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Cue Ball Deflection |
| Deflection: There's nothing mysterious or pretentious about the word. It is simply a term which we use to describe the off-course direction a cue ball takes when it has been shocked off its direct path by various contributing factors. (Webster: i.e., deflection, deviation, deflect, to swerve or deviate from a right line of proper course.) This is not to be confused with squirt. The amount of deflection varies according to the type of cue used. Ivory ferrules and steel joints are major contributing factors. A thick poorly tapered shaft would also add to the problem. Deflection also varies in direct relationship with the speed at which a shot is hit. Deflection can be and is allowed for by some players. With a cue that has almost negligible deflection however, a player can "dog" the speed of his stroke and still pocket the ball. Just pocketing the ball is a sizable advantage that a correctly built, or non-deflecting cue will contribute to a player's game. When getting "in stroke" with a cue that deflects, a player is
surmounting considerable odds. First he has to get his mental computer to calculate
exactly where, away from the natural contact point, to strike the cue ball, then he will
have to aim farther and farther away from the natural contact point if he has to
accomplish a high velocity position shot. If a player's computer is only minutely off in
that area at any given time, and he is using a cue that deflects... he will have missed
the shot and become the unknowing victim of a cue that has double-crossed him. Shooting
directly at the object ball in lin with pocket is a considerable competitive edge that you
get only with a Meucci. |
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