Can The Bridge Hand Discipline the Backswing?

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Sputnik

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I think that the bridge hand could train the backhand to swing how it should swing.

This is why the pros grip their shafts with the index finger resting on the middle finger nice and snugly. And in their open bridges, many put their thumbs side by side with the index finger so as to create a canal where the shaft slides with guidance.

A loose grip on a closed bridge, or a "V" bridge on an open bridge (where the thumb protrudes up, higher than the knuckles) will allow a failing backswing to exaggerate its side-ward swaying.
 
For me, that technique works. I believe part of the problem in my case, though, is that I'm unable to spend enough time practicing to keep my swing firmly in muscle memory. I need a firm grip at both ends of the stick to be able to exercise sufficient control over things.

Allison Fisher, OTOH, comes to mind as someone who uses an open bridge with some degree of success. :)
 
SuperDave,

I respectfully disagree with you about a firm grip on either end of the cue. I believe your grip on the shooting arm needs to be loose. Try not thinking so much about your swing arm. Your swing arm needs to be relaxed not stiff. That's why players play bad when they're nervous because their swing arm gets tight. Try relaxing your swing arm the next time you practice.
 
yeah...just loosen up the swing arm. once you start gripping the butt harder, you will see that your swing is a little sloppy. the bridge is supposed to be some sort of support for the cue, especially when the cb is in the middle of the table. but if the cb is somewhere close to the rail, you can actually pot it without a bridge.
i dont want to be proud or something, but i have one several matches without using a bridge....15-ball rotation. my friends would testify to that. i firmly believe that the stroke is the key to pool.
 
I appreciate the friendly advice, and I'm sure you're right. In my particular case, the only reason the technique works for me is because I'm practice-limited. There are weeks when the only time I can pick up a stick is on the two nights I play leage pool.

As a result, my swing is not consistent. It's something I have to exert conscious control over. I've seen periods in my life when I can use the softer grip, and I still shift to an open bridge when I need to play a lot of bottom. On those rare nights when I'm dead stroke, my grip naturally loosens, which indicates the quality of your advice.

Like almost any other aspect of the game, it's situational and player-dependent. YMMV.
 
Grip and stance

I Really dont believe there is a right or wrong way to hold the cue. I consider my self a pretty good player,ive won many tournaments and place in the top 3 in alot more.Im not sure how i even hold the cue, ive never really paid any mind to it. I do know that i hold it pretty loose and i have a great stroke and follow thru. As far as stance go i think if you play with any stance as long as you practice long and often, if you watch many people play in a room you will hardly see anyone with the same stance and grip. What im trying to say is you cant say there is a right or wrong way to stand and hold the cue with practice you can make any style work!
 
I read an article about some old time player talking about one of the fundamentals of pool and he advocated doing something a certain way. The person he was talking to said that one of the top pros didn't do it that way. The old timer said something to the effect that if this top pro did it right, he'd be an even better player.

Sports that have huge amounts of money, golf for example, have all kinds of books, tapes, instructors, clinics, etc. all for the purpose of analyzing and teaching people how to swing a golf club. There's this Korean girl that's just a teenager and she hits the ball over 300 yards. They've analized her swing, of course, and they say her swing is just about perfect. This is the reason she hits over 300 yards. If her swing was off, she wouldn't. Get my point King? You might be like that Korean girl and just have good technique and you don't have to think about it. Most of us poor souls aren't gifted and we have to work our tails off to improve.
 
If you read a hundred pool books they all will tell you to stand a certain way. Hold the cue a certain way the truth is there is no perfect way to hold the cue and no perfect way to stand. If you know what the fundamentals are such as the follow thru staying down on your shots try in most games to look 3 balls ahead and play postion with years of practice you can make almost any stroke work,
 
it is still better ,though, to learn and develop a great stroke rather than "years of practice to make any stroke work"
 
My point was still is you can hold the cue almost anyway and stand anyway if you play for a long time with it you can make it work. As far as a good stroke go"s The perfect stroke is nothing more than a good follow thru to the cueball sending the tip where you want it. you dont have to listen to a book to do that.
 
A while back I really wanted to change to a closed bridge because it supposably helps straighten your stroke, I would walk around work all day holding a marker like it was a pool stick, I was even told to duct tape my hand in that position overnight but my girlfreind made so much fun of me I said screw it. I might try that again though.
 
so danny te duct tape idea isnt any crazier that some of the other stuff Ive herd, I get the Idea youve been around poolhalls for a while meaning youve probably heard some pretty crazy stuff to, the duct tape Idea, I heard that one from jenette lee
 
It suprises me to see you people responding to a thread that is utter nonsense. Why you people respond to threads started by this clown is beyond me.
 
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The use of the bridge (not the hand) gives logic to what I am saying. I have seen pros refuse bridges with knuckles that are too far apart because the shaft slides from side to side in the slot, especially with that bridge stroke. If a bridge can accommodate a bridge stroke, so can a snug closed bridge or "rail" open bridge accommodate a defective backswing.

Some people can play one hand without a bridge. These are the ones gifted with a perfect stroking hand. Perhaps many of us here can play a decent game with one hand. If the perspective is humbly adjusted to that whose stroking hand is not very efficient, then maybe help may come their way.

And to Mr. Metzger, sir, almost all the posts I have done here have just one purpose - to help. My impression is that your knowledge in pool and your game well surpasses mine for you to entitle yourself to call me a clown. I will let that pass from a character who can be anyone he pleases to be here in the forum.
 
just ignore guys like him bud. i think he hasnt even read the whole thread...:)
btw, where again do you play? im going to pasig in friday and visit a pool hall there where my friend says there's a lot of good players, unfortunately, most of them are gamblers. im gonna play some of them, but i wont play for money though.
 
More of your nonsense. The only help you seem to be providing to toward your overinflated sense that you are a pool expert. The others think your ideas are nonsense.
Tell your lackey over there to quit trying to start a flame war.
 
locki said:
just ignore guys like him bud. i think he hasnt even read the whole thread...:)
btw, where again do you play? im going to pasig in friday and visit a pool hall there where my friend says there's a lot of good players, unfortunately, most of them are gamblers. im gonna play some of them, but i wont play for money though.
Click to expand...

The Doc, EC_Reyes, and I will play. Doc, next week? My weekends are taken. Locki, maybe you can join us at Bugsy at Examiner Street near Quezon Ave.
 
well, if i have the time, i may come over there. i only have to take 2 final exams on wed and thurs. im studying in mapua and i think you already know, we are doing 4 semesters a year, so we really dont get a chance of having long vacations, 4 days after friday, we are gonna enroll again for next sem...then on october 6, its school time again...:(
can you tell me where particularly is Bugsy in Quezon av? quezon av is a pretty long road...:) i dont know the place itself...:D
 
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