open or closed bridge

[predator]

If your back-hand mechanics are flawed, a closed bridge can compensate, somewhat.

But looking at that bridge, no matter how tight you make it, the cue can still steer left or right just as with open bridge. At the same time, most of the players feel more confident with it for power shots, their back hand suddenly behaves better and their strokes become smoother. Hard to explain, must be a mental thing.

 

[Andrew Manning]

Bob's right, snooker players are the highest-paid, and they all use open bridges on all shots, including power shots. Ronnie O'Sullivan, since taking an interest in pool, has begun using a closed bridge on the snooker table from time to time, but when he does, the commentators make a big deal out of it, because it's not done in snooker.

Anyway, there's only one real advantage I can think of from one bridge to another, and that's sighting. If you use the visual line of the cue to sight your shot (I'm not sure everyone does), then that line is broken up and partly obscured with a closed bridge, and entirely visible and unbroken with an open bridge. How much difference this makes is debatable.

As far as having better power or control one way or the other, it shouldn't make a difference. If you're cueing straight and smooth, the bridge should be totally transparent, as long as it's placed in the right spot, and it doesn't move. The only way I can see any difference is if you have a tendency to lift the cue up off your open bridge, then the closed bridge would help. But if you're doing that, there's something wrong with your stroke, and your power and accuracy are going to be inhibited until you get that fixed, no matter what bridge you use.

-Andrew

 

[Bob Jewett]

... The only way I can see any difference is if you have a tendency to lift the cue up off your open bridge, then the closed bridge would help. But if you're doing that, there's something wrong with your stroke, and your power and accuracy are going to be inhibited until you get that fixed, no matter what bridge you use. ...

While this sounds reasonable, and I've even said more or less the same thing myself, it might not quite be true. At pool and carom, players use a sorter bridge than the standard snooker bridges I've seen. Also, snooker players often (nearly always?) hold the stick at the end of the butt. That means that the snooker cue has more weight holding it down compared to pool and carom cues. Depending on how the player grips the cue -- index/thumb, middle/thumb, all fingers/thumb -- if the grip tightens during the shot, I think the cue could tend to raise. It could be that such a tightening is natural for human beings and that it does not tend to bring the stick off-line. Power might be easier and more efficient with the tightening. I don't know enough about sports physiology to say. Perhaps there's an expert lurking.

I've often wondered whether snooker players tend to rotate the front of the stick down, which would help keep the stick on the bridge hand even for serious power shots.

 

[Colin Colenso]

While this sounds reasonable, and I've even said more or less the same thing myself, it might not quite be true. At pool and carom, players use a sorter bridge than the standard snooker bridges I've seen. Also, snooker players often (nearly always?) hold the stick at the end of the butt. That means that the snooker cue has more weight holding it down compared to pool and carom cues. Depending on how the player grips the cue -- index/thumb, middle/thumb, all fingers/thumb -- if the grip tightens during the shot, I think the cue could tend to raise. It could be that such a tightening is natural for human beings and that it does not tend to bring the stick off-line. Power might be easier and more efficient with the tightening. I don't know enough about sports physiology to say. Perhaps there's an expert lurking.

I've often wondered whether snooker players tend to rotate the front of the stick down, which would help keep the stick on the bridge hand even for serious power shots.

I've found that tight gripping at the impact stage of the shot tends to add more power. I suspect this is mainly due to the tight gripping just before impact pulling the grip forward from a flexed position. As you speculate, the tighter I grip, the more the cue is pulled upward after impact.

It can be seen in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW1tsONEI_U Go to the 7.00 minute point.

Also see me using an open bridge of 24 power shots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keznf66dSHE

btw: I think snooker players often do pull downward on the cue slightly to stop the cue raising into the air on standard power shots. You'll sometimes see pro players have the cue bounce off their hand when they play a hard shot, but it's all happenning after the tip has hit the ball.

Colin

 

[pawnmon]

open bridge

I'm missing two fingers on each hand. An open bridge is my only option. I used to think this was a disadvantage. However all the great snooker players use an open bridge (including the Duchesse of Doom). Try playing snooker on a 10 X 5 table and let me know what you think about whether or not an open bridge works. I think that whatever bridge works for you is ok.

 

[Sprite]

Open bridge. No doubt.