How To Hit the Cue Ball in the Middle
This drill is designed to help you strike the cue ball more accurately - It is harder than it looks, especially when you play the shot(s) at a faster pace!
Place two object balls about a ball and a half's width away from each other on the bottom rail.
Begin with the Cue ball at position A. Strike the cue ball dead center to rebound it off the rail between the balls and back towards the top rail.
Play the first set of shots at a gentle pace, from positions A, B, C & D - always trying to leave the cue ball on the top rail. If the cue ball is not coming back straight you are putting on unwanted side.
To increase the complexity of this drill, you can decrease the distance between the two object balls to 1 and 1/4 balls width, alternatively play the shot faster to try and bring the cue ball off the top rail and back in a straight line towards the bottom rail where the balls are.
There are a few targets:
- Beginner - Strike the Cue ball through a gap of 1 and 1/2 ball widths back to the top rail from positions A and B in two consecutive shots without disturbing the object balls.
- Intermediate - Same as above from all four positions.
- Advanced - Decrease the gap between balls to 1 and 1/4 ball widths, repeat as for medium.
- Professional - As Advanced, but increase the pace of the shot so that when the cue ball come off the top rail, it comes to rest in the middle of the table