Tip Of The Week

Number: 11 Jim Tellier March 2011

TOPIC: Throw (Collision-Induced)

CATEGORY: Intermediate/Advanced

INTRODUCTION:

You line up a shot. Pretty easy cut. Youre sure about your angle and your aim. You shoot. You miss. DOH! Did you miscalculate the angle? Did you not hit the spot on the Object Ball that you wanted to hit? Maybe the answer to BOTH of those questions is. NO! Whats up with THAT?!?!?!?

TECHNIQUE:

There are circumstances where the old favorite aiming technique, the Ghost Ball, just doesnt seem to work. But theres a reason for that, and its pretty easy to grasp. The concept is called throw, because thats exactly what is happening when you hit a ball and it seems to under cut, or come short of hitting the pocket (as opposed to being an over cut which is just like it sounds). The bottom line is this: if the ANGLE that you are hitting the OB is somewhere between 30 and 60 degrees, AND you are hitting the ball with a SOFT to MEDIUM speed, the OB will NOT follow the path that you aimed for, but will actually be pushed (thrown) a little bit off course in the direction of your cue ball AIM PATH. The actual amount depends on the combination of speed and angle, as well as distance between OB and target pocket. [Nobody ever said this was an easy game!!!] This effect also occurs on frozen-ball combinations which people often miss because they appear to be dead on but in fact depend on the angle that the cue ball contacts the first ball in the combination. This effect is called Collision-Induced Throw, or CIT).

DEMO: put a ball on the spot. Freeze another ball to it, aiming the combo directly into a corner pocket. Line up the CB so the shot is straight into the pocket. Easy shot. (hope you made it!). Now set up the same combo, but position the CB at about a 45 degree angle to the line aiming toward the pocket. Shoot medium/soft. Notice how far off target the result can be!

REALITIES: For the frozen ball situation, there are 3 ways to reduce the amount of throw, and make the combo: hit the shot with more speed, and/or compensation with Spin-Induced Throw in the opposite direction (more on that next time!), or simplest of all, just realize that ordinary throw can be compensated by adjusting your AIM. Any combination of these adjustments will alter the path of the OB, so.

ADVICE: dont try to apply more than one corrective action at a time, at least until you understand the effects of each one in a given situation. Youll learn how things work more quickly, and pocket more shots in the process!

NEXT TIME: Discussion of Spin-Induced Throw and some examples of how it can HELP you make shots otherwise impossible.