MichaelEGR
Registered
A little late to the party again, but I'll chime in on my thoughts.
Me: 6'2" -> 6'3" w/ shoes.
Of course preface all this w/ IMHO... I'll attach my current cue experiments as well; on version #3 now.
Standard cue lengths are fine for folks 5' 10" and under. At my height I have to grip the back of the cue which is fine for bar tables. The limitation is requiring a short bridge 6" or less and one can get 2-4" of follow through with standard stroke. Longer follow through requires dropping the elbow which is fine and by pinch gripping the butt consistent and reliable.
See: Big Red / Erik Hjorleifson who plays w/ standard equipment and is ~6'5". Blew me away when I got up and close vantage when he took down the Jay Swanson in '18. Never met in person and night before my first question without seeing him play was to ask his cue length and when he said standard my jaw dropped. Works for him and he's a champ, but mostly because this is what he adapted to w/ 20+ years of competition.
The disadvantage on 9' to me is the requirement for always having a 6" or shorter bridge. No problem w/ elbow drop / consistency.
I couldn't find Pat Flemming's height quickly, but he isn't all too tall maybe 5'5" / 5'6" so proportionally a 54" cue for him is like a 58-60" cue for someone 6'2" and over.
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So I've been on an equipment hunt... Finding a custom cue maker who will work to spec is actually hard. I highly recommend and have been quite happy to work with Jeff Purvis (https://www.facebook.com/JeffPurvisCustomCues) in this regard. I've found an awful lot of cue makers don't want to actually do anything custom; Jeff is game! As mentioned three iterations now and just about two weeks ago I got V.3 in...
I use a Cynergy shaft (29") and the butt is 26" / no wrap takes back extensions. So I have a 55" cue to play with and it's way to short for regular use, but excels at special use shots like jacking on the rail or jacking up over another ball with small gap or when a _very_ light touch shot is necessary. I definitely wouldn't normally play without an extension. Now here is the lesson learned from previous iterations. At 55" I can now put on any variety of back extensions with different grips / different experiments. Ruslan Chinakhov got me turned onto using racket wrap and I have an 8" extension that uses that. I also have others in w/ faux leather wrap / no wrap at various lengths including some monstrosities (racket wrap / 12"; don't like that one / too heavy). I've really taken to the no wrap 12" extension. I should also add that the taper stops at 28mm and is flat all the way to the back including the extensions. I don't mind the thinness at all and it facilitates a few different grips.
So current playing cue is 67" / weighs 19.9 ounces; I drilled out the entire extension (yep made a small mistake you can see in 12" no wrap extension putting it in a vice / wrong drill bit used / got caught up / took the finish off; oops; got to get that smoothed out next time I happen by a lathe / repairman). The balance point at 67" is 24" from the back of the butt so reasonable; at 55" the balance point is 18" from back of the butt. I'm keen to try out the 8 and 10" no-wrap extensions when I get them in...
This week I've been getting used to it and it has opened up some great possibilities such as reliably using a semi / more square stance w/ standard stroke mechanics; I wouldn't quite say snooker standard as I'm just not that flexible; so perhaps more a cross between standard American stance and snooker, but being able to use the chest as a contact point and always use open bridge. Of course standard open / American stance / cue action is fine too; it's just nice to have an option in regard to maximum accuracy or a more fluid stroke. Can't wait to get back on a Joy / Chinese pool table; my home table / GC3 (pictured) is 3 7/8" pockets, so quite demanding. Or for that matter a snooker table as Jeff also made a 9.5mm / pro taper shaft for me.
Anyway the flat taper and 28mm diameter give a super consistent slide w/ chest contact point. What this stance and the extra length allows is easily picking 3 grip points for precise follow through lengths and bridge lengths lending to consistency in speed control w/ standard stroke / no elbow drop. Also easy to do pinch / loose grip for shots that require a bit of snap and / or elbow drop. I can easily bridge over balls at distance w/ open bridge / chest contact point and get accurate action / draw / standard stroke.
The nice thing about the shaft / butt length at 55" is that puts the extension start within the grip range for a 4-6" short bridge length. Jeff is making a bunch of extra extensions for me 8" / 10" no-wrap and other experiments. Cool thing is that I don't need a whole new butt to experiment now. I'll be giving this setup a whirl in first major / regional 10-ball qualifier this weekend, so we'll see how much it helps!
So V.2 cue was similar, but the butt length was 30" and this put the extensions outside the short bridge distance which was quite annoying if playing w/ one that wasn't no-wrap. Also the leather wrap on the butt impeded using chest as contact point, so I just didn't do that.
I think it's worth experimenting with equipment if you are around or taller than ~6'2. Hopefully this post gives some food for thought for the taller among us... I'd be down to sell my V.2 butt and a few extensions at very reasonable price ($200) for anyone curious / wants to try right now.
Now the picts. First is V.3 on left w/ some extensions I like. V.2 cue on the right. The last pict is my current playing configuration / 67" no-wrap.
Me: 6'2" -> 6'3" w/ shoes.
Of course preface all this w/ IMHO... I'll attach my current cue experiments as well; on version #3 now.
Standard cue lengths are fine for folks 5' 10" and under. At my height I have to grip the back of the cue which is fine for bar tables. The limitation is requiring a short bridge 6" or less and one can get 2-4" of follow through with standard stroke. Longer follow through requires dropping the elbow which is fine and by pinch gripping the butt consistent and reliable.
See: Big Red / Erik Hjorleifson who plays w/ standard equipment and is ~6'5". Blew me away when I got up and close vantage when he took down the Jay Swanson in '18. Never met in person and night before my first question without seeing him play was to ask his cue length and when he said standard my jaw dropped. Works for him and he's a champ, but mostly because this is what he adapted to w/ 20+ years of competition.
The disadvantage on 9' to me is the requirement for always having a 6" or shorter bridge. No problem w/ elbow drop / consistency.
I couldn't find Pat Flemming's height quickly, but he isn't all too tall maybe 5'5" / 5'6" so proportionally a 54" cue for him is like a 58-60" cue for someone 6'2" and over.
------
So I've been on an equipment hunt... Finding a custom cue maker who will work to spec is actually hard. I highly recommend and have been quite happy to work with Jeff Purvis (https://www.facebook.com/JeffPurvisCustomCues) in this regard. I've found an awful lot of cue makers don't want to actually do anything custom; Jeff is game! As mentioned three iterations now and just about two weeks ago I got V.3 in...
I use a Cynergy shaft (29") and the butt is 26" / no wrap takes back extensions. So I have a 55" cue to play with and it's way to short for regular use, but excels at special use shots like jacking on the rail or jacking up over another ball with small gap or when a _very_ light touch shot is necessary. I definitely wouldn't normally play without an extension. Now here is the lesson learned from previous iterations. At 55" I can now put on any variety of back extensions with different grips / different experiments. Ruslan Chinakhov got me turned onto using racket wrap and I have an 8" extension that uses that. I also have others in w/ faux leather wrap / no wrap at various lengths including some monstrosities (racket wrap / 12"; don't like that one / too heavy). I've really taken to the no wrap 12" extension. I should also add that the taper stops at 28mm and is flat all the way to the back including the extensions. I don't mind the thinness at all and it facilitates a few different grips.
So current playing cue is 67" / weighs 19.9 ounces; I drilled out the entire extension (yep made a small mistake you can see in 12" no wrap extension putting it in a vice / wrong drill bit used / got caught up / took the finish off; oops; got to get that smoothed out next time I happen by a lathe / repairman). The balance point at 67" is 24" from the back of the butt so reasonable; at 55" the balance point is 18" from back of the butt. I'm keen to try out the 8 and 10" no-wrap extensions when I get them in...
This week I've been getting used to it and it has opened up some great possibilities such as reliably using a semi / more square stance w/ standard stroke mechanics; I wouldn't quite say snooker standard as I'm just not that flexible; so perhaps more a cross between standard American stance and snooker, but being able to use the chest as a contact point and always use open bridge. Of course standard open / American stance / cue action is fine too; it's just nice to have an option in regard to maximum accuracy or a more fluid stroke. Can't wait to get back on a Joy / Chinese pool table; my home table / GC3 (pictured) is 3 7/8" pockets, so quite demanding. Or for that matter a snooker table as Jeff also made a 9.5mm / pro taper shaft for me.
Anyway the flat taper and 28mm diameter give a super consistent slide w/ chest contact point. What this stance and the extra length allows is easily picking 3 grip points for precise follow through lengths and bridge lengths lending to consistency in speed control w/ standard stroke / no elbow drop. Also easy to do pinch / loose grip for shots that require a bit of snap and / or elbow drop. I can easily bridge over balls at distance w/ open bridge / chest contact point and get accurate action / draw / standard stroke.
The nice thing about the shaft / butt length at 55" is that puts the extension start within the grip range for a 4-6" short bridge length. Jeff is making a bunch of extra extensions for me 8" / 10" no-wrap and other experiments. Cool thing is that I don't need a whole new butt to experiment now. I'll be giving this setup a whirl in first major / regional 10-ball qualifier this weekend, so we'll see how much it helps!
So V.2 cue was similar, but the butt length was 30" and this put the extensions outside the short bridge distance which was quite annoying if playing w/ one that wasn't no-wrap. Also the leather wrap on the butt impeded using chest as contact point, so I just didn't do that.
I think it's worth experimenting with equipment if you are around or taller than ~6'2. Hopefully this post gives some food for thought for the taller among us... I'd be down to sell my V.2 butt and a few extensions at very reasonable price ($200) for anyone curious / wants to try right now.
Now the picts. First is V.3 on left w/ some extensions I like. V.2 cue on the right. The last pict is my current playing configuration / 67" no-wrap.
