Johnny Henson, Professor Pool
A routine is a sequence of actions or steps that you do repeatedly when playing. When watching many professional men and women players you see a lot of strokes and also different pre shot routines. When I watch the top players I see that they try to repeat the same routine as much as possible when playing. I will attempt to point out just some parts of what you should consider as parts of your personal routine (PR).
Plan the shot in your mind. Visualize the shot and cue ball path in your mind. Feel your body shooting the shot in your mind. Decide on the AIM / TIP POSITION / SPEED. Chalk cue tip. Aline your stance, body, head, and elbow on the shot line. Loose grip. Pendulum at 90 degrees. Cue on table or level cue. Cue ball address. Eye pattern. Warmup strokes? Eyes on target. Full back stroke. Finish the stroke without moving your head, body, or dropping your elbow. Freeze after the stroke to evaluate. Your PR could have 15 or more parts, actions, or steps. You must really get all of your parts organized into a set routine to have any chance to be or become a consistent player.
Your Personal Routine needs to be what you want to do, and in the correct order that you want to do them. Write down your pre shot and shooting routine and follow it in practice and when playing as much as possible. Modify it until you can follow it over 90% of the time. This will make you a better and more consistent player. Alway remember if you fail to plan and execute your PR, you plan to fail on either the shot or the cue ball placement after the shot. He who fails to plan, plans to fail!
Contact me or my partner and fellow PBIA and ACS instructor, Steve Farmer, for more information about our classes and mentorship programs. Email us at shootyourbestpool@gmail.com or call 623-377-0042. Visit our website at BilliardUniversity.com.