Page 1

With this drill we’ll be perfecting your stop shot, first with short shots, then longer as you get more proficient. Set up the One and Two balls as shown. Using the Two ball as a cue ball, hit the two crisply in the exact center and execute a stop shot. Remember, the ball will stop dead in its tracks only if all of the following things are true:

1. The cue ball and the object ball weigh the same, and are the same size. (this is only likely to be untrue on a bar table, and with modern equipment is probably not true even there).
2. You might have hit above or below the true center of the cue ball.
3. You might not have hit the object ball in the exact center.
4. You might not have hit the cue ball hard enough for the cue ball to still be sliding when it hits the object ball.

When the cue ball and the object ball are close together it’s possible to achieve a perfect stop shot by hitting the cue ball crisply in the center or by hitting it more softly and below center. The crisp approach works only if the ball doesn’t have time to pick up any forward roll caused by friction with the cloth. The softer approach works when the backspin applied at contact wears off just as the collision takes place. For longer shots you have no choice, you have to go with the low hit method, because you can’t hit the ball hard enough.

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Leave the 2 Ball where it comes to rest and set up the 3 ball on the donut where you just shot from. If you hit the 1 Ball in the exact center, then you will still have a straight in shot to make the 2. If the 2 Ball is forward of or behind its original contact point with the 1 Ball, then the cue was spinning rather than sliding.

Make the 2 by executing another stop shot, using the 3 Ball as the cue ball.

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Do this again and again, trying to make as many of these perfect stop shots as you can before you get out of line.

Pay very close attention to making the stroke properly. Stay Down! Don’t watch the cue ball or object ball to see where they go. Those things often lead to body movement which is the biggest reason most people don’t get the outcome they expect.

Check the location of the cue ball after the shot is complete. If the result isn’t perfect, figure out what you did wrong and think about it for a minute. Try to fix it on your next attempt.

You want to get to the point where you can regularly do 5 or more of these in a row, stay perfectly on line, and not roll forward or back.

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Even your straight in shots won’t all be at 90 degrees to the side pocket. Set up for straight in shots to all pockets, without changing the length of the shot, from a number of different angles. Remember to change your aim appropriately as the angle to the pocket changes to maximize your chances. You may find that you have an easy time of it from some angles and a much more difficult time from others. This is a clue that you’re doing something wrong in those positions and you should make every effort to figure out what it is and fix it. If you can’t do this yourself, get a knowledgable friend to take a look. Spend your time on the sh0ts you’re missing to work out the kinks you discover.

Concentrate on the feel of the stroke, on exactly how hard you had to hit it to get a perfect stop. You’ll be needing this knowledge for the stun shot drills coming up soon. And, don’t forget to practice shooting to the right and left equally.

As you become more proficient, you will want to lengthen the distance between the cue ball and the object ball. As you do this, it naturally becomes more difficult to make the ball, and it also becomes more difficult to get the exact balance of backspin and speed necessary to get the cue ball to stop dead. Work these again and again until you have them perfected. It will do wonders for your game, in ways you might not even realize yet.