Your Facial Guide Points

Pool PrayersBy Richard Kranicki, InsidePOOL ColumnistYour Facial Guide PointsThis column will close my discussions on the Facial Guide Points. Besides having the obvious eyebrows and jaw points for your top and bottom Facial Guide Points, there are a few other facial features that will work well too. The additional Facial Guide Points can be your teeth, your lips, your cheeks, or your forehead area. However, the forehead area requires that the shooter use “feel,” rather than sight, because it is above your eyebrows and therefore is out of the shooter’s line of focus and peripheral sight.
How many Guide Points should you use? I suggest that you use at least two, but no more than three. It is best to use a top Facial Guide Point along with a bottom facial Guide Point, rather than just a single Facial Guide Point. To see what I mean, try using only a top or only a bottom Facial Guide Point for a few shots. Then try using both a top and a bottom, and if you want, add a middle point. You will see that using both a top and a bottom Guide Point as opposed to only a single Facial Point will embellish your overall aim perception. As you use the mirror to help you select your Facial Guide Points, remember to focus the same way as you do when you normally shoot. Take your time to select the Facial Guide Points that best suit your style. When you are satisfied with your Guide Points, take a mental photograph. Use the mirror to help you to visualize your head’s position over the cue and imaginary aim line. Remember that I used the Nose Center along with a straight head as the basis for explaining my new term – the Facial Guide Points. The truth is that if you know what you are doing, you do not have to be center over the aim line with a straight head. It is possible to develop great consistency with an off-centered alignment and a turned or tilted head. However, it is usually much harder to begin learning with an off-center alignment than with a center alignment. Moreover, just like a centered alignment, in order to shoot consistently with an angled head, you must duplicate your favorite alignment every time that you shoot. Yes, you can learn to shoot with an angled face, but there are limits to how far you can angle over the shot. You still must align consistently to develop a consistent aim perception to yield the dependable shooting results. Therefore, even if you use an off-center alignment, I strongly recommend learning the centered alignment, along with a straight head, as a constant starting point to begin your pre-shot routine. In my next column, I will begin discussing the back foot position.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest techniques from the top instructors in billiards and pool.

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