Follow Through – Follow TRUE

You’ve heard these before: “Don’t jump up!” “Stay down!” “Follow-through!” -- and a host of other well-meaning directions that would take the rest of this issue to list. Sometimes I get asked “Well, why should I follow-through when the cue ball’s already gone?” Good question. Here’s why:

As with all ball-throwing and tossing sports – baseball, football, basketball, bowling, for example – the follow-through ensures a smooth “hand-off,” the point at which the hand comes off the ball without interjecting any unnecessary or incidental motion that might affect the flight of the ball at release. Although we’re not throwing a cue ball at the object ball, we are nonetheless performing a throwing motion, an underhand toss, if you will. In fact, the great Willie Hoppe said it best: “A good stroke is simply throwing your hand.” Perfect.

Think about it: if you were to throw your hand across the room to a specific spot on the floor, your accuracy would be pretty dismal if instead of a toss you suddenly stopped its forward motion in mid-arc. Or imagine a major league pitcher suddenly stopping his throwing arm at the point of release. He’d get to think about why he didn’t throw a strike on that last pitch while on the way to the hospital with a torn trapezius. We might use a quick-stop motion to shake water off our hand, but it would do little for our accuracy, and virtually impossible to make minor corrections to achieve intended results.

So, think about “throwing” your hand. A smooth pendulum motion from the elbow, a relaxed wrist, soft grip, and a smooth finish at least four inches past the cue ball’s pre-shot position. I make it a point of asking my students to stay down after the shot, and check to see if the cue is still pointed at their intended target (e.g., ghost ball, point on the rail, etc). That’s sometimes difficult to render without a clear picture of where the cue should be pointed before the final stroke. So, remember to follow through, and follow true.

By: Mark Powell, PBIA Master Instructor.