Just as you would do with most aiming systems, you should first envision where the ghost ball would be. The ghost ball is an imaginary ball that’s lined up with the object ball and the center of the pocket. This is where the cue ball will ideally be when it contacts the object ball.
Once you’ve identified the ghost ball, measure the distance from the center of the ghost ball to the side of the rail (shown in black). Using this same distance, find an imaginary spot on the rail and inline with the original contact point (shown in yellow). This is the spot you want to aim when executing the shot.
At first glance, it looks like a no brainer to aim equal distance from the rail. But, there are actually two factors to consider that make this difficult, and because of these, we must adjust our shot to account for these things. The first thing to realize is that the cue ball does not contact the rail at the spot where our imaginary line crosses the rail (shown by the red dot). It actually hits the rail before that spot because it’s only the center of the cue ball that will follow that path, not the outside of the cue ball. The second thing to know is that once it contacts the rail, the cue ball will grab a little bit of left english since it’s hitting the rail at a diagonal. To account for these two factors, this shot should be aimed with one tip of right english as shown in the diagram below.
This aiming system is very accurate for shots where the object ball is only a few inches away from the rail. For shots where the object ball is further out, you must use alternative aiming systems for kicking because the angles and the spin become too great to counter them accurately. Another shot this method is useful for is one where you’re lined up straight-in on a shot but need to get the cue ball away from the rail like the example below.
On this shot you would use left english because the rail is on the left side but the same system will apply. I also suggest shooting at pocket speed—just hard enough for the object ball to reach the pocket. This usually helps you block that pocket or leave your ball close to the pocket for an easier shot later if you happen to miss the rail first shot.
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Cristina De La Garza Cristina De La Garza is a WPBA Touring Professional from Austin, Texas. Cristina joined the APA in 2004 and competed in several top regional and national APA tournaments. She made her WPBA debut in 2008 and through her finishes in the 2009 season, earned her Tour card for 2010. She will share how her experiences in the APA shaped her development and taught her important concepts that she still applies to her game today. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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