sighting woes

[matt01]

Hi everyone.
I am a pretty good potter, however I've noticed a horrible habit when I play.
I take my eyes of the object ball!! No matter how hard I try , I can't seem to get my eyes to remay focused on the object ball!!
I don't have a pause and I know this helps the eyes to focus, however whenever I try to pause it seems totally unnatural and I tend to miss by a mile.
Any advice from coaches and experienced players will be appreciated.
Thanx

[Piruz]

Hi, depending how good potter you are, I should give you one advice.
If you can hit the white ball to center and get object ball potted whats the problem? Stephen Hendry looks at the pocket when he hits white, but that doesn´t seem to bother him.

Okay, if you are not confident that you can improve your game if you don´t look object ball, just practice the rythm, so that you will always be looking object ball when striking white.

First, when your tip is almost touching white, look at it. Then, draw cue back, and switch your eyes to the object ball. Then, when again pushing cue forward, look at the white. In the final backswing, everybody have their own method when to switch your eyes to object ball. Just remember, don´t hurry with striking the cue ball.

[matt01]

sighting woes 2

Yes I'm a good potter. The problem is I'm inconsistent and don't seem to progress to the level where I want to be at. I miss to many balls because of my sighting problems.

[Blondie]

Hi everyone.
I am a pretty good potter, however I've noticed a horrible habit when I play.
I take my eyes of the object ball!! No matter how hard I try , I can't seem to get my eyes to remay focused on the object ball!!
I don't have a pause and I know this helps the eyes to focus, however whenever I try to pause it seems totally unnatural and I tend to miss by a mile.
Any advice from coaches and experienced players will be appreciated.
Thanx

Hi Matt,

Well done for persevering with the game, and it does get easier, although I've found only with practice.

Sighting is an interesting one, and concentration plays a big part, 100% is what I think we all strive for, plus confidence in your line of aim.

It always helps me to have a bit of a prep routine for sighting and potting, which may help you too...

During backswing, I let my eyes go from the cue-ball to the object ball and then back again, whilst ensuring that I'm lined up correctly and that I'm 'settled' into the shot. [And it's only really a 'flicker' of the eye, with the head completely still.] And at the end of the backswing, as I pause, I just let my eyes go to the object ball and stay there. [For me, it's only really the last second or two that my eyes are looking at the spot on the object ball where contact with the cue-ball needs to be made.] And this seems to work for me as it's not really a long time, and doesn't really allow the eyes any time to wonder, so to speak.

Also maybe worth revisiting which eye is your lead sighting eye, or master eye as this can play a big part in keeping your eyes focussed. I'm even sighted [ie use both left and right eyes], so I tend to position and lead the cue under the middle of my chin, and follow through. Aligning the cue this way not only helps to keep my head still, but also both eyes focussed, and not wandering away from the object ball. [And not sure which is your lead eye for sighting?, maybe right?, and you perhaps lead the cue under the right side of your chin, but worth checking again as it does help to keep the eye/eyes focussed.]

And don't worry about the pause Matt, as I'm sure this feels unnatural to alot of players, although I find the more 'settled' I am into the shot, with the right amount of balance, and control, and with the eyes focussed, the pause feels quite a natural thing to do, but only because all the other things feel 'right' as well. And with more practice this should become easier and be a more natural part of play for you.

Hope this helps a little Matt, and I'm still enjoying it too, although I'm practising alot as well.

Lol....xx

[Erwan_BZH]

Stephen Hendry looks at the pocket when he hits white, but that doesn´t seem to bother him..

Uh....no no no and again no lol
Stephen doesn't look at the pocket WHEN striking. His own eye rhythm is : white - red - pocket - white - red. He absolutely doesn't look at the pocket when he strikes.

As for Matt, I agree that I first, when using the pause, it totally breaks your rhythm. It takes a while to get use to it but once done, you gain in acuracy, in calm, in focus. Keep trying, it's worth it.