Pidge! I've been meaning to ask you how far do you pull the cue back when you shoot? I know you have a long bridge like me but I don't pull back to my index finger ever.
grip consistency practice/tricks
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Pidge! I've been meaning to ask you how far do you pull the cue back when you shoot? I know you have a long bridge like me but I don't pull back to my index finger ever.
It varies, like everyone else's but the majority of shots I play I pull back until the ferrule touches the V of my bridge. I uploaded a video a while back of me playing a rack of 9 ball and someone asked me why I pull the cue back all the way for each shot (I think all the shots in that rack were full pull backs) even though I'm hitting shots at different speeds. It isn't something I worked on when developing. It's simply how I control speed naturally and it works best for me. It offers no advantages other than for me anyway, I tend to jab and over hit shots with a short pull back. It is worth mentioning it offers no disadvantages for me either. For others I can see it creating problems, most commonly is the butt raises, moves sideways or both as the tip reaches the bridge. I'm this case it's something to avoid doing.
The most important thing about my grip is letting gravity do most of the work.
Agree, but what to change when you know cue is not traveling straight?
To address this I have been constantly experimenting (from past 2 years) with my:
Grip - light to tight with keeping pressure constant, from fingers to palm which changes the elbow position.
Bridge hand - bending, keeping it straight
Tinkering the stance - bending from hip, keeping back leg straight,
Working on vision/sighting- using chin as guidance
But unfortunately I still can't consistently pull cue straight
I play only once a week hence it is difficult to find the same feel. I have started to keep a notes on what worked for me last week even then it is not easy to find groove straight away. So for me it is still work in progress.
PS: My stance is more like snooker players.
Thanks John.
I just feel that people put far too much emphasis on certain aspect of the game making it too mechanical and technical, there is no said "formula" for doing something cause you will never have to get to "there" ever again in your life. I like to say "it's like driving a car and you get to a turn, you don't think how much you're going to turn the wheel or say ok this is a such and such corner so i need this much turn, you kind of turn the wheel and feel it and not everyone turns that corner the same way although the corner never changes"
I guess that's why it's always bugged me when someone says "hey, what did you put on that ball to do that/get there" I feel like they are asking the wrong question since they will almost never have to play that shot in their life so "what i put on it' will not apply.
I was following in your footsteps.
Agree, but what to change when you know cue is not traveling straight?
To address this I have been constantly experimenting (from past 2 years) with my:
Grip - light to tight with keeping pressure constant, from fingers to palm which changes the elbow position.
Bridge hand - bending, keeping it straight
Tinkering the stance - bending from hip, keeping back leg straight,
Working on vision/sighting- using chin as guidance
But unfortunately I still can't consistently pull cue straight
I play only once a week hence it is difficult to find the same feel. I have started to keep a notes on what worked for me last week even then it is not easy to find groove straight away. So for me it is still work in progress.
PS: My stance is more like snooker players.
I like to think of what you're doing as (guessing of course) practicing a specific shot with out the paper donuts on the table to mark the cue ball and object ball. so many people fail to realize that if it not in the "same" spot it not the same shot. So when you adjust based on your last shot your correction is also not the same for this one.
what i'm saying is it's possible that you haven't given yourself enough time to see how a certain change work, it feel like the second you miss a shot you blame your grip and then hit the drawing board looking to change something again. (again this is speculation)
No I am not practicing any specific shot. My problem is not able to cue straight consistently i.e. which is apparent when I look in the mirror or try to play cue ball up and down the table, my cue comes at slight angle.
At times I can find tweaks which seems to straighten my delivery but the problem is I can't retain that touch/feel when I go to table next time. may be playing once week doesn't help. Though I feel I am getting closer to fix the riddle but not there yet.
The majority of people's cureing issues come from having their vision center slightly off line. Getting your sighting fixed helps with being able to consistently cue straight even if you just play once a week.
Thanks Pidge. Does vision center affects the straightness of backswing? I attempted to test my vision center earlier perhaps i can give it another go.
Played for a good 8 hours today and got very comfortable with my grip. It felt very natural. I noticed that shifting both my stance and Elbow position based on a comfortable grip that a lot for smooth cueing rather than trying to use my grin to accommodate helped a ton.
Most definitely. When your vision center is off slightly when you pull back straight it can look crooked, and when it looks like you pull back straight it isnt. Getting the eyes correct is the most important part of curing well imo.
I've been thinking about the advantages of longer bridge with shorter stroke and was going to make a post about this.
I think a longer bridge should be more accurate.
is an 11" bridge 1/4" out of line is 10 times more accurate.than a 1" bridge 1/4" out of line?
If your tip is 1/4" off center, a 10" bridge (not 11") changes the cue's angle 10 times more than a 1" bridge does - 1.4 degrees vs. 14 degrees.
But that's the wrong question. Assuming 40" between front and back hands:
To move your tip 1/4" off center with a 10" bridge you'd have to move your back hand sideways 1". But to move your tip 1/4" off center with a 1" bridge you'd have to move your back hand sideways 10" - obviously that isn't going to happen.
The real question is what happens if your backhand goes sideways 1" both times. Then the tip moves 1/4" off center with a 10" bridge and only 1/40" off center with a 1" bridge. So in practical terms a shorter bridge is more forgiving of stroke errors.
pj
chgo
... unless the longer bridge length is better suited to the natural pivot length of the shaft.
For those interested, more info related to this topic can be found here:
cue natural pivot length
bridge length effects
The second linked resource includes complete lists of advantages and disadvantages associated with a longer bridge.
Enjoy,
Dave
This is my explanation of it (doesn't mean that it's right, lol).
Think of vision center as they say like watching pool, notice how everyone that's sitting around the table or even your camera angle on a stream see the angle different. You may thing that someone is hooked and then they shoot the shot with all kinds of crazy stuff and you go "he could drive a truck through there", now if you were over the ball and in line with the shot you'd know.
That was a good explanation.
When I am shooting soft to moderate speeds and I am gripping the cue like I prefer it almost feels as if you can feel the cue stop and accelerate for a split second or that you can feel the weight of the cue ball at tip contact.
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7's explanation is pretty spot on. Imagine trying to shoot a handgun 4 inches to left of where you normally would without changing anything else. Or trying to use a telescope with your non dominant eye.
One tip i'd recommend is focusing on whatever side of the ferrule/shaft the angle is is. If you are cutting a ball to the left focus on the left side of the ferrule going straight through, for balls to the right, the right side. PM for more details with english. This helped me ignore what my eyes were "telling me" when down on shots where my vision center was off. Now that I have it back on it serves as an "aiming guide."
FYI, lots of data is already available here:
Platinum Billiards CB deflection and pivot length data
It would be nice if every cue had the natural pivot length marked and/or labelled. That way, people could make informed purchase decisions.
Regards,
Dave