First, let me define what a good stroke is and what it looks like. A good stroke is a beautiful throwing motion under the elbow.
The reason I say “under the elbow” is because if the elbow moves during the stroke, that movement changes where the tip will strike the cue ball, resulting in a missed shot or spin that you did not want on the cue ball.
Here is a little fact you can think about. Most of the shots you miss are not because your aim was bad, but rather the cue stick did not go perfectly straight through the cue ball.
Think about a pendulum motion, which means the backswing is slow and at the end of the backswing, the arms slows to a stop and then accelerates forward through the cue ball four to six inches. The mistake that most amateurs make is having too fast of a backswing and not letting the arm slow to a stop at the end of the backswing, as in a pendulum motion.
Timing is the transition from the backswing to the front swing and a smooth lazy backswing is what makes the best players look so good at the table. Never stop working on that beautiful throwing motion in your swing. And remember, the better your swing looks, the better you can play.
Good luck — Jerry
