Deflection! Testing and adjusting for it.

[Icon of Sin]

(I posted this on another site too. Posting here just to hit a wider audience and get some more feedback)

I once heard years back that when you go watch the pros play in person, you always get something out of it that will benefit your game. This is soooo true (at least for me). This is what I picked up while I was at the US Open a couple weeks ago.

At Q-Masters, I think it was Friday night. Mike Dechaine and Hennessy were on the table that's right in front of the door. Just screwing around basically. Hennessy pulls out a custom cue from a known maker (leaving the name out, no he is not from MD LOL) and says "try this cue out, it's the best cue I ever hit with". Dechaine hits a few balls with it and then sets up long straight ins and starts attempting to spear the ball with extreme left or right. He was doing this to see the amount of deflection he gets. With this cue and a hard hit with extreme left/right center Mike had to aim about 2 balls to the left of the object ball due to the amount of deflection he was getting with this particular shot... He then went into a fun argument with Pinegar regarding the cue and the deflection, but that's another story..

I thought it was amazing really, I was standing a little behind Dechaine when he was shooting this shot and he definitely was aiming far to the right or left of the ball. After a few shots and getting dialed in he started spearing the shot aiming way off like that.

So it got me thinking... "how much deflection does my cue have?" "Is this why I struggle with inside english so goddamn much?" "Why the hell didnt I think of this before?" "Heath, you're such a banger for not knowing this?"

So after experimenting I discovered that shooting that same shot that Dechaine was shooting, I have about a half of a balls width of deflection with this shot. So I was able to adapt this into other shots, mainly shots when using inside english. I say mainly the inside english shots because I seemed to have been subconsciously adjusting with shots regarding outside english just after years of playing and being able to "see" those shots better. So I mainly left it alone for outside english.

This little bit of knowledge and simple test improved at least 5 shots that I know I have trouble with in about 2 hours time.

I'm really surprised I didnt think about trying this early, especially with all the super shaft vendors at valley forge letting you try their shafts and stuff like that.

Any thoughts, input, other experiences in relation to this?

Heath <---- has about a half ball width of deflection that he adjusts for now when using inside english.
Heath <---- isn't afraid of inside english now.
Heath <---- still needs the 7.

[Brian in VA]

Heath,

That's a great idea! If I ever get a chance to go hit some balls on my table, probably tomorrow night, I'm going to try that out and let you know.

You need the 7 like a fish needs a bicycle.

Brian in VA

[BCA Master Instr]

I think you are confusing Deflection (the cue stick) with Squirt (the cue ball).

All cue sticks have deflection!!!
Some squirt the cue ball less than others.
randyg

[Icon of Sin]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BCA Master Instr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think you are confusing Deflection (the cue stick) with Squirt (the cue ball).

All cue sticks have deflection!!!
Some squirt the cue ball less than others.
randyg </div></div>
Thanks!!!!

Heath &lt;---- will still call it deflection.

[cushioncrawler]

Nowadays i play better English Billiards on a 12' table since learning on BD forum about fronthandpivot and backhandpivot and squirt and swerve and squerve etc.

I hav allways known about squirt and swerv when uzing side (english), and the effekt of *skrew plus side, and *top plus side, and *pace, and *jacking-up, and *the range to objektball, etc, and i hav allways been able to allow for all of theze, its just a matter of praktis.
In fakt for a while i went throo a phaze where i uzed side for all shots, even straight-in shots. I soon got wize.

But FHP and BHP are now something i uze a lot, rather than feel.
Basically FHP and BHP can eliminate most of the need for feel.

Once i know the necessary bridge length for that cue and for that bedkloth etc, i dont really needta uze feel very much.
However u will probly hav to adjust for 3 regimes -- skrew and top and equator will be different.

Feel iz hard to explain -- this iz how i see it.
AIM-LINE FEEL.
When i aim to hit the qball with side my mind's-eye draws a sort of imaginary aim-line from the center of the qball to a target point. I feel this line. Az i do this i dont think of where the stick iz or iznt pointing at all, apart from the point of kontakt on the qball (of course). I dont know where the stick iz pointing -- i dont care.

AIM-TARGET FEEL.
I want to kontakt the objektball say halfball.
I will uzually havta aim the aim-line (uzing aim-line-feel) at a target point somewhere else on the objektball, or perhaps wide of the objektball, to allow for squirt and swerv (ie squerve), to get the dezired halfball kontakt.
This allowance (ie aim-target-feel) iz learnt -- it too iz a type of feel, i reckon.

Uzing BHP or FHP eliminates the need for AIM-LINE-FEEL.
I aim along the stick, at a target point, and then i apply the pivot, ie i swing the cue left or right, and then shoot.
The aim-line iz the stick-line.
No feel here at all (however i wouldnt argue with anyone out there that sayd that all aim iz feel, even when sighting along the centerline of the stick).

If u are 100% into bridgelengthizm u kan possibly allso eliminate the need for aim-target-feel. U just aim for the dezired kontakt -- no allowance needed.

But this iz starting to get komplikated. What duz Dr Dave hav to say. And Colin Colenso and Patrick and Bob Jewett and Co.
mac.

[cushioncrawler]

Yep.
On a 12' english billiards (snooker) table, the bedkloth friktion varys with direktion, due to the nap etc, and i havta think carefully (and quickly) about whether to uze FHP or BHP.

PROBLEM.
On my home table, korrektions that i learn, ie to send the qball thinner or thicker, on some slippery quick melbourne snooker bedkloths, send the qball the other way, ie thicker or thinner. Damn, missed again.
mac.