Advice about set-pause-finish

Nothing to add, but what is that on the table? Is it holding the cue?

Roscue said:

I try to keep my bridge length about 12 inches.

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why is that ?

Roscue said:

A coach once told me that this is an ideal bridge length. If you have any other ideas about bridge length or my stance, please shoot!

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My pool instructor indicates your ideal bridge length should be about the same as the length of your forearm. That will take your height into effect. I suppose if you've got longer or shorter arms than normal, that might not be a good guide but for the norm... Having a longer bridge length should give one more power with ease and it easier to see over your bridge. For example, I'm 6'0 and my forearm is 11.5" inches. Right now my bridge is about 10" so I need to work on lengthening it.

Roscue said:

That's interesting. My forearm is 18.5" (including the hand). That might explain why the shooting arm in the set-position on the video is yanking backwards!

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No, measure just elbow to wrist at the base of the hand.

denwhit said:

My pool instructor indicates your ideal bridge length should be about the same as the length of your forearm. That will take your height into effect. I suppose if you've got longer or shorter arms than normal, that might not be a good guide but for the norm... Having a longer bridge length should give one more power with ease and it easier to see over your bridge. For example, I'm 6'0 and my forearm is 11.5" inches. Right now my bridge is about 10" so I need to work on lengthening it.

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An ideal bridge length allows you to reach the bottom of your arch automatically. That's when we should be striking the cue ball. It's not your forearm, it's your body, stance and stroke.

Normal bridges will run anywhere from 7-12 inches. The SPF Method sets up your bridge length according to your style and stroke.

randyg

Roscue said:

Hello instructors!

Currently I'm looking for a good default setup/stance according to the set-pause-finish method. I try to keep my bridge length about 12 inches.

The link below is a video of me training this. As you can see, it goes wrong at the 'set' position (when the cuetip is at the object ball). My arm is yanked to the back where it should point vertically to the ground.

I've tried to correct this by gripping the cue more towards the middle. Unfortunately, that will cause my hand to collapse into the chest early and prevents a smooth follow through.

Any advice on how to correct this is highly appreciated! :smile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0qyoZi2YM0

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Roscue. Who is your SPF Instructor?

randyg

The ideal bridge length for a given shot is the shortest possible bridge that will allow for:

*Great aiming

*Smooth stroking

*Cue ball position

A lot of players are using 12" bridges for shots requiring a 5" or 3" bridge.

BilliardsAbout said:

The ideal bridge length for a given shot is the shortest possible bridge that will allow for:

*Great aiming

*Smooth stroking

*Cue ball position

A lot of players are using 12" bridges for shots requiring a 5" or 3" bridge.

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I was going to start a new thread about this, but i'll just respond here. I had a "friend" explain to me that I should be using a short bridge (e.g., 4-6") in order to have more control. However, I have noticed when I warm up with straight-ins (and other shots) I feel MUCH more comfortable with about a 10-12" bridge. I can align the ball better and my follow-through, oddly enough, seems to be straighter. Thoughts from the instructors here on this would be appreciated.

Second, I believe Bob was referring to your arm hitting your chest on the follow through. While you explain that it is contacting, your follow-through does not seem to be the same distance as your bridge. I was under the belief that your follow through should be about the same length as your bridge length. Instructors?

Third, I also wanted to inquire about the contraption you have on the table. After using it, do you feel that it has helped "reinforce" a straighter shot? Additionally, this (as well as other wrist gloves etc.) have me thinking that while it may help in the short term, these types of devices are crutches because you should be focus on learning these habits without these contraptions. I'm guessing the middle of the road is the recommended way (e.g., to use them a little and then practice without them)? Thoughts?

Where did you get that stroke tool? Link? Thanks.

fathomblue said:

Where did you get that stroke tool? Link? Thanks.

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http://www.thesnookergym.com/cueactiontrainer/
its about $500 usd with shipping i think

There's more to it than short or long bridge. If you use a 2" backstroke with a 6" bridge, and a 5" backstroke with a 10" bridge, your "long bridge" will do better on most shots.

A key way to develop an optimal bridge length is to stroke back to the loop of your hand/fingers on every practice stroke and the final stroke.

**

The follow through length in part is dictated by stroke pacing and leverage/thrust. A smoothly accelerating stroke of appropriate bridge length (!) should be about as long on the follow through as on the backstroke. And a stroke taken down to the cloth will be slowed by the bottom of the tip/ferrule scraping the cloth...

**

Joe Tucker's CueTrack (if you can find one) is the optimal stroke trainer IMHO. But I'm curious about what we saw in the video, also....

Bob Jewett said:

It's common practice to finish with the hand touching the chest. It looks like your current finish is a long way from that happening.

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Sorry, but this isn't true. When a player strokes with a fixed elbow, the common practice is that the lower part of the arm closes against the upper part of the arm. Whether the player hits himself in the chest is dependent on his stance. There are great, balanced stances that do not require the player to hit himself in his chest. I use one of them.