What is the distance from the tip to your bridge for most of your shots?
Length from tip to bridge?
- Thread starter I Got Lucky
- Start date
Easily a foot for me. Bad habit. But, I'm really far sighted.
Why is this bad ?
It depends on what I'm trying to do with the cue ball. For most draw shots I shorten my bridge, for follow shots a use a longer bridge. If cueball and object ball are close to the rail and I don't have much angle, a longer bridge makes it easier for me to punch the cueball out further. I've also started to notice that the farther I want to move the cueball the longer bridge I make. As I study different players I'm starting to notice players that play by "feel" generally use longer bridges than fundamentally or system minded players do.
I agree it depends. I could possibly play a whole game and never use the same length. In general I use a long bridge. This is because the pivot point of my cue is around 12 to 14 inches. If I'm shooting a shot with english (right or left) I'm using the pivot point.....if the layout allows it. Lots of advantages to be had but you have to be in stroke. Some of my bridges are 3 Iinches. Depends on the shot at hand, and what I want to do with the cue ball.
You know how to make mine 9"?
FOLD IT IN HALF! Bahahahahaha
FOLD IT IN HALF! Bahahahahaha
About 10 inches. Any longer and my arm holding the butt of the cue is not at a 90 degree angle to the floor. Also lose some accuracy when the bridge is too long.
I misspoke. On power stroke shots I generally drop my forearm which results in a larger lever which results in more cue speed for the same speed stroke. The end result is more follow through but the increased cue speed is what actually makes more action.
I could also be speaking out of my ass but that's my opinion on it.
Why would he be kidding, Dale? The tip is only on the CB for 1/1000th of a second (1/4 of an eye blink). Extended followthrough has no physical effect on the outcome. Dropping the elbow slows the stroke down, because it involves more groups of muscles. A faster swing happens when you choke up a little bit on your grip, and don't pull the cue so far back, as your normal swing, enabling a quicker forward movement that is still pendulum in nature.
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
I think follow through is a mental aspect of the stroke. You get your mind to think it, and your brain tells the muscles to stroke the cue to get the follow through results. Its what happens before the impact is what counts. Hope I'm explaining it right.
Think of this. You set up a shot that requires a great stroke. You attach a cable to the butt of your cue so the cue stops 2 inches after impact. Then stroke the cue as you normally would. I say you wouldn't notice one bit of difference in the cue ball action then the same stroke with follow through.
Think of this. You set up a shot that requires a great stroke. You attach a cable to the butt of your cue so the cue stops 2 inches after impact. Then stroke the cue as you normally would. I say you wouldn't notice one bit of difference in the cue ball action then the same stroke with follow through.
I have always thought that the follow through is to trick the mind into accelerating all the way through the shot. If you are not following through, you are deaccelerating when you hit the cue ball.
If you extend the lever by using the whole arm instead of just the forearm you generate more force for the same stroke speed. Using more muscles isn't the issue. You have to raise up your body to accomplish this but it is possible to make the lever longer without slowing down the stroke itself. With correct timing you can raise your upper torso during the stroke itself. Yes it requires good timing and shouldn't ever be taught to anything but advanced players.
You are pivoting from the shoulder instead of the elbow and in effect almost doubling the length of the lever holding the cue.
Look at Mike Masse doing his power draw. He drops his elbow after contact along with a raised upper torso and has increased follow through due to the longer lever he is creating. It results in more follow through but a faster stroke speed so the follow through itself is a side effect of the technique.
http://youtu.be/hbnxQWe_OTg
Last edited:
I've seen that vid before. But none of us are Mike Massey. The biggest part of the secret is that loose wrist. Limp as a noodle. The slow motion at the end shows it well. He even purposely exacerbated it to show you. He could never generate that much draw (cue speed at impact) without it.
You are correct when you said the follow through was a side effect of the technique. The elbow doesn't drop much till after impact. A little....but not much.
Last edited: