Cuemechanics Pool School

Some beginners have trouble 'seeing' the lines of the shot and figuring out how to aim the cue stick/cue ball to arrive at proper contact point of the object ball.  Older players sometimes have eyesight changes that happen very quickly.  The reduced flexibility of the aging eye creates focal range difficulties that may require different approaches to visualizing and achieving proper aim.  I wanted an easy-to-use tool to help people visualize both the line the object ball must take to a pocket and the resulting contact point for the cue ball.  The result is a very simple training tool that has the added bonus of showing you exactly where the center of your cue ball must be aimed to complete a shot.

The ball is drilled through the center.  A 1/4 inch fiberglass rod, about the length of a normal cue shaft, is marked 1-1/8 inch from each end. 

Why 1-1/8?  Regulation balls are 2-1/4 inch in width or diameter.  1-1/8 is half that dimension.  One end of the rod is painted neon orange and the other is green with a black dot.

When set up, the rod passes through the ball, pointing to your chosen pocket.  Place the 1-1/8 marking line at the edge of the object ball.  You can prop the rod up with a piece of chalk laying on its side.  Standard chalk is about 3/4 inch in width.  If you have a chalk holder, it should be close to 1 inch wide.  A perfect prop would be about 1 inch high. The effect your prop height has on the target dot is minimal, so don't fret over it. 

As you can see below, with the rod pointing to the chosen pocket and the marking line at the opposite edge of the object ball, you now have two very important points exactly located:  the contact point for the cue ball (where the rod enters hole on the edge of the ball) AND the end of the rod, being 1-1/8" from the object ball edge, is where the center of your cue ball must be aimed to make the shot.  Effects of throw, due to thinner cut angles, worn or dirty balls, etc., can be dealt with by moving the black marking line slightly away from the ball.