in line to make the shot but rather I walked across the line to get set like a table hugger.
When you stand back from the shot and follow the path to the line of the shot you are more likely to set correctly into the shot.
Quit the table hugging and get in line with the shot. Simple. Yes. But difficult if you have spent a life time as a table hugger.
by Greg on January 19, 2012
In my post 10 Ways to Improve Pool Skills I discussed two tools to build a straight pool stroke. I have found another tool that can aid in developing an efficient stroke for your pool game.
Over at PoolClinics.com Tom Simpson a BCA master instructor, has come up with the Stroke Groover. It is a simple device used to keep from putting your entire arm into the stroke. Using this device I have developed through muscle memory a smooth efficient stroke. The principle is the least number of moving parts in a stroke the more accurate the delivery of the cue stick to the cue ball.
Consistency in pool requires that you hit the cue at the intended spot every time. The Stoke Groover trains your muscle to deliver the cue stick without moving the elbow up or down so that your forearm acts as a pendulum to deliver a consistent swing.
I have combined this tool with the stroke trainer and use both tools at the same time. I try to do 150 strokes at a time and do this several times a week. This has been very effective in developing a purer stroke.
I recommend Tom Simpson’s Stroke Groover.