Dipping your cue
- Thread starter chas1022
- Start date
Not to me
Dipping your cue, to me, represents dipping your tip at the end of the stroke. This can be an unconscious habit, or it could be the result of too long a bridge. The too long a bridge thing comes about from a player that unconsciously does not like to adjust his bridge hand for draw or low english shots, and so a long bridge where the cue dips naturally at the end of the stroke then becomes a habit. When I started playing 45 years ago, one of the 3 books I read about Pool said the normal bridge was from 6-8" from the tip, today, it states 7-9" is normal. Irregardless of what you think of 'standards', those standards are in place for good reasons, usually so you have the best chance to excel at the sport.
Another possible problem is that you are holding the cue too far forward with your grip hand, which produces a dipping effect when you grip hand can no longer to on a straight line and has to come up. Players that are not confident have a tendency to 'choke up' with their cue hand, thus giving them sum sort of false sense of security that their shot will be more accurate, and going towards trying to 'direct' or 'push' the cue ball into their shot instead of 'stroking' it.
I could tell your within 2 minutes if I could see you, and tell you how to correct it, but you would have to retrain yourself, and old habits are hard to break.
Gregg said:
Dipping your cue, to me, represents dipping your tip at the end of the stroke. This can be an unconscious habit, or it could be the result of too long a bridge. The too long a bridge thing comes about from a player that unconsciously does not like to adjust his bridge hand for draw or low english shots, and so a long bridge where the cue dips naturally at the end of the stroke then becomes a habit. When I started playing 45 years ago, one of the 3 books I read about Pool said the normal bridge was from 6-8" from the tip, today, it states 7-9" is normal. Irregardless of what you think of 'standards', those standards are in place for good reasons, usually so you have the best chance to excel at the sport.
Another possible problem is that you are holding the cue too far forward with your grip hand, which produces a dipping effect when you grip hand can no longer to on a straight line and has to come up. Players that are not confident have a tendency to 'choke up' with their cue hand, thus giving them sum sort of false sense of security that their shot will be more accurate, and going towards trying to 'direct' or 'push' the cue ball into their shot instead of 'stroking' it.
I could tell your within 2 minutes if I could see you, and tell you how to correct it, but you would have to retrain yourself, and old habits are hard to break.
LOl
Well it depends on what they are talking about. If he is dropping his elbow then there is reason to correct it, and I would correct it fast.
If what they are talking about is his follow through and the tip is going downward towards the table, then that is a good thing.
The only time the cue has to be level is when you actually strike the cue ball. If it is dipping down slightly after striking it, that is perfectly normal with the pendelum stroke.
If however it is dipping prior to contact of the cue ball then it could be a problem.
Well it depends on what they are talking about. If he is dropping his elbow then there is reason to correct it, and I would correct it fast.
If what they are talking about is his follow through and the tip is going downward towards the table, then that is a good thing.
The only time the cue has to be level is when you actually strike the cue ball. If it is dipping down slightly after striking it, that is perfectly normal with the pendelum stroke.
If however it is dipping prior to contact of the cue ball then it could be a problem.
Last edited:
On your practice strokes, put your tip right up to the cueball, so close that you are about 1 or 2 mm away from touching it. Look at your grip hand, make sure it's pointing directly down towards the floor. Most likely it's too far forward. Retrain yourself to have your grip hand like that when your tip is right at the cueball.