In keeping with the CONSISTENCY theme and Pre-Shot routine, here is a very important aspect that must be handled.
First I’ve covered setting up your feet and chalking the cue as part of your routine.
OK let’s back up a little bit first. Before you can position your feet or your back foot onto the stroking line, you must find and get your eyes squarely “ON” the stroking line. That step needs to become the foundation of all your shots and all elements of your pre-shot routine, at least once you get into the set up phase.
The step of getting the eyes on the stroking line first (before getting down into the stance) sounds so obvious, yet too often I see players NOT finding the line first, and so their entire shot making process begins with little hope of success. Luck and ability/talent to compensate become their crutch or best hope.
You need to organize every stance set up for every shot, AROUND THE DISTINCT VISUAL CONFIRMATION OF THE STROKING LINE. Let me repeat, you need to organize every single shot/stance set up, AROUND THE DISTINCT VISUAL CONFIRMATION OF THE STROKING LINE. What does that really mean? Don’t get down to shoot a shot until you stand on and see the line you want to shoot down.
So the key element of your pre-shot routine is to find and look down the stroking line. If you can add this to your game, almost any sequence of events after that will produce a much greater measure of CONSISTENT success for you on the pool table, for years to come.
Don’t start “landing” until you are lined up with the runway. So simple yet so powerful. Organize your stance around this line as you stay focused on it.
OK well try to prove me wrong by NOT getting on the stroking line before you get down into your stance, and report back to me how that turned out for you.
Basically get behind the cue ball facing in the direction you want to shoot, and then refine the accuracy of that so that you can get down and make a shot successfully.
The more you play, the faster you will be able to get onto the line and then get into your stance, to the point of it all looking natural and seemless. Or you can still be very deliberate if you choose.