Balance Point Question

krelldog

krelldog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have 4 different cues that I use. They range from a Joss sneaky to a higher end RC/3. The one cue that has emerged as my best hitting cue for my tastes is a "not so sneaky" Jerry Olivier.

My question...When I measured for the balance point on the cues I have...3 were 18.5. The Jerry Olivier is 19.25. Does 3/4 of an inch in balance make that big of a difference? What is the typical range of balance points usually? 16"-20"? 17"-19"?

What are your thoughts on balance points? If you found a cue you really wanted would the wrong balance point prevent you from buying it?

Thanks in advance for any and all input on the above topic.

Happy Holidays.
 
krelldog said:
I have 4 different cues that I use. They range from a Joss sneaky to a higher end RC/3. The one cue that has emerged as my best hitting cue for my tastes is a "not so sneaky" Jerry Olivier.

My question...When I measured for the balance point on the cues I have...3 were 18.5. The Jerry Olivier is 19.25. Does 3/4 of an inch in balance make that big of a difference? What is the typical range of balance points usually? 16"-20"? 17"-19"?

What are your thoughts on balance points? If you found a cue you really wanted would the wrong balance point prevent you from buying it?

Thanks in advance for any and all input on the above topic.

Happy Holidays.
Click to expand...
most cues have balance points between 18-19 inches from the end of the butt not including the rubber bumper i beleive
i guess a larger range would be 17-20 inches
you can get used to any balance point so there is no "wrong" one

you will read people describe cues as forward balance or rear balanced
as you get to 19 oz or higher the cue tends to feel more forward balanced
ie the balance point feels in front of your hand
as you get closer to 18 oa the cues tend to be more rear balanced
ie the weight feels more in back of your hand
these are a gross generalizations

i myself like a balance point of 19 inches or more ie more forward balance

this is just my opinion
im sure you will get responces from people more knowledgeable than me

btw i really like the way jerry olivier cues play
and i think you get alot of cue for the buck
 
My thoughts on balance point are: The balance point is completely unimportant if you only focus on that special aspect. It says nothing! If you talk about the combination of balance point + weight you come a little bit closer to the issue of feeling comfortable with a cue.

But there are so many aspects and reasons why you feel comfortable with a cue or not (length, grip material, weight, balance point, weight distribution, taper, smoothness of the shaft surface, diameter of the butt end etc etc etc). You feel all aspects together as a package, and it is sensless to pick only one or two of them out while ignoring the others.

I personally have 2 different cues that I feel very very comfortable with: the one has 468 gr., a conical taper and is balanced very much towards the front. The second one is exactly 100 gr. heavier at 568 gr., has a parabolic taper and balanced very much towards the back. I feel extremely comfortable with both cues !!!! This is one of my subjective evidences that the balance point itself says purely nothing.
 
I don't like a butt heavy cue. Obviously, weight alone cannot tell the balance. You could have a cue that weighs 19 oz but the distribution could be 16/3 cue to shaft. Same cue weight with heavy shafts, say they weigh 4.3 oz, and the balance point and feel of the weighting is going to be substantially different. As with most things in pool, it is a matter of personal preference.
 
front weighted...

I like a very front weighted cue, 19.5 - 20 oz
That just feels right to me.
Any cue in the 19.25 + is a special cue if you ask me.
There will be something that you really like about it, Many times, you wont know why you gravitate towards that cue, but I think many people tend to prefer the cue with the most forward weight.
 
8onthebreak said:
I like a very front weighted cue, 19.5 - 20 oz
That just feels right to me.
Any cue in the 19.25 + is a special cue if you ask me.
There will be something that you really like about it, Many times, you wont know why you gravitate towards that cue, but I think many people tend to prefer the cue with the most forward weight.
Click to expand...

I agree with the favoring a front weighted cue. My shooting cues all balance at 20 - some go to 22.5 (my favorite).

"but I think many people tend to prefer the cue with the most forward weight" - an interesting thought but MOST people like other things in a cue - mainly how pretty it is. Most pool players' nuts are too numb to recognize something good when they see it.:grin-square:
 
krelldog said:
I have 4 different cues that I use. They range from a Joss sneaky to a higher end RC/3. The one cue that has emerged as my best hitting cue for my tastes is a "not so sneaky" Jerry Olivier.

My question...When I measured for the balance point on the cues I have...3 were 18.5. The Jerry Olivier is 19.25. Does 3/4 of an inch in balance make that big of a difference? What is the typical range of balance points usually? 16"-20"? 17"-19"?

What are your thoughts on balance points? If you found a cue you really wanted would the wrong balance point prevent you from buying it?

Thanks in advance for any and all input on the above topic.

Happy Holidays.
Click to expand...
For me there are no other cue attributes more important than shaft taper, balance point and tip feel. Weight to me is nearly unimportant, which I realize flies in the face of many people.

For me, if the balance point gets to 19 inches from the butt on a 58" cue, I haven't played my best with that set up. I like to have my cues built to 18.5.

Freddie <~~~ because it fits me
 
Cornerman said:
For me there are no other cue attributes more important than shaft taper, balance point and tip feel. Weight to me is nearly unimportant, which I realize flies in the face of many people.

For me, if the balance point gets to 19 inches from the butt on a 58" cue, I haven't played my best with that set up. I like to have my cues built to 18.5.

Freddie <~~~ because it fits me
Click to expand...

i deleted my original post because after rereading what freddie said i agree with him in paragraph one
and how can you tell someone what will work best for them when they have years and many games worth of experience
 
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The heft, or feel, of the cue largely depends on whether the prong is threaded into the handle, or the handle is threaded into the prong. Either way it really doesn't make too much difference.
What matters is whether you prefer a rear weighted cue, or a front weighted one. :smile:
 
Certainly a lot of people think balance point is important.

I am not convinced it is important to any objective measurable performance.

I am open-minded to some form of testing. Beyond that, it may be a subjective personal preference of what feels most comfortable to each individual player.
 
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