Quite simply, this is the best aiming tool on the market I have seen or used. To say the AimRight product is a ghost ball trainer on steroids is an understatement. It is a simple set of tools with a disciplined approach to aiming, backed up with sophisticated technical theories of physics and geometry designed to provide the studied player the skill of automatic aiming.
There is no magic bullet here. The tools and techniques are provided, but it will take study, practice and perseverance to build the skill of automatic aiming. If you can stick with it, the skills you will build in aiming & cue ball control will provide you a competitive advantage.
I am a very big fan of fractional aiming techniques and the AimRight really resonated with me in that regard.
The following is a comprehensive review of the AimRight system (All images can be clicked on for a full screen image)
What you get in the package:
The product ships with two AimRights. One for left hand cuts, one for right hand cuts. It also ships with hole reinforcement donuts and a user’s guide.
What is the Aimright?
Automatic aiming is about building consistency through repetition & and precise setup insuring that you are shooting the exact same angle every time. Then making calculated adjustments in the angles & precise setup with further repetition. Over time, you build muscle memory and shot vision that becomes second nature. Consistency is key here – and beyond providing you the education via the included user guide an online tutorials, it is the AimRight tool itself that is the key to allowing you to setup your practice shots so precisely to facilitate the process.
The AimRight:
On the top left of the template is where the object ball rests. and the full ball template to the right of it represents the ghost ball. This represents the contact point the cue ball needs to strike the object ball to pocket it. The straight line is aligned to the pocket you are shooting for.
All the other lines represent different precise aiming angles, represented in fractions (i.e. 1/2 ball hit) or degrees (i.e. 30 degrees). There is a line depicting the pocket line and there is a line for the tangent line. I found this to be extraordinarily helpful and one of the benefits over other similar products in the market. Some I have used just contain tick marks with no labeling, others, such as a protractor, will just list the degrees. Many instructional books often refer to either degrees or ball fractions and the fact that the Aimright has both allows it to be an effective tool to translate and also practice with.
Using the AimRight
The AimRight template is used to effortlessly setup specific angles and shots precisely consistently.
In this example, I have used a several shafts just to better illustrate a setup of three different progressive angles to practice. You could simply use your cue to do this. In this case, with the middle shaft I have set a doughnut marker precisely at a half ball hit (30 degrees). The left hand shaft I have set at a 1/4 ball hit (48.6 degrees). The shaft to the right, I set at 3/4 ball hit (14.5 degrees).
Here is a closer look at the aim alignment
Another precise way to do this instead of using your cue to line up the anges is to get a laser level for picture hanging. You can get them fairly inexpensively at big box stores and they are very small, compact, easy to use and very precise. They will also let you setup any distance you want very easily as depicted below:
Now that you have setup your aiming positions to practice, use the ghost ball that you have setup to visualize what the contact point will look like when down on the shot to sink the ball. Using the cueball as the ghost ball on the AimRight template, here is a depiction of what all the contact points are for each shot we have set up. Keep in mind, for the images below, I have not re-positioned the AimRight template. These are actual images taken from the doughnuts in the three aiming angles we setup. You can see how powerful this visualization technique can be in helping you aim consistently. A 30 degree angle will always be hit with a half ball hit (generally speaking – not considering throw, squirt, spin, etc. But those are subjects on their own). So practicing this repetitively will give you a natural instinct for recognizing that angle in your games and knowing how to hit it. Using that as a reference point, you just work your way around the aim positions – a little thicker, a little thinner, depending on the cut.
Remove the setup components, including the AimRight (although if you find it helpful, you can leave the AimRight on the table as it is thin enough not to really throw the shot off). Then you will be left with only the doughnuts on the table which give you the perfect way to repetitively setup your practice shots, as depicted below.
This is a really good example of how to practice. You would anchor yourself with the half ball hit and practice that until you were consistent with it. Then you would move over to the 3/4 ball hit and practice that until consistent. Then same with the 1/4 ball hit. This will give you the solid reference points to work with. If you practice this enough, you will recognize these angles when they come up in your games, and hence, your aiming becomes automatic because you will immediately recognize the angle and how to shoot it.
AimRight as a companion to other training materials
Some of the best billiards books ever written will articulate concepts, diagrams and technique using degrees, angles and other terminology which may be difficult for readers / students to put into practice. The AimRight is the most effective tool on the market that I know of that can easily help a student with these concepts and easily translate them to the table. The following is an excellent example of this.
The following is an excerpt from one of the best instructional books on 14.1 ever written called “Play Your Best Straight Pool”. It was authored by Phil Capelle, who is one of the best & well known authors of billiards instructional books.
This illustration is depicting optimal break positions. Note the articulation in degrees, with an indication of cue ball direction. The book contains literally hundreds pages of these kinds of illustrations & articulations.
With the AimRight, I setup the 50 degree break shot accurately in less than 30 seconds. I also used the donut rings to stick on the table so I could set that shot up precisely over & over again. It is the perfect compliment to these kinds of books and actually makes them more effective than just the book alone.
For the advanced player or those really wanting a detailed understanding
The user’s guide is very technical and goes into a significant amount of detail that really brings a deep level of aiming concepts and ball behavior. The guide was obliviously authored by an educator who put alot of thought and effort into the material and it shows. It is reminiscent of other well respected technical billiards authors. Anyone familiar with Dr. Dave Alciatore’s teachings of pool principles and techniques will be right at home with this material.
For the beginner
While the user’s guide provides deep educational insight, the technical detail could be intimidating to beginners. Fortunately, the author has created a tutorial which eases beginners into the concepts of aiming and provides an effective way for beginners to benefit from the AimRight right away to improve their aiming.
Here is a nice tutorial provided by the manufacturer for beginners to get started with automating aiming using AimRight 2.0.
In Summary
This is the best aiming tool on the market I have seen or used. No other ghost ball trainer comes close to being as useful and educational as the AimRight with it’s included instructional material. Extraordinarily useful on it’s own, it provides additional value to the player as a compliment and companion to the many other instructional books on the market.
This review has really just scratched the surface. The AimRight contains many other angles at varying degrees and many other detailed ways to use the product, which are outlined in the very detailed user’s guide. You can even chain them together to incorporate automatic aiming into combination shots, carom shots and more. It is way too much to go into here in this review, but this gives you the basic idea of how the AimRight is used. Having said that, even practicing just what has been outlined in this review can really improve your game and give you a competitive advantage. You would be amazed at how many times the angles depicted in this review come up during games.
I highly recommend the AimRight product for anyone serious about improving their game, particularly their aim. I also think this would be an excellent instructional aide for pool instructors to incorporate into their lessons. This is an improvement on other ghost ball trainers and is a very good product created by people who are clearly subject matter experts.
The AimRight is about the same price as other ghost ball trainers on the market and you get a lot more for your money. Other products don’t come close to providing the same kind of educational & reference material that this product comes with. And the templates themselves are better quality than others on the market.
Throughout the user guide, I appreciate the references to other instructors and educational material that are out there to help compliment the AimRight & player’s training. They also have many videos published to help players understand the methods and how to use the AimRight. It truly leaves me with the impression that the AimPro Billiards folks are more interested in helping players improve their game then they are making a buck, which is refreshing.
