Different lengths bridge for follow, draw and stop
- Thread starter Pete
- Start date
That sounds more like a user preference to me. I try to keep my bridge length
the same. I bought some LD shafts that conformed to my normal bridge length for that
very reason. I don't like the idea of accidentally giving a shot too much or too little
stroke. I like to know what I'm dealing with and change only the stroke itself.
No.
Freddie had some... unusual ideas. For instance, he also said you should tighten your grip to shorten banks.
pj
chgo
He also suggested gripping back fingers for draw and front fingers for follow if I recall correctly.
Beard was cautious about exceeding the miscue limit and felt a long bridge would be harder to deliver in line and might veer outside the miscue limit.
There might be something to that if your long bridge isn’t delivering true due to stroke hitches. I think that’s not a concern for strong players but might be a nice crutch for beginners until they develop a more dependable stroke.
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Beard was cautious about exceeding the miscue limit and felt a long bridge would be harder to deliver in line and might veer outside the miscue limit.
There might be something to that if your long bridge isn’t delivering true due to stroke hitches. I think that’s not a concern for strong players but might be a nice crutch for beginners until they develop a more dependable stroke.
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Makes no sense....just think about it plus makes one bunt
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I’d recommend that.
Your muscles accelerate the cue. More distance equals more time for the cue to go faster to achieve a harder hit. To achieve the same hard hit with a shorter bridge you need to add more muscle. In general less muscle is better because you can avoid competing body tensions pulling your stroke offline.
Makes great sense to me. But then again there’s a limit to how long of a bridge I can cue properly, so some hard hits still need oomph. Thankfully not as much oomph as if I had a shorter bridge.
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Sure but why would a soft shot need a close bridge?
One reason players tend to do this is when they lack delivery speed control over the entire swing so they maintain their speeds by limiting the distance their arm can pull back.
It’s a bandaid
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I think that depends. What is a close bridge? I think we just said longer and shorter in a relative sense. I’m not advocating a 1/2” bridge or anything like that.
I don’t think of it as a bandaid so much as a technique to strive to use a similar stroke for a large variety of shots. Something smooth and with finesse.
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This can help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZBeDXrd758&feature=youtu.be
Bridge length is a complicated subject.
Sometimes it’s just where the cue ball is that determines your bridge length.
But generally, the harder I want to hit a shot, the shorter I want the bridge to be...
...within reason, of course.
Short bridges give you accuracy...many carom players use short bridges for this reason,
especially when they have to drive the ball a long way.
It’s sorta like Bruce Lee’s one inch punch...extending the follow-through unleashes the power.
Sometimes it’s just where the cue ball is that determines your bridge length.
But generally, the harder I want to hit a shot, the shorter I want the bridge to be...
...within reason, of course.
Short bridges give you accuracy...many carom players use short bridges for this reason,
especially when they have to drive the ball a long way.
It’s sorta like Bruce Lee’s one inch punch...extending the follow-through unleashes the power.
It’s neat how different people have such different takes on this topic. Cool stuff.
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I spent a few hours with Freddy at his home outside Chinatown in Chicago.
He had some unusual ideas about grips and how they would affect certain shots. Basically, I came away with the conclusion that he was wrong on most of it but that they worked for him anyway, perhaps for reasons other than what he thought. However, for one shot he showed me, I did make that a take away and still use it to this day.
As to his thoughts on bridge length, there is merit there. And all you have to do to prove it to yourself is to slide your hand closer and/or further away from the CB to see that in fact, the hit on the CB does change. And if you also keep in mind how small differences change the hit on the CB and the outcome of the shot, I'd have to say that there is considerable merit to the idea. You just have to play with it or at least keep it in mind.
Lou Figueroa
There is some interesting stuff that goes on with the physics that I don't fully understand. Local guy here Old School
that Ive played banks with both he and I have noted some differences in ease when it comes to playing banks with a stiffer
thicker cue shaft. I think the stiffer is actually the nuts. Too much proof the tip to cue ball contact is the same but never the
less a stiffer heavier shaft can seem easier to bank with in my opinion.
I sometimes adjust bridge length. I sometimes adjust from one type of bridge I use. I sometimes adjust my grip hand position on cue. I sometimes adjust how tight and how I hold the cue with grip.
But, I the one thing I do not "sometimes" adjust is stroke speed. I adjust that going by what I see and feel on "every" shot from experience from previous shots in drills, ghost races, matches against other players...etc..etc.
I think most all if not all of the above is why I agree with the hamb method.
When someone ask questions such as bridge length, grip position etc...etc...etc I start wondering just how many balls has this person really hit during "quality" time on a table?
I'm not trying to be short. I have ask such questions in the past before I actually made myself spend quality time on the table and stop just playing pool which is what I thought, at one time, was practice when in reality, it was one of the biggest things holding my game back.
Rake
But, I the one thing I do not "sometimes" adjust is stroke speed. I adjust that going by what I see and feel on "every" shot from experience from previous shots in drills, ghost races, matches against other players...etc..etc.
I think most all if not all of the above is why I agree with the hamb method.
When someone ask questions such as bridge length, grip position etc...etc...etc I start wondering just how many balls has this person really hit during "quality" time on a table?
I'm not trying to be short. I have ask such questions in the past before I actually made myself spend quality time on the table and stop just playing pool which is what I thought, at one time, was practice when in reality, it was one of the biggest things holding my game back.
Rake
I had never heard this before (started playing and taking lessons back in 2002), but figured that some of the guys hear would have, and would know more about it.
For me I tend to use a 12 - 13" bridge on most shots. I couldn't Tyrol speed by the length of my back stroke.
But I'm just a ham n eager...
For me I tend to use a 12 - 13" bridge on most shots. I couldn't Tyrol speed by the length of my back stroke.
But I'm just a ham n eager...
My instructor told me that my bridge was too long (it was around 10-12"). And he was right.
Why? Because I am no world-class or even A-Player. The longer the bridge, the more your deficiencies in your stroke will have an effect. Even a tiny wobble in that stroke will be magnifified with a longer bridge. I now use a 7-8" bridge and my results are way better. If I ever become a lot more consistent in my stroke I can still lengthen my bridge - doubtful because of my age, though.
The only time that I still use a longer bridge is when using BHE with the LD shaft. Don't do that a lot, though. Only on tough long shots where I badly need position and a lot of English for some reason. My failure rate on those is significantly higher, though. I am trying to get enough practice to avoid BHE altogether and substitute it with experience.
Why? Because I am no world-class or even A-Player. The longer the bridge, the more your deficiencies in your stroke will have an effect. Even a tiny wobble in that stroke will be magnifified with a longer bridge. I now use a 7-8" bridge and my results are way better. If I ever become a lot more consistent in my stroke I can still lengthen my bridge - doubtful because of my age, though.
The only time that I still use a longer bridge is when using BHE with the LD shaft. Don't do that a lot, though. Only on tough long shots where I badly need position and a lot of English for some reason. My failure rate on those is significantly higher, though. I am trying to get enough practice to avoid BHE altogether and substitute it with experience.
I believe any little thing can alter your performance, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the not so good. The devil is in understanding why.
Lou Figueroa