Loose Grip and Letting the Stroke Loose

JimS

JimS

Grandpa & his grand boys.
Silver Member
I'm an intermediate player. I learn things every time I go to the table. The last few days it's been lessons about the importance of having a loose grip and shooting the shot like I mean it.

As I take careful aim I've noticed that I tend to tighten up my hand. I don't mean to. It seems that it's just a natural reaction to taking dead aim but when I allow that to happen I usually missthe shots.. even easy shots. I'm talking VERY easy shots and nothing pisses me off more than to miss a gimme.

I've noticed on many occasions that when I shoot "loose" I make most everything I look at and most important I do NOT miss the gimmies.

It comes down to the muscles being loose and allowed to do what the mind knows how to do. They can't do that when they are all tightened up and it starts with the grip. When the grip is tight that tightens up the muscles all the way up into the neck. When the grip is loose, the arm is loose, the stroke is loose and relaxed, and the balls go as my brain planned.... if it's a shot I know.

I also tend to baby some shots... especially those going to the side pockets. I often miss them when I baby them but when I shoot like I mean it... with authority... with confidence, they much more frequently go in. It amazes me how much difference it makes but it comes down to the same thing as the loose grip. Letting the stroke loose is what gets it done.

I know these things intellectually but in practice I often revert to getting tense and I need to implement relaxation techniques. A deep breath through the nose helps.

I watched SVB and The Freezer play the other niight/morning and they made fantastic shots. They were taking time to aim carefully but then they stroked loose. No apparent tension. Balls went in from all angles and the cb took amazing paths. They were letting their stroke out. They were shooting like they knew what they were doing (of course THEY do!)

But the lesson I got was... Shoot the shot like you know what you're doing!!! It's another facet of what unknownpro was saying. Aim and then let the body do what it knows how to do. Don't let the conscious mind try to guide the cue... that's the job of the unconscious. Aim carefully, shoot loose. The loose grip gets the ball rolling.... so to speak. :D

Edit: Why does a picture of Rodney Morris keep going through my mind? :groucho:
 
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Jim

I know the problem. I think of it as letting the momentum of the cue do the work. I have acheived a pretty loose grip but I sometimes find at the end of the follow through, especially on stop or draw shots that my grip has tightened. I'm going to take some videos and see if I can determine just where in the stroke the tightening occurs.

Dave Nelson
 
JimS said:
I'm an intermediate player. I learn things every time I go to the table. The last few days it's been lessons about the importance of having a loose grip and shooting the shot like I mean it.

As I take careful aim I've noticed that I tend to tighten up my hand. I don't mean to. It seems that it's just a natural reaction to taking dead aim but when I allow that to happen I usually missthe shots.. even easy shots. I'm talking VERY easy shots and nothing pisses me off more than to miss a gimme.

I've noticed on many occasions that when I shoot "loose" I make most everything I look at and most important I do NOT miss the gimmies.

It comes down to the muscles being loose and allowed to do what the mind knows how to do. They can't do that when they are all tightened up and it starts with the grip. When the grip is tight that tightens up the muscles all the way up into the neck. When the grip is loose, the arm is loose, the stroke is loose and relaxed, and the balls go as my brain planned.... if it's a shot I know.

I also tend to baby some shots... especially those going to the side pockets. I often miss them when I baby them but when I shoot like I mean it... with authority... with confidence, they much more frequently go in. It amazes me how much difference it makes but it comes down to the same thing as the loose grip. Letting the stroke loose is what gets it done.

I know these things intellectually but in practice I often revert to getting tense and I need to implement relaxation techniques. A deep breath through the nose helps.

I watched SVB and The Freezer play the other niight/morning and they made fantastic shots. They were taking time to aim carefully but then they stroked loose. No apparent tension. Balls went in from all angles and the cb took amazing paths. They were letting their stroke out. They were shooting like they knew what they were doing (of course THEY do!)

But the lesson I got was... Shoot the shot like you know what you're doing!!! It's another facet of what unknownpro was saying. Aim and then let the body do what it knows how to do. Don't let the conscious mind try to guide the cue... that's the job of the unconscious. Aim carefully, shoot loose. The loose grip gets the ball rolling.... so to speak. :D

Edit: Why does a picture of Rodney Morris keep going through my mind? :groucho:
Click to expand...

Jim, I already warned you about taking no practice strokes. This leads to more tension and you will develop a one pocket poke stroke. :grin-square:

What helps me is to make sure that I am totally focused on the ghost ball before I shoot. Then I take a pause and what I am doing at that point is becoming totally relaxed. If you are focused on the ghost ball, and I mean where the object ball is in clear focus, then you can feel your stroke coming back straight, and if it isn't you can correct more easily if you are in true focus and develop a better stroke. Then when you follow through you are totally trusting your stroke and you can't help but follow through with your hand hitting your chest with a loose grip. Ask Scott and RandyG.
 
Jim

I think you've solved this in theory, but previous muscle memory may come into play if you're not focusing on your grip at the moment you pull the trigger. tightening up puts unwanted overspin on the OB and will cause it to jaw the pocket. After you've found your aim, think loose and think of only moving your arm. This helps me stay down.
 
Merry Christmas

OK, here's a Christmas tip for relaxing your grip hand.

When you are down on the shot at the beginning of your pre-shot routine, lift the cue with your fingers and spin the cue in a counter-clockwise motion. You've seen many professional pool players do it..........and that's why they do it. You only have to do it a couple of times or maybe even only once. Rotate the cue by lifting your fingers and rolling the cue through your grip hand to make sure you have a loose grip.

Let's just hope the Gingerbread Man misses this thread. I don't want him feeling frisky again. :D

JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
OK, here's a Christmas tip for relaxing your grip hand.

When you are down on the shot at the beginning of your pre-shot routine, lift the cue with your fingers and spin the cue in a counter-clockwise motion. You've seen many professional pool players do it..........and that's why they do it. You only have to do it a couple of times or maybe even only once. Rotate the cue by lifting your fingers and rolling the cue through your grip hand to make sure you have a loose grip.

Let's just hope the Gingerbread Man misses this thread. I don't want him feeling frisky again. :D

JoeyA
Click to expand...

I'm like'n this! A part to be added to my preshot routine that will pay big dividends. I'll start grooving that immediately. Well... as soon as I get back home. Today and tomorrow we're at my daughters, up by Chicago, where we're having a party to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

Lots of my AA friends would have lost a lot of money if I'd have taken the bets they offered back in 1983. :groucho:

However, thanks to some great grandsons and their wonderful parents there is a very nice 7ft table (which I picked out for them) in the basement. :groucho: :groucho:

This talk of the conscious mind planning the shot and the unconscious mind doing the shooting reminds me of all the threads and post about aiming systems. That's sort of what all the discussion is about... the difference between the physics players and the feel players may not be much of a difference at all. Maybe they're doing the same thing. Figuring the shot out with the mind and then letting the body shoot it... so to speak.
 
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Try keeping your grip consistent on your follow through. tightening just before you hit ball the can cause stroking errors.
 
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