Heavier cues (pro vs con)

mr_griff

mr_griff

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In my experience it seems good players tend to prefer lower weight cues (17-18 would be a light cue, 18.5-19.5 would be normal, and 19.5 and up is what I'd consider heavy). For me I've always shaded towards 19, but I have a cue that takes a weight bolt so I've played around with it. I think the weight without the bolt is around 18-18.5 (predator p2 w/ 314 shaft) and I usually play with a 2" weight bolt (.8 oz).

I like how easy to stroke the cue is with no bolt in it, but I have a harded time shooting straight with it (like its on roller skates). A few hours ago I put the 4" bolt in it (it was what I played with about 18 months ago), and the opposite happened. I felt I was shooting straighter than normal, but my draw didnt seem to have the same snap. Maybe it's in my head.

The question I have is whether there is a rhyme or reason to the weight of cues most people play, and what they don't like about heavier or light cues. I don't know if its just a tempo thing with me, and the heavier cue seems to have put me at a better pace. I like the feel of the cue being lighter, and it seems a little more natural, but the heavier bolt seems to take some of the wobble out of my stroke. I'll probably split the difference and take my 6" bolt and cut 3" off it, but I'd like to know if anyone has anything to add.
 
I just had this cue made for me;

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I normally tend to go for a 18.5 to19oz playing cue. This cue came in at 20.2oz. What I found is that with the additional weight, controlling the cue ball is actually easier. The cue is doing more of the work which allows me to refine my stroke. Less effort equals better accuracy, at least for me. Every cue plays differently, no doubt about that.
 
I prefer a heavier cue, according to your scale. My current cue weighs in at just over 19.5. Whenever I order a cue I always request 19.5 and tell the cue maker that if he has to err on one side or the other to go heavy. I like the solid feel of a heavier cue. A lighter cue seems.......airy, for lack of a better word. As for the comment that better players use lighter cues, I think if you got all the great players in a room you'd find an average of just about everything.
MULLY
 
I've always used a 21 oz cue. It just feels right to me. So many people have tried to tell me I'm "wrong". They have me try their 18 and 19 oz cues but I don't like them at all, it's like I don't trust the light cues, The cue ball seems so heavy when I hit it with a light cue.
 
My current player is a very well balanced 20.1 oz cue.

I have played with cues of varying weights and I also prefer the heaview cue....

Russ
 
I hear shane likes a real club, like 22 oz or 22.5 or something. I can't understand the love for heavier cues. I feel like everything is more work for a heavier cue... harder to accelerate, harder to play for a long time... it just gets tiring to move it around and carry it.

I sort of get the theory that a heavier one might be more stable during travel while a lighter one takes less work to do a fast stroke. Maybe there's some truth to it.

Some stuff in pool has just worked out a certain way and nobody knows how it came to pass. Like somehow we ended up with green cloth... some say it's to reference the green grass from the days when pool was played on the lawn(?!) but it wouldn't shock me if some scientific test proved it was easiest on the eyes while still showing optimal contrast. Or something. Maybe 19 oz is the optimal balance between stability and maneuverability, and that's how it came to be the default. I can't imagine a world of 21 oz cues where a few guys prefer 23 and a few prefer 'just' 19 or 20.
 
After years of playing, I've gravitated toward 19.5 to 20. I've played well with 18.5 and over 20, but 19.5 has always been about right. If the cue is too light I tend to "muscle" the shot. If the cue is too heavy I don't feel comfortable with touch/finesse shots.
 
I have pondered and argued this amny times over. Is there a perfect weight and balance of a cue, YES. But I comes down to the player and the stroke you have and where you hold and bridge the cue. I know call me out flame me for for it. I am going thru this with a local player right now with his break cue. And this is what we and I truly believe. It doesn't matter! It all in your stroke, if you have a short stroke get a heavier cue if you have a long stroke get a lighter one.

I will elaborate once I get some sleep....
 
mr_griff said:
In my experience it seems good players tend to prefer lower weight cues (17-18 would be a light cue, 18.5-19.5 would be normal, and 19.5 and up is what I'd consider heavy). For me I've always shaded towards 19, but I have a cue that takes a weight bolt so I've played around with it. I think the weight without the bolt is around 18-18.5 (predator p2 w/ 314 shaft) and I usually play with a 2" weight bolt (.8 oz).

I like how easy to stroke the cue is with no bolt in it, but I have a harded time shooting straight with it (like its on roller skates). A few hours ago I put the 4" bolt in it (it was what I played with about 18 months ago), and the opposite happened. I felt I was shooting straighter than normal, but my draw didnt seem to have the same snap. Maybe it's in my head.

The question I have is whether there is a rhyme or reason to the weight of cues most people play, and what they don't like about heavier or light cues. I don't know if its just a tempo thing with me, and the heavier cue seems to have put me at a better pace. I like the feel of the cue being lighter, and it seems a little more natural, but the heavier bolt seems to take some of the wobble out of my stroke. I'll probably split the difference and take my 6" bolt and cut 3" off it, but I'd like to know if anyone has anything to add.
Click to expand...

What I was told by a qualified instructor is a heavier cue will help in achieving a straighter stroke. Light cues may help to apply more English.

I think you answered your own question.

Now work eliminating the wobble then you can take the bolt back out if you want.
 
Cue weight

When I first tried pool I had a favorite 19oz wall cue and I used this one piece cue every time I played. There was something about that weight that stuck with me when I started buying 2 piece cues. Since I was new to the 2 piece cue I had to learn what I liked from trial and error because there wasn't a place where I lived that I could try out custom cues. I've gone from 18.5 to 20oz cues over the years and with today's fast cloth, quick rails, and plastic balls i'm the most comfortable playing with a cue that's 19 to 19.3 ozs. I have 2 custom cues and one S/P cue and they all weigh within 0.1oz of 19 ozs. I can play with a heavier cue, but I prefer 19ozs.

James
 
my current player comes in at a right around 21.5. i had originally ordered 20.5 but during construction the handle had to be changed from maple to purple heart (long story) and the weight went up. when it was done i was told it could be cored out (there is no weight bolt) but i said i wanted to try it first. the balance is so perfect i didn't want to change a thing. i get made fun of on a regular basis by a lot of the old timers i see during the day when i go play at luch at time. most younger players don't say a word. the younger guys fall in with "if you like it who cares" most of the time. i am a big guy with big, rough hands and i have always lifted weights in some capacity so a light cue feels funny in my hand. and if it's to thin forget about it. i shoot well woth mine, if you shoot well with yours - don't change a thing.
 
mr_griff said:
I like how easy to stroke the cue is with no bolt in it, but I have a harded time shooting straight with it (like its on roller skates). A few hours ago I put the 4" bolt in it (it was what I played with about 18 months ago), and the opposite happened. I felt I was shooting straighter than normal, but my draw didnt seem to have the same snap. Maybe it's in my head.
Click to expand...

What you're saying makes total sense from a physics standpoint. A heavier cue has more inertia (translational) and more moment of inertia (rotational), meaning it takes more force to steer it off line, meaning your small stroke flaws would have less of an impact on how straight the cue goes.

The lighter cue, however, is much easier to accelerate, which is crucial for a draw shot, both because you can achieve higher cue speed, but also because you can accelerate the cue without as much muscle tension in your arm, leading to better tip placement accuracy and sometimes an even greater increase in cue speed than F=MA alone would account for.

As for my own preference, I like a heavy cue. My player was 20.5 with the original shaft (thick Joss shaft), and I'm sure it's a little lighter now that I've got a Predator Z2, but still on the heavier end of the spectrum I'm sure. I find speed control difficult with a light cue. It takes less effort, so that on medium and soft shots I feel like I really have to hold it back. For me it leads to imprecise speed control and a poor stroke overall.

-Andrew
 
Great Post!!!

I'm really glad I found this post because I've been struggling with the same question for quite a while (years). Since learning the game 30 years ago (at 13) I always gravitated toward a heavier cue. I'm not sure if it was a teenaged machismo thing (heavier cue means I'm bigger/stronger/better, etc.) or what. But playing with a heavier cue became normal for me. My current shooter is a 21 oz. Schon. I've tried lighter cues 18.5-19.5 oz, but I just can't feel comfortable with them. I bought a beautiful old school Barnhart at VF last year based mainly on looks and the cuemaker but sold it within 3 months because it just felt too light. It was 19.6 oz. From the responses here it sounds like those answering thus far prefer a heavier cue. I wish cuemakers would make more heavyweights instead of ones in the 18-19.5 range.
 
Seems like I read or heard that Efern is using an 23 0/Z playing cue. Did anyone else hear that? Like Tommie Lee Jones said, (sometimes my mind just wanders.)
 
I agree with the OP... I recently pulled the bolt out of my cue and it weighs in at 17oz now. I feel like I play better with it, but draw shots just don't bite like they used to. I'm almost tempted to put a heavier "draw cue" in my case just for long draws, or better yet, some kind of weighted wrap that I can remove in seconds like a guitar capo... genius! Maybe I should change my name to Earl..
 
oh wait, on second glance, the OP seems to have the opposite problem with a heavier cue not drawing. Now I'm confused.
 
I got to thinking about it..

and I think my issue with draw is more about feel than the weight of the cue. I just haven't had the time with the new weight, not to mention the tip just changed (albeit to a much newer tip that should draw easier). I'm sure a lighter cue should draw more easily, but I think once I have a few more reps with this config. that should be pretty negligible. As far as the playing weight, I think I'll try the 1.6 oz weight in it. I have seen the weight range for predator cues at 18.5-20.5, so I am assuming the cue is 18.5 with no weight in it, but I have never been able to confirm that. Time to throw it on a scale I guess.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.
 
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