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Mark Wilson


Instruction Articles:
 
Bridge to Success
Getting back to pool after a layoff, you want to be mentally ready to regain and improve your form. Just being excited about embarking upon pool improvement is the first step. Also, keep it simple, so you can enjoy some immediate success.

  • Strive to really improve your bridge this year by prioritizing the technique. Attempt on each and every stroke to really snug up the loop bridge, and get more contact between the cue and the fleshy section between your thumb and forefinger. (The tips of the forefinger and thumb should meet right by the knuckle of the middle finger — see Figure 1.) The tighter bridge will improve your accuracy on the cue-ball hit. Make this a priority on every shot and it will become second nature.

  • Practice some very thin but makeable cut shots. Try these from short range repetitively, and as you progress add a little distance, working up to very difficult shots (Diagram 1).

  • Scatter all of the balls on the table, take ball in hand and run the entire table in any order. Shooting so many routine shots will help groove your bridge and stroke. Pocket 200 balls a day for a couple weeks and you will strengthen your ability to focus over an extended period of time. You’re grooming yourself to get to your league night and keep your focus while running a couple racks of 8-ball, which is not easy.

  • A note on your grip: Look out for squeezing or clenching the cue during the foreswing. The instinct as the cue accelerates forward is to hang on tighter, and, as the hand muscles contract, this easily distorts the cue tip a minor amount which quickly adds up to a miss. Think of the cue as a tube of toothpaste that should not be squeezed during the stroke. Practice by consciously keeping the grip loose and light during stroke delivery.
Featured Video: Harriman's Drawing
(courtesy Accu-Stats)
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