I received the following question from a reader:
It is hard for myself and many others to practice without just banging balls around. What do you work on when you practice for hours at a time? What is the “L drill?”
Craig, NoDak Photographer
Dear Craig,
Thanks for writing. To answer your question specifically, the night in question when I couldn’t quit the L Drill, I honestly spent most of that time shooting and reshooting and shooting again the first and second shots of the drill over and over again until I got a good feel for it. With this new shaft, I almost felt like I had learned a completely new shot. I was really trying to dial in on the english, speed, and stroke.
Here is a diagram of the L Drill (courtesy of BilliardCoach.com):
Begin with ball in hand on the ball nearest the short rail and work your way through the L, unless your Tony Robles and you’d prefer to do this drill in rotation (the way the balls are set up in the diagram). Yikes!
The challenge for me was to shoot the entire exercise with the cue ball contacting one rail only, no more or less. Essentially, you have to get the perfect angle each time, or at least pretty close.
Enjoy!
If you feel like starting with something a bit easier, try just the first part of the “L” drill, using only 9 balls.
I call it the Sorto String in honor of Tony Sorto, my instructor, who showed it to me a couple of years ago. Click this link to see the detailed instructions and a video of the drill being done.
Have fun!
Fast Mikie
You should try that drill in the shape of an “M”!!!
Then I’ll be impressed.
[...] I worked on the L Drill for a little bit before tackling Fast Mikie’s Sorto String: Run all 9 balls, in sequence, [...]