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Kicking Out Part 2
The Drill Instructor
By Dominic Esposito
Last month I described the situation where your opponent has executed a safety, placing the cue ball behind a cluster and you have to kick out and make a good hit. That same drill gives you the foundation to accurately learn to apply 1, 2, and 3 tips of English on the cue ball. That will come in handy every time I write you a lesson and suggest the amount of English needed.
This month we will again focus on kicking, only this time shooting the length of the table to kick out and hit the object ball. Remember last month we applied 1 tip of English for 1 diamond, 2 tips for 2 diamonds and 3 tips for 3 diamonds? Now we're shooting the full length of the table (twice the distance), so we apply half the English for each Diamond Point. You're gonna love this.
THE DRILL
Place the cue ball in front of Diamond Point 0, from 6 to 8 inches off the rail.
Place object balls on the rails at Diamond Points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6, as shown in the diagram.
Shoot, with a ½-Tip of English, into Diamond Point 0 to hit the 1 ball.
Shoot, with 1-Tip of English, into Diamond Point 0 to hit the 2 ball.
Shoot, with 1½-Tips of English, into Diamond Point 0 to hit and maybe even pocket the 3 ball.
Shoot, with 2-Tips of English, into Diamond Point 0 to hit the 4 ball.
Shoot, with 2½-Tips of English, into Diamond Point 0 to hit the 5 ball.
Shoot, with 3-Tips of English, into Diamond Point 0 to hit the 6 ball.
This long shot kick-out can be further studied by experimenting with other diamond contact point locations. Keep in mind that you'll need to determine what one tip of English on your cue stick tip equals. Obviously a 10.50mm tip verses a 13.25mm tip will see one, two and even three tips differently. By hitting the targeted diamond points accurately, you'll be able to determine what the striking point on the cue ball is that equals one, two, and three tips of English for you. Work hard on these and you'll soon become a tough player to play a safe on, and you'll surely be saying good-bye to giving up ball in hand.
