Improve your draw shot by getting closer to the cue ball
One of the essential components of a good billiards stroke is a long follow through with the cue . A good recommendation is to follow through at least 6-8 inches past the contact point on the cue ball, while keeping the cue as steady as possible. Without this, the cue ball will not retain its reverse spin for long distances, and you will not be able to draw when the cue ball is far from the object ball.
I usually follow through as far as my arm lets me. I even practice the bottle drill to keep the cue straight during the entire follow through. I didn’t think I could improve my stroke any more.
I was wrong.
Today I made a tiny change to the way I shoot that has increased my follow through significantly – bending my bridge arm.
While practicing at home I observed my follow through carefully. I noticed that even though I was taking my cue arm as far ahead as possible, my cue only went a few inches past the cue ball .
The problem? I was keeping my bridge arm too straight.
The straighter you keep your bridge arm, the further away your back arm is from the cue ball. As a result, you end up losing at least a few precious inches of follow through. Also, since the follow through towards the end of the pendulum swing isn’t as steady and straight as it is towards the middle of the swing, you are more likely to be a little off on shots where you need a lot of stroke.
I spent the last three hours at a pool hall testing out my latest discovery. The only change I made was to bend my bridge arm a little so I was a few inches closer to the cue ball when shooting. It felt very weird and uncomfortable in the beginning, however once I got used to it I started seeing incredible improvement.
Since I have put in those extra few inches in my follow through, I am drawing a lot more effortlessly. I used to have a little inconsistency with my long distance draw shots, especially on tables that had a lot of friction. Not any more!! Also, since my eyes are closer to the cue ball, I think my aiming is getting more accurate, because I was shooting effortlessly today. I was also consistently able to make shots that required considerable amount of stroke and english.
For those of you who are looking for that little extra in your pool stroke, this might be just what you need
