What is a cue’s “hit”?

garczar said:
PJ has played long enough to know that there is no definite answer to this.
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I've never paid attention to my cue's "hit", only to the results - so I'm genuinely uninformed about the how/why of paying attention to it, and interested to know how players use it - is the hit made up of specific parts, or just an overall sensation? Are some parts more important? Does the correct hit just feel best or does it improve the shot some more specific way?

Just curious - not looking for things to "correct" (this time).

pj
chgo
 
garczar said:
What did the SupremeCourt justice say about pornography? "I can't describe it but i know it when i see it" I can't define a cue's hit but i know it when i feel it. Everyone has their own aspects of a cue's hit/feel that they feel is important. PJ has played long enough to know that there is no definite answer to this.
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He's just looking for a 'Gothcha' moment reply!
 
Patrick Johnson said:
I've never paid attention to my cue's "hit", only to the results - so I'm genuinely uninformed about the how/why of paying attention to it, and interested to know how players use it - is the hit made up of specific parts, or just an overall sensation? Are some parts more important? Does the correct hit just feel best or does it improve the shot some more specific way?

Just curious - not looking for things to "correct" (this time).

pj
chgo
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They just feel different. I like cues so have too many. You don’t have to be world class to feel a difference. Like the old test we talk about. It wasn’t scientific but they had pros hit with different cues in a blind test with covered joints. The usual point made is pros guessed wrong on the type of joint so the joint doesn’t affect the hit. I think it does -along with everything else- to some degree. So yes tip, ferrule, shaft, taper all affect feel. Just because you guess wrong at the joint type doesn’t mean there is no effect at all. So, back to the old test. Many pros misidentified but liked a Huebler sneaky Pete.

Being someone who likes cues I have a Huebler with the 5/16- 18 thread flat face with a steel collar and a Huebler sneaky Pete. Both same pin into the Huebler nylon insert flat face. Sneaky needed a new ferrule. Anyway, the cues feel different. How much different? Can’t quantify it. How much does the collar affect the feel? I don’t know. Tip, ferrule, shaft, woods in the butt all can affect it. I dunno. But you can feel it. Does it matter? I don’t know. Depends mostly on what you prefer or if you really
Like one vs another.

I am no champion but cues feel different. A Cuetec carbon fiber feels different from a Joss which doesn’t feel just like a Meucci etc…. I have a D series McDermott that feels different from a G Core McD. That difference probably is more shaft related. But they are different. Different doesn’t mean bad or substantially different performance. If you don’t care, good for you, makes life easier and probably cheaper. I think if you tried a cue you really hated it you might notice. Maybe in your case if you noticed it had to be an extreme feel and you might not like it.

Take two chefs and have them make something standard out of the same or similar ingredients. Omelette, steak au poivre, eggs Benedict things like that. I bet they taste different. Or like the places that make the same thing but compete in a given place, some in town like one and some like the other. It doesn’t come down to calories or the exact weight of the food.
 
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A PS. Anybody remember the Lee Trevino tire ad? He held up a golf ball and said “You can’t see the rubber in the golf ball but you can feel it when you drive…”.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
We often hear how good a cue’s “hit” is, but I don’t recall ever hearing what the “hit” is. Can it be described in more detail? Is it specific objective qualities or just the overall experience of hitting a ball with it? Can the difference(s) between “good” and “bad” hits be described in any detail?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

pj
chgo
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The vibration when striking the cueball with a normal stroke?
 
Patrick Johnson said:
We often hear how good a cue’s “hit” is, but I don’t recall ever hearing what the “hit” is. Can it be described in more detail? Is it specific objective qualities or just the overall experience of hitting a ball with it? Can the difference(s) between “good” and “bad” hits be described in any detail?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

pj
chgo
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good and bad hits are like pornography...... ;)
you know it when you feel it /see what the ball does
 
iusedtoberich said:
I’ve been playing pool since 1992 or so. I started first hearing that term a few years later after I graduated from banger level. In all those years, I’ve got no idea what the hell people are talking about.
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It's the feel/sound that a well balanced piece of wood has when striking a cb..... it seems to add more speed when contacting the cb than a poorly made cue stick.
 
if feeling vibrations then i suspect the continuity of the shaft and butt is compromised. or something is just loose.
 
Island Drive said:
It's the feel/sound that a well balanced piece of wood has when striking a cb..... it seems to add more speed when contacting the cb than a poorly made cue stick.
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it may seem to add more speed just like many that talk about their cf shafts adding much more power or speed. it is all in the head.

a lighter cue may enable you to propel it faster if more speed is what a person wants.

but what you really want is a stroke with the most controllable speed.
 
maha said:
it may seem to add more speed just like many that talk about their cf shafts adding much more power or speed. it is all in the head.

a lighter cue may enable you to propel it faster if more speed is what a person wants.

but what you really want is a stroke with the most controllable speed.
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And a handle with feel.
 
If the cue ball does exactly what I am intending for it to do, the cue has a good "hit" to ME.

When a cue ball does what I am intending for it to do, a certain feel (cue vibration), sound, and "cue ball feel" is emitted from the cue on every shot.

From this "combination" of sensations, I "communicate" with the cue and I am able to make adjustments if needed.

The feel, sounds, and vibrations "talk to me".
 
HawaiianEye said:
If the cue ball does exactly what I am intending for it to do, the cue has a good "hit" to ME.

When a cue ball does what I am intending for it to do, a certain feel (cue vibration), sound, and "cue ball feel" is emitted from the cue on every shot.

From this "combination" of sensations, I "communicate" with the cue and I am able to make adjustments if needed.

The feel, sounds, and vibrations "talk to me".
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hope your recovery is going well.... 🙏 🤞
 
Bavafongoul said:
The hit is a combination of the acoustical sound produced, the roll of a cue ball after being struck, the amount of energy you can feel as feedback after striking a stationary cue ball relative to your grip position, the tactile sense of vibration created that’s transmitted and felt in your finger pads presuming your grip isn’t too tight and whether the cue ball rolled smoothly or like a NHRA dragster because of the length of your follow through or stroke speed. There is a feel to your stroke and if you haven’t discovered that to be true, you still have much to learn about pool cue anatomy and experimenting with lots of cues.
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You forgot the visual element. WYSIWYG is the hit. Visual percussion to me.
 
Cues hit. What is a bat, tennis racket, hockey stick or golf club hit? I know what a record hit is but cannot describe a cues hit. My 02...just a worthless term. Whatever serves a player well hits good.
 
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Im not reading all this bullshit, fact is, you'll know when you get there- it'll be you're holy grail and under no circumstances should you ever sell that cue. I'M NOT JOKING
 
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