GETTING A HANDLE ON SPEED

One of the dividing lines between good players and average players is the ability to control the speed of the cue ball.  In a previous article we looked at a way to get a feel for speed and in this piece I want to look a little closer at how to control the speed your cue stick is moving, as that determines the speed of your shot.

Let's first get an idea about what speed control is all about.  Basically we want to pocket a ball and leave the cue ball in a good position for our next shot.  The key point behind this thought is that the more the cue ball moves, the harder it is to predict its final resting place!  Our job then is to move the cue ball as little as possible to get the result we want. 

The implication behind this idea is that soft is better than hard, because the less the cue ball moves, the easier it is to predict where it will stop.

Let's look at the ways we can control the speed of our cue stick.  First we are always starting with our grip arm perpendicular to the stick when our cue tip is on the cue ball.  Also, these ideas are only ideas, real speed control comes from practice and feeling and a combination of these methods.


First is where we hold the cue stick.  Choking up causes us to have a shorter bridge and a softer shot;  and a longer grip increases our bridge length and gives us a harder shot.

Next is keeping our grip hand in the same place and pulling our cue stick back a short way for a soft shot, and a longer way for a harder shot.


The third approach to speed control is to keep the grip and pull back distance the same and vary how fast we move our cueing arm.


The final idea is moving from a passive wrist to a more active wrist snap.

To learn each of these pieces try this drill. 

Use each of the methods to roll the cue ball to the end rail and bounce off one diamond.  Isolating each of these approaches will give you a better idea of what works for you.

Once you have worked on this for a while, try this old time drill.  Mark the cue ball and object ball spots on the table for any cut shot.  Shoot the shot and mark the position that the cue ball stops.  Now, shoot the shot again, trying to get the cue ball to stop at the same spot as before.  This is a lot harder than it sounds, but after a while you will start to develop a much better feeling for speed.

Good luck and see you on the road.