Loose Grip Change Led To Poor Position

[Johnnyt]

Since I loosened my death grip that I probably had for 60 years I find that I'm hitting anywhere in the pocket I want, but position is off on the speed part. I guess it just takes time to get the feel with the loose grip. Has anyone else had/have this problem when going to a looser grip? JT

Darn game. Change one thing make another. LOL

 

[dardusm]

Yep, cue ball control starts at the grip. Any changes made to it, will affect how the cue ball reacts. Now you just need to hit drills that work on shape to get used to the change. Hopefully, the long term result will be better precision hit on the cue ball. I'm working on it as well.

 

[slide13]

I've run into that too. I'm a beginner still but I've noticed that with a tight grip my stroke is delivered consistently but with a loose grip I can tend to get a little wristy and the timing of that can be off which can lead to shots that are too hard or too soft, depending upon which way I'm off with my timing I would guess. Working on developing consistency with the loose grip but I have noticed that, right now, I'm more able to control my position on delicate shots with a tight grip. I'm guessing the key is to try and eliminate the wrist action with the looser grip, so far I've been inconsistent in that endeavor.

 

[naji]

Since I loosened my death grip that I probably had for 60 years I find that I'm hitting anywhere in the pocket I want, but position is off on the speed part. I guess it just takes time to get the feel with the loose grip. Has anyone else had/have this problem when going to a looser grip? JT

Darn game. Change one thing make another. LOL

With tight grip you used lots of muscles to move cue, hard to perfect position this way. With light grip it is combination of elbow/hand speed and cue weight of which you will get used to. If you keep mixing the two you will never be perfect in position play.

The draw back to light grip is you have to have long back swing which makes tip contact point not accurate and lots of unintentional english, and each shot you have to be going down 100% perfect on it so to avoid steering cue

Death grip is much more accurate, but you have to know the timing of when to death grip it.

 

[thefonz]

you mean loosey goosey?

Any tightness in grip pressure will cause for a jabby cue action and snatching at the cueball. Generally you want go grip the cue just firm enough to keep it from sliding out of your hand, if you're losing control it's because your stroke tempo is not smooth. Think of your stroke tempo like pushing your kid on a swing - shove to hard and quick and your kid will be on their butts, smooth push is what you want. The higher you want your kid to go, you just follow through more.

 

[buckshotshoey]

Since I loosened my death grip that I probably had for 60 years I find that I'm hitting anywhere in the pocket I want, but position is off on the speed part. I guess it just takes time to get the feel with the loose grip. Has anyone else had/have this problem when going to a looser grip? JT

Darn game. Change one thing make another. LOL

I'm no expert but have some insights. A few things I did that helped me. My viking has irish linen. I'm holding it loose enough that the cue slides at the end of my stroke. When I got my Icon with leather lux grip, that prob was solved. Two...use a shorter backswing with a slightly longer pause at the back If you are over hitting positions. Three....mindset.....this has best results for me. When you are striking the cueball, think in your mind you are PUSHING the cue ball rather then hitting it. I don't know why this makes such a big difference for me. I think it makes me have a better follow through after contact. The longer pause and the "pushing " the cue ball improved my position. Slightly longer backswings on slow tables, and shorter backswings on fast tables also has helped my position play. The loose grip I'm using now has definitely improved my draw shots!

 

[Gunn_Slinger]

I'm no expert but have some insights. A few things I did that helped me. My viking has irish linen. I'm holding it loose enough that the cue slides at the end of my stroke. When I got my Icon with leather lux grip, that prob was solved. Two...use a shorter backswing with a slightly longer pause at the back If you are over hitting positions. Three....mindset.....this has best results for me. When you are striking the cueball, think in your mind you are PUSHING the cue ball rather then hitting it. I don't know why this makes such a big difference for me. I think it makes me have a better follow through after contact. The longer pause and the "pushing " the cue ball improved my position. Slightly longer backswings on slow tables, and shorter backswings on fast tables also has helped my position play. The loose grip I'm using now has definitely improved my draw shots!

Pushing the CB is close to what a lot of good players in the 70's did. But we called it 'placing' the CB instead of hitting it and letting it roll. Put it where you want it.

 

[CJ Wiley]

.you want to generate and maximize feel with your grip/hand

There's a wide range between "death grip," and "loose grip".

The object is to control the TIP (this is what you're really playing the game with), and to do so you need a CONTROLLED GRIP....much like the grip you use on your fork, spoon, or even toothbrush.....you want to generate and maximize feel with your grip/hand, and to do this there must be a comfortable level in between "death," and "loose". 'The Game is the Teacher'

Since I loosened my death grip that I probably had for 60 years I find that I'm hitting anywhere in the pocket I want, but position is off on the speed part. I guess it just takes time to get the feel with the loose grip. Has anyone else had/have this problem when going to a looser grip? JT

Darn game. Change one thing make another. LOL

 

[sparkle84]

The draw back to light grip is you have to have long back swing which makes tip contact point not accurate and lots of unintentional english, and each shot you have to be going down 100% perfect on it so to avoid steering cue

Why would a light grip mean you have to have a long backswing?

 

[naji]

Why would a light grip mean you have to have a long backswing?

Sorry did not say for speed shots and drawback cb
For draw or fast shots you need cue speed, you cannot draw cb back if you only back swing 3 to 4 " with loose grip how can you get power needed!! With hard grip your musceles do the job