Balance of the cue?

PALMERJOHN

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Where should the balance point (fulcrum) be on a cue.
Also, how many inches behind the fulcrum should the cue be gripped. I am a fairly tall person with long arms. I have
to grip the cue almost at the end of the wrap, for proper
stroke. This is about 12 inches behind the fulcrum point.
I do not feel this is the best. Am I wrong ? My cue is currently 58 inches I am going to buy a new shaft making it 61 inches, but this will probably make the cue even more
top heavy. Opinions appreciated .
 
I think it's more about your comfort level with the balance of the cue, but I'm sure in that there is some "proper" placement for a good fundamental stroke depending on your height, arm length, leg length, and a million other factors. If you shoot well with it keep it :)
 
cue balance

PALMERJOHN said:
Where should the balance point (fulcrum) be on a cue.
Also, how many inches behind the fulcrum should the cue be gripped. I am a fairly tall person with long arms. I have
to grip the cue almost at the end of the wrap, for proper
stroke. This is about 12 inches behind the fulcrum point.
I do not feel this is the best. Am I wrong ? My cue is currently 58 inches I am going to buy a new shaft making it 61 inches, but this will probably make the cue even more
top heavy. Opinions appreciated .
Its a little like asking a golfer which driver should I buy. One thing Ive noticed is a "common" balance point seems to be about 19 1/2" from the butt cap. But many players who favor a open bridge seem to favor a forward balance point which they claim helps in prventing miscues when using high english. Makes sense to me.
 
PALMERJOHN said:
Where should the balance point (fulcrum) be on a cue.
Also, how many inches behind the fulcrum should the cue be gripped. I am a fairly tall person with long arms. I have
to grip the cue almost at the end of the wrap, for proper
stroke. This is about 12 inches behind the fulcrum point.
I do not feel this is the best. Am I wrong ? My cue is currently 58 inches I am going to buy a new shaft making it 61 inches, but this will probably make the cue even more
top heavy. Opinions appreciated .
Almost all of the tall people I work with grip the cue towards the end (on a 'normal' shot with a 'normal' stance). This allows the grip hand forearm to be perpendicular to the cue at cue ball contact. If your hand is in front of perpendicular, you either have to drop your elbow to try to maintain the tip position on the cue ball or if the elbow stays in place with a pendulum stroke the shooter has to account for a tip that's dropping at contact. As long as you are cue stick aware, comfortable, and can reproduce the same stroke over and over you'll be fine. Find what works for you. Myself, unless a student is adamantly against it or physically unable to produce it, I train people to a natural 'pendulum' type movement with a natural Finish to the stroke. Many tall people have a cue built for them that is longer so they can grip where they want and not run out of cue.

Good luck!

Carl
 
you have to try it yourself. if you have to ask, then i think anybody could convince you of anything if they made sense:):)

so try this,,,,get a really light cue, like a house cue at say 18oz. 5 quarters = 1oz. so get enough quarters to get to your desired cue weight, and tape them along the cue until you get to a comfortable balance. you're going to have to translate what you find to a 61" cue, but 3" extra at the tip almost means nothing.
 
some thoughts

I hold my cue fairly far back, so far that I went to a sixty inch cue. I tried a sixty-two with a long shaft but that particular shaft played horribly at thirty-two inches, not too badly at thirty inches.

Anyway, what I am finding is that with the grip well to the rear of the cue, I prefer the balance point further back than considered normal. A cue feels much lighter with the balance point closer to my hand. I suppose that the comparatively light tip could cause a miscue on high hits with an open bridge but I always use a closed bridge for these shots anyway so it isn't an issue.

Hu

PALMERJOHN said:
Where should the balance point (fulcrum) be on a cue.
Also, how many inches behind the fulcrum should the cue be gripped. I am a fairly tall person with long arms. I have
to grip the cue almost at the end of the wrap, for proper
stroke. This is about 12 inches behind the fulcrum point.
I do not feel this is the best. Am I wrong ? My cue is currently 58 inches I am going to buy a new shaft making it 61 inches, but this will probably make the cue even more
top heavy. Opinions appreciated .
 
balance point

Carl,

I have a 12 inch bridge with the cue ball, this works well for me. To keep the perpendicular elbow, I grip near the butt of the cue. Instead of increasing the length of the cue and increasing deflection; would you recommend a rear balance point or a forward balance point and how would this cause the cue to play differently.
 
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