Issue with deep screw shots - hitting vs timing

[fattail95]

Evening all,

Hope everyone's had a good day. Not been playing Snooker for long, started January this year and my cueing has improved massively since. One key shot I'm having trouble with is the deep screw - on shots where I need to screw the ball back some distance, I find myself "hitting" the ball rather than timing it, which often causes a miscue and the cue ball jumps. On softer screw shots, my I accelerate the cue nicely through the cue ball and have no trouble at all bringing it back, but when I try for a deep screw I find myself snatching at the cue and almost punching the cue ball rather than accelerating through.

My question is, are there any exercises I can do to improve my timing on the deeper screw shots? I've tried practising over and over but I end up getting frustrated which makes things worse. If there are any structured methods which gradually improve this issue, that would be great.

Thanks for your help.

Best Regards,
Ben.

[Csmith]

How are you with other shots requiring power? I find this is a problem with trying to muscle the ball around.

I don't have much of a pause at the back of my stroke, but I do tend to have a slightly more pronounced pause on anything with power. I'll also make sure that I'm taking the cue all the way back, and then smoothly accelerating. You rarely need to hit the balls all that hard to be honest, just a full stroke and follow through. Keep your hands and arm relaxed, muscle tension is a killer in this game.

Every now and then when I'm having trouble with my cueing, I'll remove the object ball from the table and just stroke the cueball into the pocket. Sometimes anticipating the shot is part of the problem. After I get the feel for it I'll reintroduce the object ball

[Slasher]

Most of the problems with power shots originate in the grip and to some degree your eye pattern. The main issue in the grip is clenching too tight, this causes the tip to rise or pull off line and you will not strike the CB where intended, the second issue is not checking the CB one last time before switching your eyes to the OB, this is how you ensure you are striking where intended.
Focus on keeping the grip loose and relaxed all the way through the stroke, no need to force the follow through and keep the tension out of your arm, relaxed muscles can generate more cue speed and this is what you need to generate more CB reaction.

[vmax4steve]

Make sure you have a good tip shaped like a dome with a little bit of flat on top.

Practise the shot from the same distance striking the cue ball at various points below centre with small increases in power; practise lowering the bridge hand (palm flat on the table) with small increases in power; practise the loop bridge with small increases in power.

Make sure you only raise your eyes to look at the object ball before the strike and not your head as well, be aware of tension in the body during shot preparation, relax your mind as well as your body, it's just another shot, one you have now practised and know well.

[fattail95]

Thanks all for your replies, I appreciate it. I think a lot of the issue is in my mind, deep screw shots make me tense as I've had little success so put a lot of pressure on myself to do it properly, and regress to bad habits. I'm going to try to build it slowly, rather than expecting big results right away.

Back to practicing now!

[DeanH]

Issue with deep screw shots - hitting vs timing

I used to be the same, over thinking it, unconsciously tensing up and chipping the cue ball or getting zero back motion.
Then I read a post here ages ago where you relax everything, the grip especially and don't force the cue on delivery for imagined "power", let the cue go through the cue ball as if it was not there. Had great results ever since and use the same technique on nearly all shots for much better cue ball movement as required
Let us know how you get on.

[bolty]

I too suffer from this exact problem. It's like I either make the pot but get not reaction (just a stun), or get a decent reaction and completely spoon the shot. I am finding that practicing the line up with lots of soft screws and the occasional deep screw when required has helped with this but I still often make the same mistakes.

[Benno]

All in the acceleration through the ball and sounds like a bit more time on the table to get that feel back.