Grip

Gsitz89

Gsitz89

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
For some reason I normally have been gripping my cue holding it inward (if that makes any sense) and I have been working the last couple of days to correct it. I have been making decent progress enough at least that it feels really odd to try and hold the cue the way I was before. But I still hold it with a bit of an inward angle. Has anyone ever heard of wearing a wrist brace to straighten something like this out. I know this is an odd question but I thought it might work.
 
No glove is needed. Try pointing the index finger and thumb of your grip hand at the ground. Keep them pointed at the ground trough the whole stroke. I picked that hint up from someone on az. This will keep your wrist straight and eventually you will have a straight wrist an won't have to point anymore. I still use the technique when applying alot of draw. It works wonders for keeping a straight stroke and it's free. Good luck.
 
Gsitz89 said:
For some reason I normally have been gripping my cue holding it inward (if that makes any sense) and I have been working the last couple of days to correct it. I have been making decent progress enough at least that it feels really odd to try and hold the cue the way I was before. But I still hold it with a bit of an inward angle. Has anyone ever heard of wearing a wrist brace to straighten something like this out. I know this is an odd question but I thought it might work.
Click to expand...
You should have your wrist in the position that is most relaxed and natural for you (which might be a slightly bent position). For more info, see:

I don't think many people would recommend or benefit from a wrist brace.

Regards,
Dave
 
RE: ProShot Glove

I actually watched Jennifer Barretta wear one during her match at last Years US Open. I know they are sponsoring her but I can't imagine that she would wear one in an actual match if she didn't "feel" like it helped "her" in some way.

I have not purchased one but for 20 bucks it might be worth it to someone who has a habit/tendency that they just cannot seem to get rid of...

As far as pointing your thumb and finger at the floor working, it will only work for someone with a certain physiology. The way I am built if I point the thumb at the floor I end up with the cue outside of the bicep/forearm plane.

I think that a tiny bit of extension is required for the proper grip but I think that gets setup simply by the act of holding the cue in the hand and letting gravity set the cue under the forearm properly. I think that this is why most of the pros/instructors say to use a light grip. They want to eliminate all unnecessary muscle tension and let gravity do its job.

wrist_and_hand_terms_copy.jpg
 
The only thing that matters with the grip is that it not interfere with your stroke at or before impact with the cue ball (such as "snatching" the cue). I used to actually twist my cue with my wrist as I pulled the trigger and got away with it for years...but it caught up with me. Once I loosened up my grip throughout the stroke, I was able to control the cue ball better at all speeds of stroke giving me much better light touch control. I still flop my wrist alot (ala Bustamante), but I refuse to give that up; it works great for me, always has. I used to use a slip stroke but gave that up years ago when I started playing with longer cues. For most people with normal wingspans, pointing your index finger and thumb at the floor throughout the stroke puts your wrist in the best position to avoid interference with the stroke's straight path. That said, some people are just built different. Are you using a piston stroke? That might account for your bent wrist position...if you're trying to use a pendulum stroke with little to no elbow drop, the straighter the wrist the better...it's hard to change something that feels natural. Once you get comfortable with this, you'll have to guard against it creeping back into your stroke for a LONG time, especially when you get tired or under stress.
 
I bought one of these; does absolutely nothing in my book. Didn't notice any difference whatsoever and gave it about 5 times try; readjusted etc...
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That doesn't mean it does nothing, it just means you didn't need it.

The glove doesn't fit in this thread, because it solves a different problem. Those kinds of devices work well for players with a lot of wrist wobble, which is the most common place in the shooting arm to deviate.

It does nothing for grip issues whereby the placement of the cue in the hand causes the wrist to turn inward or outward, which is the subject of this thread. Players with very short or very long fingers often find it more comfortable to have their wrist bent to accommodate their grip. A player with short fingers and small hands may find it easier to cradle the cue with a wrist that is bent inward, putting the cue further into the hand, whereas a player with longer fingers may find it much more comfortable to cradle in the knuckles of the fingers. If it is consistent, without wrist wobble, then a restraining device does nothing more than mold to fit the existing angle, therefore becoming redundant.

Most training aids are like this, and I'd say most work for their intended purpose. However, those purposes are generally very specific.
 
I was watching Tom Watson (famous golfer) talk about his Dad's advice to "shake hands going back and shake hands on the follow through." I thought, what the hell, maybe it will work for my pool stroke, too.

So, off to the table to try it. It works. Scott Lee, et all, recommends pointing the grip hand fingers back on the backstroke and forward on the follow through and this is kind of like the 'handshake' thought.

It might not work for you as it did for me, but what if it does?

Jeff Livingston
 
The "sock puppet" grip

chefjeff said:
I was watching Tom Watson (famous golfer) talk about his Dad's advice to "shake hands going back and shake hands on the follow through." I thought, what the hell, maybe it will work for my pool stroke, too.

So, off to the table to try it. It works. Scott Lee, et all, recommends pointing the grip hand fingers back on the backstroke and forward on the follow through and this is kind of like the 'handshake' thought.

It might not work for you as it did for me, but what if it does?

Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...

Jeff:

This is good advice. The only issue would be that the golf grip is different from the pool grip in the angling of the wrist to the instrument. (And let's not forget you're swinging a golf club perpendicular to the gripping area of the instrument itself -- a la baseball bat style. This is compared to the "swing" stroke parallel to the grip that one would use with a pool cue -- sort of like an underhanded javelin or spear.)

There are almost as many different grips as there are hands to implement them. I agree with The Renfro that certain individuals, because of the sheer size of their hands, if they tried to point their thumb perpendicular to the ground, they would have to arch their wrist outwards to do so -- sort of a Keith McCready sidearm grip, except without the sidearm itself. If this is not comfortable, it's not conducive to being automatic and natural, and is therefore wrong -- for that individual anyway.

Rather than focusing on pointing fingers and thumbs to the floor, how about instead approaching the grip from the INSIDE surfaces of the hand? An old-timer once told me about what he called the "sock puppet grip". At some point in their childhood, everyone's donned a sock onto their arm, and made a puppet out of it, right? You know when you use your first knuckle of your index finger and your thumb to form the upper and lower "lips" (if you will) of the puppet's face, arching your wrist ("flexion" according to The Renfro's diagram above) to orient the "face" correctly? That same movement -- where you pinch your thumb's knuckle upwards towards the index finger's first knuckle to make the puppet's "mouth" move -- is the grip referred to by that old-timer. (But obviously, you're doing it with a straight and not flexed wrist like you'd use to make a sock puppet.) You're basically "pinching" the cue between the side of your thumb and the first knuckle of your index finger. In effect, this is the "clamp" that holds the cue, leaving your fingers free to open and close in unison with the pendulum motion of the cue. Think of it as a bolt that goes through the first knuckle of your index finger, through the cue (laterally / horizontal to the ground), and through the side of your thumb. You pivot on that -- both sides of the cue -- like a hinge. It also gets rid of the dreaded "grabby grabby" motion of the fingers, encountered most often with a faulty cradle grip -- which often throws-off the cue delivery. (I say "faulty cradle grip" not with the intent to say cradle grips are faulty, but rather that many folks, when trying to implement a pure cradle grip, *tend* to bend their wrist inwards to form that cradle. This causes the wrist to impart a "hook" in the delivery.)

When the grip is approached in this way -- using the interior surfaces of the hand as a guide, and not the orientation of certain digits -- the grip is more apt to be oriented correctly in relation to the wrist and arm.

I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
Jeff:

This is good advice. The only issue would be that the golf grip is different from the pool grip in the angling of the wrist to the instrument. (And let's not forget you're swinging a golf club perpendicular to the gripping area of the instrument itself -- a la baseball bat style. This is compared to the "swing" stroke parallel to the grip that one would use with a pool cue -- sort of like an underhanded javelin or spear.)

There are almost as many different grips as there are hands to implement them. I agree with The Renfro that certain individuals, because of the sheer size of their hands, if they tried to point their thumb perpendicular to the ground, they would have to arch their wrist outwards to do so -- sort of a Keith McCready sidearm grip, except without the sidearm itself. If this is not comfortable, it's not conducive to being automatic and natural, and is therefore wrong -- for that individual anyway.

Rather than focusing on pointing fingers and thumbs to the floor, how about instead approaching the grip from the INSIDE surfaces of the hand? An old-timer once told me about what he called the "sock puppet grip". At some point in their childhood, everyone's donned a sock onto their arm, and made a puppet out of it, right? You know when you use your first knuckle of your index finger and your thumb to form the upper and lower "lips" (if you will) of the puppet's face, arching your wrist ("flexion" according to The Renfro's diagram above) to orient the "face" correctly? That same movement -- where you pinch your thumb's knuckle upwards towards the index finger's first knuckle to make the puppet's "mouth" move -- is the grip referred to by that old-timer. (But obviously, you're doing it with a straight and not flexed wrist like you'd use to make a sock puppet.) You're basically "pinching" the cue between the side of your thumb and the first knuckle of your index finger. In effect, this is the "clamp" that holds the cue, leaving your fingers free to open and close in unison with the pendulum motion of the cue. Think of it as a bolt that goes through the first knuckle of your index finger, through the cue (laterally / horizontal to the ground), and through the side of your thumb. You pivot on that -- both sides of the cue -- like a hinge. It also gets rid of the dreaded "grabby grabby" motion of the fingers, encountered most often with a faulty cradle grip -- which often throws-off the cue delivery. (I say "faulty cradle grip" not with the intent to say cradle grips are faulty, but rather that many folks, when trying to implement a pure cradle grip, *tend* to bend their wrist inwards to form that cradle. This causes the wrist to impart a "hook" in the delivery.)

When the grip is approached in this way -- using the interior surfaces of the hand as a guide, and not the orientation of certain digits -- the grip is more apt to be oriented correctly in relation to the wrist and arm.

I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
Click to expand...

Geez, Sean! You, 'hope this is helpful'? I'm really getting tired of searching through these threads to make sure I don't miss one of your instructional posts. Didn't we talk a year or so ago about your possible book? I'm still waiting for it and don't know how much longer I can hold my breath!

BTW, another excellent post! :wink:

Best,
Mike
 
Sean...Good post. I like to simplify things, though, and in reality a good cradle should be relaxed with the wrist straight. It's not so much how you hold onto the cue, as much as, training yourself not to clench the cue on the forward stroke. It's all about a smooth backswing, and a smooth transition to the forward stroke. This is most easily accomplished by focusing on keeping the cradle pressure (light and loose) constant throughout the backswing and forward stroke. The concept, of course, is dependent upon having a nice pendulum swing.

Jeff...The index finger pointing is designed to help correct clenching the cue. You cannot squeeze as tightly with the index finger off of the cue. The thumb and index finger generate a significant percentage of your grip strength.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

sfleinen said:
Jeff:

This is good advice. The only issue would be that the golf grip is different from the pool grip in the angling of the wrist to the instrument. (And let's not forget you're swinging a golf club perpendicular to the gripping area of the instrument itself -- a la baseball bat style. This is compared to the "swing" stroke parallel to the grip that one would use with a pool cue -- sort of like an underhanded javelin or spear.)

There are almost as many different grips as there are hands to implement them. I agree with The Renfro that certain individuals, because of the sheer size of their hands, if they tried to point their thumb perpendicular to the ground, they would have to arch their wrist outwards to do so -- sort of a Keith McCready sidearm grip, except without the sidearm itself. If this is not comfortable, it's not conducive to being automatic and natural, and is therefore wrong -- for that individual anyway.

Rather than focusing on pointing fingers and thumbs to the floor, how about instead approaching the grip from the INSIDE surfaces of the hand? An old-timer once told me about what he called the "sock puppet grip". At some point in their childhood, everyone's donned a sock onto their arm, and made a puppet out of it, right? You know when you use your first knuckle of your index finger and your thumb to form the upper and lower "lips" (if you will) of the puppet's face, arching your wrist ("flexion" according to The Renfro's diagram above) to orient the "face" correctly? That same movement -- where you pinch your thumb's knuckle upwards towards the index finger's first knuckle to make the puppet's "mouth" move -- is the grip referred to by that old-timer. (But obviously, you're doing it with a straight and not flexed wrist like you'd use to make a sock puppet.) You're basically "pinching" the cue between the side of your thumb and the first knuckle of your index finger. In effect, this is the "clamp" that holds the cue, leaving your fingers free to open and close in unison with the pendulum motion of the cue. Think of it as a bolt that goes through the first knuckle of your index finger, through the cue (laterally / horizontal to the ground), and through the side of your thumb. You pivot on that -- both sides of the cue -- like a hinge. It also gets rid of the dreaded "grabby grabby" motion of the fingers, encountered most often with a faulty cradle grip -- which often throws-off the cue delivery. (I say "faulty cradle grip" not with the intent to say cradle grips are faulty, but rather that many folks, when trying to implement a pure cradle grip, *tend* to bend their wrist inwards to form that cradle. This causes the wrist to impart a "hook" in the delivery.)

When the grip is approached in this way -- using the interior surfaces of the hand as a guide, and not the orientation of certain digits -- the grip is more apt to be oriented correctly in relation to the wrist and arm.

I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
Click to expand...
 
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