Joey one thing I have tried that keeps me from gripping the cue is doing what Dennis Orcullo does. He makes a ring with his thumb and index finger and the rest don't even touch the cue. Give it a shot.
How to force yourself not to grip the cue tightly.
- Thread starter JoeyA
- Start date
av84fun said:
I don't think that is actually the case.....If he can pull the club out of your hand...you are not gripping the club "correctly"
You have Tiger hold a club out "correctly"...Unless you are Hercules...you are not going to pull that club out.....Your better Golfers are known for having very powerful grips and forearms...(Just go shake Jacks, Arnes, Tigers, Gary Players etc etc) hand on time....
Most beginning Golfers will grip a club incorrectly and the club can be pulled lose with ease....
The correct grip (last three fingers) is actually a very powerful grip on the club with "little" effort...and grants the player more "club control"
(which is the first part of that drill you describe)....The next part of that "lesson" is to see if while holding the club outright like that you can "piviot" the cue up to a verticle position without "re-gripping"
The last part is the realization of how much "lighter" the club is in a verticle position vs the starting "horizontal" position........(which opens the door for other golf lessons that I won't get into)
Grip
Too lazy to go back and read all the posts but I didn't see this suggestion... it's an old technique/recommendation for grip pressure. Hold a piece of chalk in your hand that you hold the cue with. There should be enough room to accomidate the chalk between your palm and the cue.
Or as Annigoni once told me.. think of your cue as a humminbird in your hand. You don't want to squeeze the hummingbird to death right?
**This suggestion is not applicable to people who actually hate hummingbirds.
Too lazy to go back and read all the posts but I didn't see this suggestion... it's an old technique/recommendation for grip pressure. Hold a piece of chalk in your hand that you hold the cue with. There should be enough room to accomidate the chalk between your palm and the cue.
Or as Annigoni once told me.. think of your cue as a humminbird in your hand. You don't want to squeeze the hummingbird to death right?
**This suggestion is not applicable to people who actually hate hummingbirds.
BRKNRUN said:
I disagree. The "tip" I cited was from the head pro of the Chicago Golf Club...one of the most prestigious in the country and either the first 9 or 18 hole golf course in America.
Sam Snead said, "Hold the club as if you had a little baby bird in your hand."
Possibly, you would disagree with Snead.
This not being a golf forum so I didn't get into any particular detail about the GOLF TIP...I was just presenting an analogy. But as you may or may not know, Davis Love Jr. is generally considered to be one of the greatest teachers of all time.
Davis said that "To hit high pitches, grip the club softly--I'd recommend a 2 or 3 on a 10-point scale, 10 being the firmest. This allows the club to release freely and adds loft as it slides under the ball through impact."
As it happens, the drill I was trained on involved an 8 iron not a long iron or driver.
But in general if you google "grip pressure" you will find that the vast majority of tips you find will recommended a grip pressure of between 4-5 on a scale of 10. With only half your potential grip force applied, if you can't forcefully SNATCH the club out of a typical golfer's hand then either they are gripping WAY too tightly or you are a weakling. (I mean "you" in the general sense...not you personally).
But again, this is not a golf forum. If you can't snatch a POOL CUE out of the players grip hand then his/her grip pressure is MASSIVELY too tight.
Regards,
Jim
we talked about something similar
Joey,
Rotate the cue stick in your grip a few times as part of your preshot routine. You might remember I commented about a certain group of players doing this and most of them shoot pretty good. Rolling the cue in your hand will make you very conscious of how tightly you are gripping it and you will loosen up if you are gripping too tightly. Once you relax your grip to begin with it is pretty easy to keep it relaxed throughout the stroke.
Hu
Joey,
Rotate the cue stick in your grip a few times as part of your preshot routine. You might remember I commented about a certain group of players doing this and most of them shoot pretty good. Rolling the cue in your hand will make you very conscious of how tightly you are gripping it and you will loosen up if you are gripping too tightly. Once you relax your grip to begin with it is pretty easy to keep it relaxed throughout the stroke.
Hu
I have a suggestion that worked for me a while back, albeit on accident.
Cut your index finger.
That's right, cut it. This happened to me a few years back, and I headed to the poolhall to play some. My finger hurt enough that I couldn't grip the cue with my index finger, and had to adopt a new grip with only my back fingers lightly gripping the cue. And I shot very very well!
I still have a problem gripping the cue too firmly. Maybe I should go get the razor blade before my league match tomorrow.
Cut your index finger.
That's right, cut it. This happened to me a few years back, and I headed to the poolhall to play some. My finger hurt enough that I couldn't grip the cue with my index finger, and had to adopt a new grip with only my back fingers lightly gripping the cue. And I shot very very well!
I still have a problem gripping the cue too firmly. Maybe I should go get the razor blade before my league match tomorrow.
swinging a hammer works too
I swung a wooden handled claw hammer for hours one day, not a normal activity. The web between my thumb and forefinger was very tender and had a huge water blister which I drained before going out to shoot pool.
I had absolutely no problem keeping my grip light that night. The only real problem was not losing my stick every time I shot.
Hu
I swung a wooden handled claw hammer for hours one day, not a normal activity. The web between my thumb and forefinger was very tender and had a huge water blister which I drained before going out to shoot pool.
I had absolutely no problem keeping my grip light that night. The only real problem was not losing my stick every time I shot.
Hu
StevenPWaldon said:
StevenPWaldon said:
Try taping a tack with the pointy side aimed at your index finger.
When I was in the Marines, one of our big guys wasn't happy and decided to kill himself. He slit his wrists with a razor blade and there was blood all over the floor. The D.I. made him clean up all of the blood before he would let him go to sick bay.
Oh yeah, he also instructed the knucklehead as to how one should cut his wrists if he wants to die instead of trying to get attention. It was another time, I guess.JoeyA
JoeyA said:No health problems to speak of except that I get tired after playing seven or eight hours.
I don't have to think I am immune to pressure and I don't have to have plenty of money if you want to meet for a friendly money match.
You can get in the cage with Jay and I. I don't think he would mind and if he does that's OK too. (I think he wants me for himself.)
While I don't know who'll be coming out unscathed, I will try hard to impress you.
JoeyA
Alright, as long its friendly, Im in...Id like the oportunity to see your cue and case, in person anyhow
SPINDOKTOR
you did say anything..... well I haven't tried this but it was suggested to me one time.... cotton balls between the fingers of your grip hand during practice.. I have no Idea if it works .. but in concept it could tell you when you are gripping to tightly. based on the pressure between the fingers.
JoeyA said:
I've heard that having sex before a game relaxes your muscles. and therefore creating a much relax grip on your stick (not that particular stick).
raybo147 said:
Joey, this is a very good point. I have had the problem with gripping too tight and sometimes "steering" the shot. I remember Louis Ulrich mentioning this in one of his articles about leaving the index finger off the cue. It works.
It forces you to cradle the butt versus gripping the butt.
Yes. Wrapping the thumb and forefinger around (lightly) is mainly to give you confidence that you won't drop the cue. The cue's forward motion is propelled by the two-point "pincer" grip.
pj
chgo
On power draws and follows you need to tighten your grip at the point of impact...kind of a timing thing. That is the only time you really need a tight grip (or on a jump shot I guess). I kind of tighten it at the point of impact on the break shot too. Just my .02. Other than that...loose as a goose for better 'feel'. Sometimes it takes a while to get loose, as they say. Hence the term, "Fast and loose."
Matt
Matt
raybo147 said:
I've had good success with the above method.
In the past, I've also used a variation where I only use my index finger and middle finger (leaving the ring finger and pinky finger off the cue). I had some decent success with that too, but found just leaving my index finger off, works better for me.
ShootingArts said:
I like that one and I forget to use it.
Last night before a match, I tried Pat's suggestion (if I read it right), I had difficulty applying pressure to the sides of the cue and still making the shot and getting shape. It was unusual for me anyway. I escaped a trap last night and got out with my skin in tact.
JoeyA
JoeyA said:I like that one and I forget to use it.
Last night before a match, I tried Pat's suggestion (if I read it right), I had difficulty applying pressure to the sides of the cue and still making the shot and getting shape. It was unusual for me anyway. I escaped a trap last night and got out with my skin in tact.
JoeyA
Just my 0.02 but I believe the solution is to think in terms of not APPLYING any pressure at all! The weight of the cue creates it's own pressure and that is all that is necessary.
regards,
jim
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Might not be best for everybody. It helps me keep a loose grip with the right "wrist angle" for a straight finish.
pj
chgo
