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Darren Appleton


Instruction Articles:
• October 2024
A Different Line-up


• September 2024
Negotiating traffic


• August 2024
Drill Variations


• July 2024
V for Victory


• June 2024
Circle the wagons


• May 2024
Rehearse Your Lines


• April 2024
Lucky Seven


• March 2024
More for the Road


• February 2024
Four for the Road


• January 2024
Corner the Market


• December 2023
Look Ma, No Cushions


• November 2023
We’re in the Money


• October 2023
Four-level Drill


• September 2023
More Money Ball


• August 2023
No rails, part II


• July 2023
Look Ma, No Rails!


• June 2023
Triangle To Triangle


• May 2023
Zone Blitz


• April 2023
Money Ball Drill II


• March 2023
Money Ball Drill


• January 2023
The Dreaded Shootout


• December 2022
Alternate Universe


• November 2022
Close Quarters


• October 2022
Corner to Corner


• September 2022
Diamond in the Rough


• August 2022
Draw Bridge


• June 2022
I Detect A Pattern


• June 2022
Stay Close to Work


• May 2022
Amateur Approved


• April 2022
Two for One


• March 2022
The Straight Secret


• February 2022
The Correct Shot


• January 2022
End Game, Part II


• December 2021
Buying Off The Shelf


• November 2021
Look, Ma! No Rails!


• October 2021
The Oval Drill


• September 2021
Getting In Shape


• August 2021
Corner-To-Corner


• July 2021
V For Victory


• June 2021
More Pattern Drills


• May 2021
Patterns and speed


• April 2021
See a pattern?


• March 2021
Blind Man


• February 2021
Five Up, Five Down


• January 2021
Don’t Lag Behind


• December 2020
Head games


• November 2020
Life on the Edge


• October 2020
The Family Tree


• September 2020
A Dip of the Tip


• August 2020
The Big Diamond


• July 2020
Nine-Ball One-Hole


• June 2020
You’ll Kick Yourself


• May 2020
Tight Quarters


• April 2020
Cue Ball Control


• March 2020
Straight Cueing


• February 2020
Saddle up!


• January 2020
9-ball Crossover


• December 2019
Ride Those Rails


• November 2019
Up and Down


• October 2019
Money Balls


• September 2019
Captain Zig-zag


• August 2019
15-Ball, No Rails


• July 2019
One Extra Ball


• June 2019
Two-Pocket Drill


• May 2019
Up and Down


• April 2019
Ultimate Rotation


• March 2019
In A Good Spot


• February 2019
Center Cut


• January 2019
Breaking Bad Habits


• December 2018
Monster!


• November 2018
X marks the spot


• October 2018
Striking It Rich


• September 2018
So Many Options


• August 2018
Put Hangers On Rail


• July 2018
Mirror, Mirror II


• June 2018
Mirror, Mirror


• May 2018
“V” for Victory


• April 2018
Up and Down


• March 2018
Kick Into High Gear


• February 2018
Up and Down


• January 2018
Up To The Challenge


• November 2017
Taking A Break


• October 2017
End Game Safeties


• September 2017
Get Comfortable


• July 2017
Shape Up For Summer!


• June 2017
The Selection Process


• May 2017
Two For One


• April 2017
A Ghost of a Chance


• March 2017
Banker’s Holiday


• February 2017
Great Eight


• January 2017
Getting Into Shape


• December 2016
Hocus, Focus


• November 2016
Kicking Into High Gear


• October 2016
More Drill Bits


• August 2016
Breaking Tradition


• July 2016
Drawing On Experience


• May 2016
Proper Practice


• April 2016
Drilling For Improvement


• March 2016
Mind Games


 
Hand Model
September 2016

Bridge hand placement has a big impact on your timing.

Timing is so critical to hitting the cue ball with consistency, and it is really very easy to be off on your timing. In golf, if a player is not lined up properly, his timing isn’t going to be right. He’s going to come around the ball or under the ball and he’s going to spray the ball around the course. The same is true in pool.

I recently played in the World 9-Ball Championships in Qatar, and I didn’t play particularly well. I wasn’t getting through the cue ball well. I didn’t play again for several weeks after that tournament, and I spent some time thinking about what I was doing wrong.

When I got back to the table, I went back to basics. I immediately began with the drill I’ve discussed before: shooting straight shots and drawing the cue ball straight back to the top rail. I didn’t want to just throw balls out on the table and practice. That tends to make bad habits worse.

Additionally, I checked where my hand is positioned on the shot. I do this by placing balls at the diamonds along the long rail. I use the diamonds as a guide for where my bridge hand should be. When my timing is right and I’m playing well, my bridge hand is approximately one diamond from the cue ball. To check this, I place the cue ball in line with one diamond and physically place my bridge hand directly on the rail a diamond behind that. Then I move my hand straight over to the table. This way I know my bridge hand is where it should be.

The hand placement is important. If your bridge hand is too far from the cue ball, you won’t be able to really stroke through the ball. Also, the added distance between your bridge hand and the cue ball makes it more likely that your contact point on the cue ball won’t be precise. You’re likely to add spin that you didn’t intend to add.

If your bridge hand is too close to the cue ball, you will find yourself stabbing at the ball and the cue will fall off your bridge hand when you draw the cue back. This is a common problem with amateur players. They tend to want to get too close to the cue ball and they don’t get the loose, fluid stroke they need to execute shots like this. Your bridge hand position shouldn’t really change much, but occasionally we all get a little lazy and our game suffers. Most of the time, your hand will know where to go.

Of course, the placement of the bridge hand is going to vary a little from player to player. Someone taller or with a long, winding stroke is probably going to have his hand a bit further from the cue ball. Players like Shane Van Boening and Earl Strickland have opted for extensions on their cue so they can bridge farther back and still get through the ball properly.

This is a simple routine, but it really works. I started out with this drill, and my timing is much better already.





Diamonds along the rail serve as a guide to determine how far your bridge hand should be from the ball.



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