Missing to the left

[Bigmeek]

I'm sure there's a post about this but I couldn't find it.
Would someone be able to give me a few tips on what I can possibly be doing wrong?
Scenario. Blue on the blue spot. Cue ball around yellow spot to leave an almost straight pot into top left pocket. Almost always miss to the left of pocket. Sometimes by a foot when I get angry!!!!
Am I hitting cue ball off centre? Is my elbow coming out?
I'm a left hander if that makes any difference.
Thanks

[visionaire]

You're hitting the cueball off-centre, try hitting it a fraction further to the right and wee what happens after about 50 attempts, you should see an improvement.

[Quackers]

It is possible that you are putting left hand side on the white. Do you practice by hitting the white up and down the spots? What happens if you do? What happens if you hit the white harder when trying it?

[Bigmeek]

Quackers Thanks mate. Not sure if this is consistant but when I practice shooting the white up over the spots the white comes back down to my right which means I'm putting right hand side on the white.

[Bigmeek]

You're hitting the cueball off-centre, try hitting it a fraction further to the right and wee what happens after about 50 attempts, you should see an improvement.

visionaire Yup, definately hitting ball off centre. Being a left hander if my elbow comes out would that not mean I hit the right of the cue ball?

[Quackers]

Quackers Thanks mate. Not sure if this is consistant but when I practice shooting the white up over the spots the white comes back down to my right which means I'm putting right hand side on the white.

Is that true when you hit the white softly and hard?
Also try and pot the white in the 2 baulk pockets when placing the white touching the middle of the baulk cushion. If you are routinely applying the same side it will be difficult to pot the white in one of the pockets.
I think you would almost certainly benefit from some coaching as he would give you a better idea of what's going on with your action.

[Bigmeek]

Quackers Thanks, I'll try that baulk pocket routine. That could be interesting. I can get the cue ball to come back over the spots no problem when hitting the ball slowly. It's only when I inject a bit of pace it veers a bit to the right. Been thinking of a bit of coaching for a long time but never seem to get around to it.

[Quackers]

I think it may be worth it.
It may be that in the more forceful shots you are cueing across the ball. This may be due to some body movement creeping in to the shot. It could also be other things too, lol. A coach will be able to identify the problem.

[Terry Davidson]

bigmeek:

Give Jim Donnelly a call, he's in Glasgow and is a very good coach.

Also, an exercise for you. Try intentionally to miss the pot on the left to the spot where you normally hit the cushion. Once you achieve that then switch back to potting the ball.

Just in case you are doing what I was doing, make absolutely certain you are not moving your head/shoulder at any time from when your hand hits the table all the way through to the end of your delivery when your grip hand hits your chest.

In an 11' shot like this even the tiniest of movements will throw off the aim enough to miss the pot.

I have this habit so bad I use the 'swing thought' (like a golf pro teaches) of 'keep your F#$@&*g chin on the cue' and this has helped me a lot.

Terry

[Bigmeek]

Terry Thanks for the help. I managed to find your earlier post on this subject and it was very helpful as well. The other day I tried "missing" slightly to the right and a surprising number went in!!! Not sure what to deduce other than I'm putting unwanted side on the cue ball. I'm heading down the club tomorrow and will carry out a few experiments based on the advice I've received.

[bongo]

I'm sure there's a post about this but I couldn't find it.
Would someone be able to give me a few tips on what I can possibly be doing wrong?
Scenario. Blue on the blue spot. Cue ball around yellow spot to leave an almost straight pot into top left pocket. Almost always miss to the left of pocket. Sometimes by a foot when I get angry!!!!
Am I hitting cue ball off centre? Is my elbow coming out?
I'm a left hander if that makes any difference.
Thanks

You're hitting the cueball off-centre

It is impossible to say what you are doing wrong without seeing you play and checking your technique. Unless visionaire has seen you play, you may not be hitting it off-centre, it may be a different problem. See a good coach.

[Sneaky-Pete]

For a straight blue.

Try moving your cue directly under your dominant eye.
Draw a diagram of your dominant eye position, the cue ball position, the object ball position, the pocket position and your back hand position.

Then draw a line from your backhand position to the cue ball, is it in line with the eye, cue ball, and object ball?

Imagine you are firing a rifle, you use one eye to look through the sight, the back sight is the cue ball, the front sight is the object ball and the target is the pocket. The Rifle Barrel Is Your Cue Line

Worth a try? May take some time but worth it.

[Woolf147]

Have a few shots of scotch whiskey before you play it may correct your eyes.
Cheers