IN ALL POOL GAMES, accurate direction control is essential for playing great position. While speed is also crucial, you must first get the cue ball traveling towards your target. With a nice medium angle, you can pretty much get the cue ball to go anywhere you want on the table.
Sometimes you can get away with being a little less accurate with direction control because the position zone is so big, but other times being off by one degree can mess up a run.
As a rule, I’m always going for an exact line with my cue ball. Even if I don’t get the ball perfectly on that line, it will be closer than if I did not pick that line. The same goes for position play. I’m always trying to land the cue ball on an exact spot. By choosing an exact spot for my cue ball to land, it enables me to choose an exact direction for the cue ball to get there.
Practicing your direction control will be very beneficial to your game. Just choose a shot and keep setting it up exactly the same every time but work on getting the cue ball to travel on a different line after it pockets the ball.
Once you get the cue ball to go on your desired line, just pick a new line to work on.
The diamonds are good to use as targets. When you get good at hitting all the diamonds, your brain will fill in the rest and you will be able to hit any intermediate target line you choose during a game.
I would also recommend combining speed control with this drill just to keep you in the habit of hitting each shot with an intended speed. Practice like this will pay huge dividends.
Copyright 2006 Max Eberle. All rights reserved.
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