Aim under dominant eye.

[DandyA]

by rotating it ...

just to add to that, I think when Terry says "turn the head slightly left or right" he means rotate the head slightly clockwise or anti-clockwise ... it's the same when he says turn the hips left or right - once again he means rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise ...

[DandyA]

That's moving your head...

well yes it is ... but I'm only trying to explain what I think Terry means lol ...

[tedisbill]

well yes it is ... but I'm only trying to explain what I think Terry means lol ...

Ok haha!

[Byrom]

[Terry Davidson]

How can you turn the head without moving it?

If a person is a dominant eyed player or chin centre of the type of player then he should drop onto the cue and stay true to the line - any movement after this surely defeats your correct advice of dropping straight down on the line of aim - is what I am saying - whats the point of dropping straight down then turning the head slightly left or right. There is a certain pro player I notice that does this however so what do I know lol.

When a player stands behind a shot and he wants to have his sighting eye over the cue then his head will be parallel to the line of aim (is this not correct?). Then when he drops his head straight down the centerline of his head is right or left of the line of aim. In this case he should not move his head when getting into the address position however he will not have an aligned set-up, with the centre of his head on the line of aim but rather to one side of it although his sighting eye will be on the line of aim (hopefully).

If a player keeps the centre of his head on the line of aim and gets down into the address position then the cue will be centre-chin and in the middle between both eyes. If this player prefers to sight more under one eye then he will have to move his head sideways (not good) or as I advocate turn his head (PIVOT) slightly right or left but leaving the centre of the chin on the line of aim.

Moving the head sideways once down into the address position I'll agree with you is not a good idea. I also believe it's not a good idea to have the centre of the head aligned parallel to the line of aim but not on it even though his sighting eye will be aligned on the line of aim (if he cues directly under that eye). Not having the centre of the head aligned on the line of aim means he will have to have some kind of compensation to correct that.

So I'm saying the head should not be aligned to the side of the line of aim when standing behind the shot since at that point he is using both eyes equally for his depth perception and having the head off-line would make skew the aiming process. Much better to have everything aligned along the line of aim and then when assuming the address position in preparation for sighting along the cue he can leave the centre of the head on the line but pivot it slightly to align it more under his sighting eye without compromising the centre alignment.

Yes the head is technically moving but NOT laterally and off the line of aim but rather pivoting on the centre of the chin with the cue remaining on the centre of the chin. The nose however (if it's straight) will be aligned maybe 10* to 20* to the right or left. For a right-handed player in most cases the head is turned slightly to the right to relieve any tension on the lower neck and as I've always advocated the most important thing in the set-up is COMFORT.

But this is getting too far into the nitty-gritty micro points of set-up and is just not worth discussing since ANYTHING WILL WORK JUST FINE AS LONG AS THE PLAYER KEEPS IT CONSISTENT. We have all seen a number of very good players with their cues aligned almost anywhere in comparison to their eyes and they all play well BECAUSE THE BRAIN HAS BEEN TAUGHT TO AIM AND SIGHT CORRECTLY USING THEIR OWN PARTICULAR ALIGNMENT.

One point though is I recommend for any player is NOT to change his alignment to favour one eye or the other unless he's already been playing that way. Changing this alignment in mid-stream is not only hard to do but it will also probably force one of those 2-steps-back-for-1-step-forward.

Terry

[mg222]

Well got to say Terry I too think your advice is slightly flawed here - maybe its just the way you worded it but you say - Drop your head down on the cue then move your head right or left? That defeats the object of dropping straight down on the line of aim as you also correctly say you should do either if you are cueing under the centre of the chin or cueing under a dominant eye surely?

I would think it is a more consistent technique to find the line either if you are dominant eyed or centre of the chin drop down on the line either under a dominate eye or centre of the chin - stay true to it and keep the head still.

Absolutely right, that is the way. Short and straightforward. [not complicated]. Pleasantly really surprised that someone here actually took the time to call out the "flaw".

This is what I have said in this thread:

"What I suggest you do [which I do and works for me very well]. Do the standard walk-in and cue down, chin-on-cue, which you seem to be aware of. Now, turn your face or chin rightwards so your left is "on or near-enough to the cue.

You could if you are good enough put your sighting eye straight on the cue". Ps. your mileage may vary

[mg222]

How can you turn the head without moving it? lol.

by rotating it ...

That's moving your head...

just to add to that, I think when Terry says "turn the head slightly left or right" he means rotate the head slightly ...

Oh...Okay.....

well yes it is ... but I'm only trying to explain what I think Terry means lol ...

"I am so confused"! - Anyone remember that famous quote by Vinny Barbarino [played by John Travolta] in US sitcom WellCome Back Kotter, circa 70's?

:snooker: Cheers..... This brought a big smile...Hilarious in a fun good way...