The Making of a Billiards Champion - Part 3: The Stun Stroke
Stun Stroke
Once your fundamentals are correct and you are shooting with a straight and level cue, you need to master the stun stroke. This shot is the most important shot because it gives you a reference for cue ball positioning.
Straight-In Stun Stroke
When you hit a stun stroke on a straight in shot, it will produce a “stop shot.” In other words, the ball stops as soon as it makes contact with the object ball. Factors that influence this are a blend of the following; cue tip location, force, follow through, and quickness (the amount of time it takes the cue tip to accelerate through the ball).
There are an infinite number of blends of these variables that produce a stop shot. For example, you can use 4”of follow through with a small force OR only 1”of follow through with a large force to produce a stop shot. Play with these variables until you can manipulate each one and still get the same cue ball position. Measure your follow through by placing a ruler beside your cue tip. Then, vary the distance between the balls. Once you’ve mastered a stop shot with 12” of distance, keep increasing it by another 12”. The more distance you have, the more forward rotation or “high english” the ball picks up before it strikes the object ball. In other words, the greater the distance, the lower you must hit the cue ball to produce a stun/stop shot.
Stun Stroke at an Angle
Once again, place the object ball 12” away from the cue ball. But this time, put the cue ball at a 30 degree angle, so that you are aiming at half the ball to pocket it. Use the same stun stroke, and the cue ball will travel straight down the “tangent line.” This is the line that is perpendicular to the object ball at 90 degrees. The harder or quicker you hit the ball, the further it will travel down the line.
This is the first step in predicting cue ball position. DO NOT move on to the next article until you are comfortable shooting Straight-In Stun Shots and Stun Strokes at an Angle at different distances. Be able to alter the variables (cue tip location, force and quickness) and get the same cue ball position.