Badsnookerplayer wrote:Thanks Ace - it did seem to be prevalent amongst snooker players from 'across the pond' at this time, who - if I am correct - may have been more likely to be pool players too. I agree that it seems counter-productive and wonder if there was ever a theory that excess chalk might produce bad contacts.
I do wonder that despite all technological advancements of the previous half century, snooker has not moved on as the equipment is essentialy the same as it might have been in 1900 (exceptions exist I know). In particular, I am surprised that nobody has invented a tip that does not require chalk. Essentially the object of chalk is to maintain 'grip' between the tip and the very smooth cue-ball. Is there no material that would maintain this 'grip' without the need for chalk?
Sorry to hear about the annoyances - opponents not spotting balls is unthinkable to me and thankfully I have never encountered this.
Dan-Cat mentions Alex banging his cue on the table and I have seen this.I always assumed it was just a 'tic' and did not realise it was to remove unwanted excess chalk.Makes rather more sense now.
I am not aware of anyone ever making a claim of excess chalk on the tip producing bad contacts other than the fact that chalk dust, excessive or no, is considered to be one of the "usual suspects" as far as kicks go. I strongly doubt that there could be found any evidence whatsoever that "blowers" or "tappers" get fewer kicks than non-blowers. As far as chalkless tips go, they do exist today:
https://www.amazon.com/GRIP-CHALKLESS-G ... B01H96Q32Qthough I have never seen one live nor have I known anyone claiming to have tried the product. I don't think it will ever catch on no matter how far the technology advances. For me definitely and I suspect for many, many people, chalking of the tip is a habitual, necessary part of the pre-shot routine and always will be. Controlling the precise amount of chalk on the tip, whether a single quick swipe for a simple stroke or several long, deliberate swipes when a particularly strong or controlled amount of spin is required or desired is something that an accomplished player will ALWAYS wish to maintain control of, technology be damned. I think that while a tip that acts the same way all the time is something that seems obviously intuitively beneficial, the best of the best will still wish to control it themselves, much like a bowler on the cricket pitch will constantly polish one side of the ball, even if a "single side polished" ball existed.
As for the equipment remaining essentially the same, I find that to be one of the many charms of the Game. I love to imagine a scenario a la H.G. Wells' "Time Machine" whereby I step out of a time warp into Joe Davis' parlour in the '20's at the advent of the World Championship and having a frame with him. I think we would get on swimmingly and understand each other perfectly. And so that fantasy should remain for an enthusiast a hundred years from now.
As for the annoyances, see my post to Dan-Cat above. The problem is mine alone in the way I deal with my external forces. As for the spotting, I do very often spot my own primarily when I am working the Black end. This is by my own personal choice. The opponent will spot for me, but I am a particularly fast player. (I don't say that as a matter of braggadocio, I say it as a matter of fact.) The overwhelming majority of my strokes I will play between a time span of 5 to 15 seconds from when all balls come to rest. With a single exception, all my opponents' parallel shot time is in the neighbourhood of 30 to 40 seconds. And therein lay the problem....when they spot for me, they are running on their own internal clock, so I would have to stand there sucking my thumb for a half a minute waiting, waiting, waiting. And of course, as far as my mild OCD goes, that waiting is where the doubt creeps in. Have you ever watched when ROS is on a roll and he "plays" with the Referee, sinks the Black to leave White dead on the next Red and he is immediately crouched and just "waiting" for the Referee who is practically running trying to get the Black spotted? Ronnie usually has a little smirk on his face while down on the shot waiting for the Ref. By training, the Ref is supposed to move the frame along at the pace of the player, not the other way around, but with ROS of course, there is not a Referee on the face of the earth who could keep up with him when he is on a roll.
And so it is with my spotters....as much as I have tried to explain that according to the Rules, they are acting as "Referee" and that then comes with actual responsibility, I have simply found that in order to play the game at my own pace, I am best off to spot my own in many cases. It is far better than the alternative of slowing my natural pace to literally one third of my current "normal" shot time (or more accurately, slowing to "triple" my current shot time I suppose). So it is something I have come to accept. (By the way, when I am playing my kid and I get on a good controlled break, he does practically run to spot balls for me when needed much like the telly Ref of my example above. He is a bit of a "mini-me" in this sense and I just wish I could instill this sense of responsibility in the others.) As my confidence in my game has improved, I actually am purposely trying to slow my game down, not because I want to but because I have to; by Tournament Rules, opponents are obliged to spot balls whether they feel like doing it or not, the striker is not to spot balls, so by necessity, I will on such occasion have to deal with the agony of the slow spotter and I need to be prepared for it.
The Game is neverending trials and tribulations.
by Badsnookerplayer » 24 Mar 2017 Read
Re: Do you blow?
