The Secret of the Draw Stroke

The Drill Instructor

By Dominic Esposito

Afew days ago, a player asked me if I could help him with his draw stroke. Within moments a group was standing around hanging on my every word. This overview of that session ended with one guy saying, “So that’s the secret of the draw stroke.”

I started out by placing an object ball on the break spot line, just one diamond off the side rail. Next, I placed the cue ball on the string line, one diamond off the side rail on the opposite side of the table. It was a long-dead straight-in shot. I fired the object ball into the corner pocket, and the cue ball drew straight back right into the corner pocket. It’s one of the rare times when a group of people collectively claps, awes, smiles, and cheers to see the cue ball go into the pocket.

Rising up form the shot, I removed the cue ball from the pocket, held it up, and said, “Would you like me to teach you how to draw a cue ball like that?” Everyone responded with an instantaneous, arousing yes. Then I asked the hard question, “Are you willing to put in the time and effort it takes to develop a draw stroke like that?” Honestly speaking, their yes to my second question didn’t have as much vim and vigor.

Advanced players, for the sake of all beginner players, please allow me to explain how a cue ball can draw back after colliding into an object ball; then I promise I will tell you the secret to the draw stroke.

Regardless of the size or shape of the tip on your cue, with a properly applied layer of chalk, stroking through the cue ball below the center line of the cue ball will cause the cue ball to start out in a forward motion while back spinning. Depending on how low and at what speed the cue ball was hit will determine the distance the cue ball will travel and continue rotating with a reverse spin, a lot like throwing a hula-‐ hoop with backspin. However, at some point, the friction on the cloth will have its way, and the rotation of the cue ball will come to a Zero Spin—like a skid, then with its newfound traction, it will continue in a rolling forward motion.

The effect that causes the cue ball to draw back occurs when the cue ball makes contact with an object ball prior to it reaching the Zero Spin—skid position. The distance the cue ball draws back is determined by the amount of backspin that is happening at the time of the collision into the object ball. The more backspin at the time of collision, the more distance of drawback the cue ball will have.

And now I’ll present the secret of the draw stroke. Drum roll, please LOCK THE BACK ELBOW.

That’s it! Lock the elbow of your stroking arm in position so that at the time of the forward motion of your shot stroke, you don’t drop or raise the position of your back elbow. It stays put in position during all the pre-‐ strokes and all the way through the follow-through of the final shot stroke.

No matter the position of your chin when you’re down on the shot, meaning your back arm may be slightly raised, lower, or perfectly horizontal (like The Drill Instructor way), the starting and ending position of the elbow stays fixed all the time.

Now here is a drill to get you started on the path to perfecting your draw stroke. This drill builds your skills to draw the cue ball for simple and complex position accuracy. This drill comes from The Drill Instructor Training Book titled: 54 Cue Ball Drills for Speed and Position Control.

One final secret of the draw stroke, allow the tip of your cue to stroke through the lower portion of the cue ball like a hot knife going through butter. Not poking at the cue ball but allowing the shaft to move through the cue ball like it was spearing through it. A smooth full follow-through will result in some sweet cue ball draw. drill builds your skills to draw the cue ball for simple and complex position accuracy. This drill comes from The Drill Instructor Training Book titled: 54 Cue Ball Drills for Speed and Position Control.