A question about my stroke

Hard to copy another person. If it works, use it.....randyg

The great golfer, Arnold Palmer, said to hold a club like you were holding a bird in your hand. I don't know if he meant a live one, or a dead one.
Jack Nicklaus suggested that you should hold the club as if were a tube of toothpaste and you were trying not to get any on your new corduroy pants. Just like snot, you can't get toothpaste out of corduroy either.
Do the same with your cue.

.............

Slh said:

I'm a little confused about my stroke, i try to hold the cue as loose as possible but I noticed i don't close the thumb and the first finger around the cue but there is a little space between the cue and the fingers.
You can see at 0:56 of this video Stalev looks like he holds the cue pretty tight.. his thumb and index fingers are pretty tight, well i'm the opposite. I know everyone has different strokes but I think there is the right way and a wrong way ( the side stroke works for McCready but i don't think you would teach that stroke). Is the way i'm holding the cue correct? Or i should try to hold the cue a little tighter?

Click to expand...

I have an opinion about this. In the old days, a lot of players just held the cue cradled low in their fingers. That's what was taught, the finger cradle grip.

Today, most players have a tighter grip on the cue. The main pressure should be between your thumb and forefinger (the pincers) , with only a slight (if any) gap between the web of the hand and the cue. Very little pressure is needed to put a solid grip on the cue when it is held this way. The other fingers are just along for the ride, and should be on the grip but stay out of the way of your stroke and should not be manipulated.

If you look at the Filipino players, they almost all use this tigher pincer grip, with little or no gap between the web of the hand and the cue. Same as Stalev's grip. There is a small gap there, but the web of his hand is coving it. Notice on his grip there is a slight gap seen on follow through. This allows the cue to move through properly.

The way to practice this tighter grip is to shoot power shots repeatedly, for example, power draw and power follow shots, until you are confident that your grip is solid enough to perform these shots consistently.

Chris

Feel the Hold of the Cue for your Shots!

randyg said:

Hard to copy another person. If it works, use it.....randyg

Click to expand...

Randyg said it right, what ever feels comfortable and works use it!, everyone has their sweet spot , so find yours and use it, knowone can say this is it, because everyone is just a little somewhat different., but suggestions are welcome from all, just experiment and you'll know when you use it, it will feel Great !, then stick with it!

I myself hold my stick with thumb and let the next three fingers hold and guide my stick through my stroke on most shots, but will use a full hold on some shots, as you play pool you will know which shots require what hold needed for the shot.


David Harcrow

Slh said:

i'm not trying to copy Stalev's stroke, i asked if holding the cue my way is totally wrong and i should hold hit more tightly

Click to expand...

If it works, keep it.....randyg

I have all fingers touching the cue and the cue touching the palm of my hand. As someone already stated, just enough pressure so if it were a tube of toothpaste none would come out. Been doing it for 40 plus years and it is the only way it feels comfortable to me. What ever "feels right" for you is the answer, just be sure the grip is light as too firm a grip will make all the muscles in your arm tighten up which is not good.

Not too tight and not too loose is what works for me. I know that's really vague, but the key phrase is "what works for me".