Detail of closed bridge

J

Jim1

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I guess this is a real newbie question. I've read a lot of books and looked at a lot of pictures, videos, etc. that describe the closed bridge. I've come to grips with the fact that there are a lot different opinions on the placement of the thumb and forefinger, where the finger tips touch, and which whether the finger is inside or outside of the thumb. But I have not seen anyone describe whether the cue should touch the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. For open bridges, they always say to avoid that contact. Touching the web with a closed bridge feels very stable but seems to add another pivot point if the stroke is not perfectly straight.

Appreciate any guidance you have.
 
Jim1 said:
I guess this is a real newbie question. I've read a lot of books and looked at a lot of pictures, videos, etc. that describe the closed bridge. I've come to grips with the fact that there are a lot different opinions on the placement of the thumb and forefinger, where the finger tips touch, and which whether the finger is inside or outside of the thumb. But I have not seen anyone describe whether the cue should touch the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. For open bridges, they always say to avoid that contact. Touching the web with a closed bridge feels very stable but seems to add another pivot point if the stroke is not perfectly straight.

Appreciate any guidance you have.
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Actually, most professional pool players use a mainly closed bridge, switching to an open bridge on certain shots. I do understand your point about the position of the fingers in a closed bridge not being helpful to a straight stroke, and you're right. But, what's important here is consistency. If you don't keep changing your bridge, then you won't have to adapt your aim each time you shoot. If I shoot a cue ball straight up and down with a closed bridge vs an open bridge, I will see much better accuracy with an open bridge, so why do I shoot with a closed bridge? Well, I played for an entire year on tour with an open bridge and I wound up switching back to a closed bridge. I was holding back my stroke on certain power shots because the cue would pop off of my bridge hand. I didn't like that feeling.
 
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how is it not pos
Jim1 said:
I guess this is a real newbie question. I've read a lot of books and looked at a lot of pictures, videos, etc. that describe the closed bridge. I've come to grips with the fact that there are a lot different opinions on the placement of the thumb and forefinger, where the finger tips touch, and which whether the finger is inside or outside of the thumb. But I have not seen anyone describe whether the cue should touch the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. For open bridges, they always say to avoid that contact. Touching the web with a closed bridge feels very stable but seems to add another pivot point if the stroke is not perfectly straight.

Appreciate any guidance you have.
Click to expand...
how is it not possible that the cue is not in the webbing of the the thumb and first finger when making a closed bridge?
i am not an instructor
 
FranCrimi said:
I was holding back my stroke on certain power shots because the cue would pop off of my bridge hand. I didn't like that feeling.
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For some reason that has never bothered me - maybe because I so strongly preferred an open bridge from the beginning... never liked the forefinger interfering with my view of the shaft.

pj
chgo
 
If a closed bridge is as good as what some claim, why do snooker players, who need to be more accurate, always use an open bridge?
 
WilliamK said:
If a closed bridge is as good as what some claim, why do snooker players, who need to be more accurate, always use an open bridge?
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The bridge itself has no effect on how the tip hits the ball. The ball’s gone so fast (1/1000 of a second or so) that the bridge doesn’t have a chance to matter - the cue could be thrown at the same speed (i.e., no bridge) and get the same result.

But of course how you feel about it matters, and many (most?) players feel like they have more control with a closed bridge, and are distracted by excess cue movement, especially on hard, off center shots.

I suspect snooker players like open bridges for the same reason I do: the unobstructed view of the shaft/shot.

pj <- also like them skinny snooker shafts
chgo
 
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WilliamK said:
If a closed bridge is as good as what some claim, why do snooker players, who need to be more accurate, always use an open bridge?
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Some of them have methods other than the finger loop to keep the cue stick on/in the bridge.
 
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As far as frequency of bridge use, here is a match between two pretty good players where you can note who uses which and in what sort of situation:


By my count the split is roughly one third open bridge. That might not apply if they were playing something other than nine ball. On power shots a closed bridge is often preferred, and of course on the break at nine ball.
 
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FranCrimi said:
I was holding back my stroke on certain power shots because the cue would pop off of my bridge hand. I didn't like that feeling.
Click to expand...

Patrick Johnson said:
For some reason that has never bothered me - maybe because I so strongly preferred an open bridge from the beginning... never liked the forefinger interfering with my view of the shaft.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

not an instructor, but I can relate to the cue popping off
personally, I attribute this to less weight in the shaft/a more rearward-facing balance point
butt grip also has something to do with this, sometimes

re: the og question, avoiding contacting the skin web makes sense, as that skin moves a lot
guess that's part of the reason why players keep their hands clean, use hand chalk/gloves, avoid extra friction
 
Bob Jewett said:
By my count the split is roughly one third open bridge. That might not apply if they were playing something other than nine ball. On power shots a closed bridge is often preferred, and of course on the break at nine ball.
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I think that the closed bridge is more of a fashion thing and very American. Here in Australia, even among the pool players, we only see the closed bridge used in awkward situations. I do use it myself in Snooker, but only when struggling to get at the ball.

If pool players can get out of the habit, it is bound to improve their game.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Why is it that pretty much every 3-cushion player in the world uses a closed bridge? Are they all victims of tradition?
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More than likely. No one wants to look out of place. If was any good for accuracy, billiards and snooker players on larger tables would be using it, right?
 
WilliamK said:
More than likely. No one wants to look out of place. If was any good for accuracy, billiards and snooker players on larger tables would be using it, right?
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Snooker players often lock up the cue with their chin, so no need for a closed bridge for more stability. Also, a lot of players are uncomfortable using a closed bridge on thinner shafts or shafts with a conical taper.
 
WilliamK said:
More than likely. No one wants to look out of place. If was any good for accuracy, billiards and snooker players on larger tables would be using it, right?
Click to expand...
Since when are the best in the world more concerned with appearances than performance? Is this really the Ask The Instructor forum?
 
DDiabolico said:
Snooker players often lock up the cue with their chin, so no need for a closed bridge for more stability. Also, a lot of players are uncomfortable using a closed bridge on thinner shafts or shafts with a conical taper.
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I agree ---- Snooker players have touch points to secure their light-weight cues. Regarding conical tapered shafts --- they are used by international carom players who use closed bridges. However, they stand taller at the table with shorter bridge lengths which aren't as much of a problem with that type of taper as is for players who stand lower with longer bridge lengths.
 
bbb said:
how is it not pos

how is it not possible that the cue is not in the webbing of the the thumb and first finger when making a closed bridge?
i am not an instructor
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The cue need not scrape the webbing of the hand. Players used to use talcum because there was too much friction/snag on the hand. The cue stick can ride between the the thumb and forefinger without touching the meat of the hand.
 
Thanks everybody.

I certainly shoot better with an open bridge. Trying to get better with the closed bridge.

But to get back to the original question. Thanks to CocoboloCowbo for the picture picture he posted! I hadn't seen it before and it seems to show that the L hand is turned in enough to avoid sliding the cue over the web! Most photos I've seen show the L hand rotated out more and are very ambiguous as to whether the cue shaft makes contact with the web. The question is, is it good or bad to contact the web, or doesn't it matter? Besides the extra friction, I find that web contact makes it harder to keep the shot straight because there are 2 pivot points that have to be kept in line.
 
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