Haven't gone through the thread yet but this notion does kinda ring true. Long time ago in a book far far away, (the Mosconi book) I was all about correct this and that (4" behind the balance point, firm bridge, yada yada... ) which wasn't actually. For instance house cues would simply float away. So 50 yrs later, grip in the 10" around the butt zone, bridge comfortably crook'd and placed however it lands with my stance.
Ha. At least he's entertaining. I def fall into Meucci's camp more than Reid's, but I'm one of those big frame tall guys that he devotes a whole sentence to in the article. Either way, like Jimmy keeps saying and as pretty much everyone who responded in this thread mentioned...this is a personal preference feel thing. No real 'right' answer regarding balance point other than maybe 'it depends what u like'. But it was interesting to see the perspective of a guy that likes something the polar opposite of me. THanks for sharing.
Hand position helps with feel--similar to other stick-and-ball sports even separated hands can work in tandem. In general if your shooting hand chokes up on the cue stick you should use a shorter bridge length and vice versa.
I used to shoot with a Frank Paradise cue I got from Jerry Orbach. The feel was as if the shaft was ultra-light compared to the dense, heavy butt end. It made a difference in the hit for me for sure. Hard hit.
How did you get Jerry's cue?
Isn't that just to keep the same distance between the hands (matched to your "wing span")? That would be a stance thing - which I suppose could affect feel.
Mr. O. wanted to sell some cues to benefit his NYC club. Janine and I were there and we played some games with it first on the gorgeous antique table he'd installed in the club--one game I thought I'd locked him TIGHT but he sent the cue ball four rails to kick in the eight that was lying just off the middle of the short rail to win! We all know he was a terrific player but (!). A very happy memory. I heard the "bom-bom" from Law&Order when the eight ball fell in. Nor had he taken long to measure the shot beforehand, he just walked around the table, humming--probably a tune from 42nd Street. Speaking of clubs, you ever play at the Friars Club table? Another happy NY memory (insert Matt's Jerry Seinfeld impression here). Amazing food and "funny" people, but the Club has had some management issues in recent years.
I think you are right.
Jerry had he own club in NYC? Or was it a club he belonged to and wanted to support? Do you remember the name of the club by any chance? I'm trying to picture it. Maybe if you described the inside of the club, like what it looked like, how many tables, etc...I might be able to figure out which one it was. There were a few private clubs in NYC that these guys belonged to. Yes, I've been to the Friar's club and have played on their table and also refereed their annual tournament a few times.
It was a sixth or seventh floor spot in the upper 40s on the West Side? Janine doesn't remember either. It was one table only, antique, there were semi-precious and even precious inlays and trim on this stunning little eight-footer. He bought that table then had it installed at that club.
8 Ft table? Then Jerry was probably doing someone a favor. He would never spend time on an 8 Ft table other than the occasional social thing. He was an old school 14.1 enthusiast. I really liked his game. I thought he was the best pool player of the film stars. If it was near the end of his life, then it would make sense that he would dispose of things like his cues for good causes. That would be less for his wife to deal with after he passed. He was a good guy. I hated to see him leave us.
Genius, but my ass didn't fall for it.
That’s right.
I have a Paul Rubino over at Randy Mobley’s studio getting two new shafts right now. The original shafts were crazy heavy and tipped the balance point too far forward.
Well, if you stand like the diagram with your weight leaning forward like that, I would imagine that everything would feel heavy in the front. That stance is a formula for left side chronic shoulder pain over time. I've gone through it with players with shoulder pain who came to me for help.
You can get all caught up the placent of the feet of a 5 second stick figure if you want, it wasn’t about that tho, it was only about the triangle.
Do you see the angle of the triangle in that stance? It changes when you change the stance. How can you inform us about cue balance if you don't know the relationship between stance balance and cue balance?
