how tight is your bridge hand?

scottycoyote

scottycoyote

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ive noticed something recently, when I really bear down with my bridge hand (closed bridge) i seem to shoot more accurately. I see some guys who shoot great and their bridge doesnt seem that solid, and of course with an open bridge the cue just glides along the v of your hand. I dont know if its because of my hands (big hands but skinny fingers), but it seems like if i dont really hold my fingers together tight it allows some play in there that translates into missed shots. Just curious as to some of you guys' bridge hands.
 
Scotty,

You're on to something here. Your bridge hand is a very critical component to ensure a high calibre game. If you have a loose and sloppy bridge your accuracy is going to suffer.
 
scottycoyote said:
ive noticed something recently, when I really bear down with my bridge hand (closed bridge) i seem to shoot more accurately. I see some guys who shoot great and their bridge doesnt seem that solid, and of course with an open bridge the cue just glides along the v of your hand. I dont know if its because of my hands (big hands but skinny fingers), but it seems like if i dont really hold my fingers together tight it allows some play in there that translates into missed shots. Just curious as to some of you guys' bridge hands.
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I don't know if this is happening for you but for me, tightening my bridge-hand is a mental cue. It signals the rest of my body to fall in-line with the shot and to take the shot seriously. I don't know if it cuts down on play or not but I definately agree that something different occurs.
 
The Ledgendary Joe Davis (former 20 year world snooker Champion) stated in his book that he grips the cloth hard enough to see the whites on his fingernails.

I use an open bridge and have tried Joe's approach in practice,however,I find it difficult to maintain the discipline to do it with regularity come game time.It seems to put tension in my body that influnces how my shot goes and how I feel.It seems to adversley effect the result of my shot and makes everything seem like hard work.Is it nessecary to grip the cloth as to see the whites in ones fingernails or is a happy medium appropriate enough here?Am I just being a lazy slug by not taking Joe's reccomendations and will gripping the cloth with dedication after a period of time pay off and become a natural part of ones game?Any comments appreciated. RJ
 
Center ball hit, open bridge - loose.

A little english - open bridge - tighter

Draw/follow closed bridge - snug

Force follow or force follow with english, hard shot hitting extremes of cue ball - very tight closed bridge.
 
yeah thats what im talking about.........im gripping my fingers together so hard my fingertips turn white, my hand gets tired. But like someone stated, all that tension seems to permeate the rest of me. Its hard to shoot a flowing game, i feel like i should be relaxed but focused, but here my hand is tight as a banjo string. Glad to know its not just me i guess, doesnt help the problem though lol.

Ive experimented with different closed bridges, letting my index finger overlap my thumb to where the skin of my finger keeps the cue in line, but it seems awkward. Has anyone ever tried those odd shaped shafts, the ones that arent perfectly straight. I thought about those briefly but i dont know if theyre the answer. Id prob try one if i could get it really cheap.
 
I agree with Jude and pretty much use my bridge the same way. I believe your bridge can be too tight though Scotty and it certainly sounds like your's is.
 
Good observation. I do this when I go into what I think of as "lock down mode", or as mentioned I get serious. I also aggree It is especially helpfull on shorter strokes and cuts, and if the shaft is smooth enough, good on longs. I have to ajust the tightness of My bridge to what My shaft will give me at the time. If It's sticking a little, then looser bridge, because It will effect your flow If the shaft is not perfectly smooth or It is humid, and you tighten up too much forcing It through instead of stroking through. It can cause the cue to jerk, or slightly move if It's chattering when going through your bridge hand, and is not as effective. In these cases I will just tighten My bridge as much as I can without effecting the flow through. The smoother your shaft, the better, and tighter you can hold It, one reason to keep those shafts clean, and buffed before every match. Greg
 
You got it!

Billy_Bob said:
Center ball hit, open bridge - loose.

A little english - open bridge - tighter

Draw/follow closed bridge - snug

Force follow or force follow with english, hard shot hitting extremes of cue ball - very tight closed bridge.
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I've always used an open bridge, just how I learned to play the game...as I got better I found that their are more appropriate bridge styles for certain shots...I think Billy has got it spot on...
 
Billy_Bob said:
Center ball hit, open bridge - loose.

A little english - open bridge - tighter

Draw/follow closed bridge - snug

Force follow or force follow with english, hard shot hitting extremes of cue ball - very tight closed bridge.
Click to expand...

That's about right, Billy_Bob, though others in this thread have given excellent insights, too, and one can succeed with other approaches.

Ultimately, the main thing is to have consistent bridge hand mechanics. On the forum, we often chat about the need to have a repeatable stroke. There's no way to have one without really solid bridge hand mechanics, a point so often forgotten.

Great thread!
 
The point of a closed bridge is to help insure that the cue moves on line when shooting with power. The open bridge is more accurate because you can have an open view of the cb. The closed bridge should be used whenever there is a chance of the cue moving during the stroke and it should be a tight closed bridge or there's no sense in using a closed bridge. Anyone using a loose closed bridge does not know what they are doing. Sounds harsh but that's the reality. If you are going to use a loose closed bridge you might as well use an open bridge and get that finger out of the line of sight.
 
yeah thats what prompted my whole post........i had just lost in straight sets to a local A player, although it was like 5-4 5-3 5-4 5-4......and hes got a super loose closed bridge. So i dont know if you can say everybody with a loose closed bridge dont know what theyre doing, this guy sure seemed to. I was just wondeirng if it was a bad habit hes learned to make work for him or if it was something i needed to work on.
 
I read an old article and this very good player was saying that to shoot correctly, your thumb on your shooting hand should be pointing directly to the floor. Another player told him that some other great player doesn't do that and his reply was, think how much better he would be playing if he did it correctly. I don't know why but that has always stuck in my head. This might apply to this local A player, he might play even better if he bridged more snugly.

As for Fernando, he probably used to shoot a lot with an open bridge and doesn't need the snug closed bridge. Nine ball requires one to come up with maximum stroke shots from time to time and when those shots come up, you need, imo, a snug closed bridge. Also, I think the closed bridge aids in greater cb control for touch shots as well. JMHO.
 
opinion

scottycoyote said:
ive noticed something recently, when I really bear down with my bridge hand (closed bridge) i seem to shoot more accurately. I see some guys who shoot great and their bridge doesnt seem that solid, and of course with an open bridge the cue just glides along the v of your hand. I dont know if its because of my hands (big hands but skinny fingers), but it seems like if i dont really hold my fingers together tight it allows some play in there that translates into missed shots. Just curious as to some of you guys' bridge hands.
Click to expand...
it is very possible that your problem isn't at all with your bridge hand , rather with your other hand gripping the but to tightly and therefore trying to guid the matural path thus not allowing it to travel easily and in a straight line . So in short try to relax , maks sure your stance is aligned and all the motion is in a straight and easy motion. i hope that will help you in the future . Thank you for leistening
Glenn Graham
ggcues.com
 
JimS said:
Anyone using a loose closed bridge does not know what they are doing. Sounds harsh but that's the reality. .
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anyone that would make this statement doesn't know what they're doing....

ever seen keith's closed bridge? its not the tightest thing in the world.......plenty of of other great players that don't use a tight closed bridge.



VAP
 
Plenty of great players do all sorts of things that are not good fundamentals and are not recommended for players that want to improve. They are great players and can get away with their idiosyncracies (sp?)

A tight closed bridge is ALWAYS recommended and a loose closed bridge is ALWAYS poor fundamentals.

If you use a loose closed bridge and want to justify it by finding pros that do the same thing so you don't have to admit to yourself that what you are doing is poor fundamentals then go ahead and continue to do it. It's your loss. But... please have the good sense to recommend to others that they not become habituated to poor fundamental habits. Always recommend the use of accepted fundamentals. The first rule of being helpful to others, and for that matter for life in general, is do no harm.
 
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bridges

If you just don't worry about it, you will just naturally bridge the way
that feels most comfortable to you.

I find myself playing with an open bridge most of the time, but I do not have a problem making a V with my thumb joint and 1st finger knuckle like some players do.

Although when I have a long hard straight in shot with the cue ball on the rail, I always jack up a bit with a closed bridge and try to deliver a nice smooth stroke so my cueball doesn't get thrown off.
 
Snapshot9 said:
If you just don't worry about it, you will just naturally bridge the way
that feels most comfortable to you.

I find myself playing with an open bridge most of the time, but I do not have a problem making a V with my thumb joint and 1st finger knuckle like some players do.

Although when I have a long hard straight in shot with the cue ball on the rail, I always jack up a bit with a closed bridge and try to deliver a nice smooth stroke so my cueball doesn't get thrown off.
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well what seems to happen with my game.....i get to playing great....i get "relaxed" with my game.....next thing i know its off some and i dont know why. And thats when I realised how id relaxed my bridge hand so much, that it was seeming a little sloppy, so then i tighten it up and my play improves but now im thinking about my bridge instead of the shot. Just tryin to finish nailing down my mechanics.
 
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