The old school guys Buddy, Grady, Danny D , Nick, Billy Incardona , Tony Elin, Cliff, Sigel , Rempe so many more had such short bridge hand length . Few people have that today Alex P, Lee Van sometimes. What happen through the years that changed so drastically ? Lee Van changes his lengths depending what he needs the CB to do . Thoughts on why it’s changed so much ?
Old timer short bridge hand length
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Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
More stroke? Some of the strokes I see with a long bridge appear to be on the edge of control. Short bridge provides less possibility of variance.
The requirements of straight pool were _don't miss_ so they stood up on everything where they could see everything and played mostly half table stuff they wouldn't miss.
Smash rack games involved long shots, punchy position control, (not sure what that actually means lol), and far less forgiving cueing. Players took to getting way down on the stick and developed different methods to "not miss".
Smash rack games involved long shots, punchy position control, (not sure what that actually means lol), and far less forgiving cueing. Players took to getting way down on the stick and developed different methods to "not miss".
Some good stuff: https://billiards.colostate.edu/faq/bridge/length/ IMO newer lo-defl. shafts play a part too. Older cues squirted the cb a LOT and a shorter bridge tends to help in that area. Buddy was tall with long arms and he held the cue damn near on the bumper so with a 58" wand there wasn't a lot left at the bridge end so he kinda automatically had a shorter bridge.
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Well I'll start the new year off right! Everybody misses sometimes. Everybody would miss less with an eight to ten inch bridge and using a properly formed closed bridge. Not as comfortable, not as cool, and you have to learn different cue ball action when you move away from the pivot point.
I spent many hours in high school classes with my bridge hand in a closed bridge position training the joints so I could hold it without pain. Being lazy as we all are I would occasionally stretch out on the nine and ten foot tables and use an open bridge for an easy shot. I didn't have to learn to aim with my bridge blocking part of the shaft and there was no stress and strain on my bridge hand.
I started using the open bridge more and more until I was using it seventy-five to eighty-five percent of the time. I missed a little more but the competition was soft and I still won a lot more than I lost. Then a short stop that mentored me a bit said always use a closed bridge and that eight to ten inch bridge. I had to learn to aim with the bridge finger in the way but we aim a gun with front and rear sights. For several years I shot with a closed bridge under a foot long the vast majority of the time and I played good pool. Maybe five percent of the time I used an open bridge. When I did in my mentor's pool hall I looked over at him and he nodded his head. There was a place for an open bridge, just don't get carried away with it.
Well I have gotten sloppy and lazy again and my arthritis in my hands is pretty bad so I use an open bridge again. Every once in awhile I go to the closed bridge most of the time for a session or two. I shoot better that way but it is rough on old hands. Deep down I know a shorter bridge is more effective, so is a closed bridge.
Watch Buddy Hall. Over the course of a match you will almost certainly see his tip disappear into his closed bridge because it is also short. Look at Efren in his young years in particular. A longer bridge but a closed bridge. Before others mention snooker players I will. A pool player typically has two points of contact and one of them is the moving grip. Snooker players have three or four points of contact and only one moves. I used extra points of contact pretty often in my peak years. When the cue had to move straight back and forth it worked better. The pendulum hadn't entered my vocabulary yet.
If I had a way to keep them honest I would bet any ten people on this forum their potting percentage would improve if they shortened up their bridge and used a closed bridge for sixty days. Even a week or two would show improvement but ironing in new habits and getting comfortable with them takes time.
A freebie for the new year. Like a lot of things I can tell it to the world knowing that people aren't going to change from what they are comfortable with. I am not either, but I don't have a lot of money riding on my game anymore.
Hu
I spent many hours in high school classes with my bridge hand in a closed bridge position training the joints so I could hold it without pain. Being lazy as we all are I would occasionally stretch out on the nine and ten foot tables and use an open bridge for an easy shot. I didn't have to learn to aim with my bridge blocking part of the shaft and there was no stress and strain on my bridge hand.
I started using the open bridge more and more until I was using it seventy-five to eighty-five percent of the time. I missed a little more but the competition was soft and I still won a lot more than I lost. Then a short stop that mentored me a bit said always use a closed bridge and that eight to ten inch bridge. I had to learn to aim with the bridge finger in the way but we aim a gun with front and rear sights. For several years I shot with a closed bridge under a foot long the vast majority of the time and I played good pool. Maybe five percent of the time I used an open bridge. When I did in my mentor's pool hall I looked over at him and he nodded his head. There was a place for an open bridge, just don't get carried away with it.
Well I have gotten sloppy and lazy again and my arthritis in my hands is pretty bad so I use an open bridge again. Every once in awhile I go to the closed bridge most of the time for a session or two. I shoot better that way but it is rough on old hands. Deep down I know a shorter bridge is more effective, so is a closed bridge.
Watch Buddy Hall. Over the course of a match you will almost certainly see his tip disappear into his closed bridge because it is also short. Look at Efren in his young years in particular. A longer bridge but a closed bridge. Before others mention snooker players I will. A pool player typically has two points of contact and one of them is the moving grip. Snooker players have three or four points of contact and only one moves. I used extra points of contact pretty often in my peak years. When the cue had to move straight back and forth it worked better. The pendulum hadn't entered my vocabulary yet.
If I had a way to keep them honest I would bet any ten people on this forum their potting percentage would improve if they shortened up their bridge and used a closed bridge for sixty days. Even a week or two would show improvement but ironing in new habits and getting comfortable with them takes time.
A freebie for the new year. Like a lot of things I can tell it to the world knowing that people aren't going to change from what they are comfortable with. I am not either, but I don't have a lot of money riding on my game anymore.
Hu
Long bridge short bridge is a thing.
Short stroke, mid stroke, and long stroke delivery is also a thing.
The sooner you combine the two and learn to use them the better.
Especially today with rocket fast tables a long bridge with a long stroke for six inch cue ball movement is like driving in forward and reverse at the same time.
Short stroke, mid stroke, and long stroke delivery is also a thing.
The sooner you combine the two and learn to use them the better.
Especially today with rocket fast tables a long bridge with a long stroke for six inch cue ball movement is like driving in forward and reverse at the same time.
Bridge length had been beat death, Dr. Dave has done U-Tube on the Length of your Bridge. Good Medicine people should watch as it FREE, and Good Medicine.
Did you even read the OP's question? He's asking why the transition by so many players to longer bridge lengths. Do you have a cogent take on this?
Pivot point
I watched Grady vs Diliberto playing 9 ball on last night's Accu-Stats live on youtube.
Holly molly, their strokes stunk, imo. Weird jabs, no smoothness, bunch of sideways movement, no or little backstroke. No thanks.
Holly molly, their strokes stunk, imo. Weird jabs, no smoothness, bunch of sideways movement, no or little backstroke. No thanks.
Yep and old stiff shafts with lots of front-end mass had short pp's thus the short bridges.
guess you've never watched hopkins play. one of the best of his era. used a short/jabby/punchy delivery that held up well under the gun.
Oh I have, in person too. Worst stroke I've ever seen!
And yes, I would give my left nut to play like any of them
Allen used to play the ghost in 1p where he would run all 15balls into his hole one out of three tries. Dick Lane told me once that he was better than even money doing it. He busted a LOT of 'em at this bet. Pretty stout.Oh I have, in person too. Worst stroke I've ever seen!
And yes, I would give my left nut to play like any of them
You can have a short stroke and go through the cue ball smooth as silk . A short punch is just that, a punch, a jab.
Big difference in delivery.
Big difference in delivery.
yea they were both terrible
you left out rushing everything
it was the seniors event?
and the live chat room was singing their
praises and the announcers were making excuses
i’m sorry but “the good old days were neither”
means that at the time they weren’t old
and only later can we call them good
about the changing bridge lengths-
i would say that we all learn from our mistakes and from each other- it’s evolution
standing up and watching your shot doesn’t work as well as getting down low and aiming carefullly
I used a lot of closed bridges, even at snooker. It gives you freedom for controlling the cue ball….you can kinda throw the cue at whitey for special effects. Open bridge makes me more mechanical.
Even Joe Davis recommended a closed bridge for power ’screw’.
Agreed - the only way these top top players can control the CB on super fast tables for rotation games is to have a longer bridge stroke that imparts more reverse braking action on the CB for most of their shots. It is an art that they learn to master and it gives them the edge needed in critical position play for very fast playing conditions. The average player just cannot perform in this manner.