Table Length Practice
Eight or nine feet is a lot of cloth. That’s why practicing to sink long shots is very important. Having a wide open shot down table looks easy, but aiming straight is very important. Being off the slightest bit will cause you to miss by a few inches.
If your shot isn’t perfectly straight, you will definitely hate taking long shots. If you aren’t sure if your shot is straight or not, then start using this drill and you will figure it out rather quickly. This drill will help get your stroke a lot straighter, in addition to helping you feel more comfortable in taking table length shots. The margin for error is a lot smaller when you attempt shots that span the length of the table. So after this drill your short game will seem like a piece of cake.
Balls are ramdomly spread at end of table. You get ball in hand for every shot. Alternate the pocket you shoot for.
It is a good idea to keep the cue ball on your side of the table. After a few shots you will see that you don’t have to hit these shots harder than normal. Try not to move balls out of the way to get a clear shot, if you feel trapped behind balls, try and shoot over an object ball. Shooting over a ball and trying to get the object ball down table into the corner pocket is a shot that needs an enormous amount of practice.
Note: Don’t always look to practice a straight in shot, try cutting a few down the table as well.