the bridge length survey

Egg McDogit

Egg McDogit

street player
Silver Member
Hi all, been lurkin for a while and finally got
registered for posting - one more idiot in the forum :)

I was wondering how long everyone's bridge/stroke length is -
let's say on a stop shot where the cb and ob are each placed
on the spot lines. Also if you don't mind, please also
post your speed. I've always heard that 6-9" is optimal
for most shots and I thought it'd be interesting to see
what we come up with on the forum.
peace

bridge length: about 20"
speed: refer to name :)
 
Probably about 6" except on the long straight ones. Then I'm down to about 1" to 2 ".

Don't kill me for saying this but it was Fast Larry who first clued me in to the short bridge on long, straight shots. It really does work unbelievably well.

As far as speed I am rated an APA 6 and that is all I have to go by. I guess by most peoples standards it equates to roughly a C+ player.

Dave
 
DDKoop said:
Probably about 6" except on the long straight ones. Then I'm down to about 1" to 2 ".

Don't kill me for saying this but it was Fast Larry who first clued me in to the short bridge on long, straight shots. It really does work unbelievably well.

As far as speed I am rated an APA 6 and that is all I have to go by. I guess by most peoples standards it equates to roughly a C+ player.

Dave
Click to expand...

I don't know, I'm an APA 7 and I rate myself as a solid C, maybe C+. Although I would imagine it also has to do with how strong your region is.
 
Rackin_Zack said:
I don't know, I'm an APA 7 and I rate myself as a solid C, maybe C+. Although I would imagine it also has to do with how strong your region is.
Click to expand...


I agree and it's hard to tell sometimes but I've had several people in the B range tell me I'm a high C. For a while I thought I was a low B until I played them. Definitely not a B but still in disbelief I'm a stinkin' 6 :-)
Do you play 8 or 9 ball?

Dave
 
Egg McDogit said:
bridge length: about 20"
speed: refer to name :)
Click to expand...
Twenty inches!?! Good God, man, are you Santos Sambajon? How can you even see the cue ball from that far away? I'd hate the see the tip of your cue when you get nervous....

DDKoop said:
Don't kill me for saying this but it was Fast Larry who first clued me in to the short bridge on long, straight shots. It really does work unbelievably well.
Click to expand...
That's because FL is actually right for once. Shorter bridges mean less room for the "high speed wobbles" to cause errors in cueing. You can't just shorten the bridge, though, you have to shorten your grip, too (move grip hand closer to the joint, away from the buttcap), so you can maintain a perpendicular forearm at contact. If I get nervous, or I haven't played in a few weeks, I shorten my bridge up substantially until I get loose. Once I feel comfortable, then I lengthen it out to about 6-8". Since I'm a big believer in consistency and repeatability, I tried going with a short bridge (app. 3") all the time, but you lose a lot of power that way. Now I only use the short bridge for shots requiring a high degree of accuracy (your long, straight shots) or if I'm nervous (when ALL shots seem to require a high degree of accuracy :D ).

-djb
 
DDKoop said:
I agree and it's hard to tell sometimes but I've had several people in the B range tell me I'm a high C. For a while I thought I was a low B until I played them. Definitely not a B but still in disbelief I'm a stinkin' 6 :-)
Do you play 8 or 9 ball?

Dave
Click to expand...

I play mainly 9-ball and one pocket. I'd love to play straight pool, my favorite game, but no one around here wants to play it. I've taken some lessons and I think I'm close to or possibly a B- right now but I don't actually play APA any more (I really hate bar boxes and don't really care much for 8-ball).

To kind of stay on topic, my stroke length for such a shot is 6-7 inches.
 
My bridge length is anywhere between 4-12" depending on the shot.

And like DoomCue, when the going gets rough, the bridge gets short.
 
Egg McDogit said:
Hi all, been lurkin for a while and finally got
registered for posting - one more idiot in the forum :)

I was wondering how long everyone's bridge/stroke length is -
let's say on a stop shot where the cb and ob are each placed
on the spot lines. Also if you don't mind, please also
post your speed. I've always heard that 6-9" is optimal
for most shots and I thought it'd be interesting to see
what we come up with on the forum.
peace

bridge length: about 20"
speed: refer to name :)
Click to expand...


20"? Why even bother using your bridgehand? Doesn't it get in the way?
 
Hey Egg...welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy it! My bridge varies with the shot, just like everyone else. It's usually around 6-7" though. I'm probably a solid C shooter, depending on the day you ask.
rayjay :p
 
never said I was smart

Jude Rosenstock said:
20"? Why even bother using your bridgehand? Doesn't it get in the way?
Click to expand...

thanks for the responses everyone. I was really surprised
to hear that no one was going over 12". One of the reasons
for the bridge length survey is I'm mulling over whether
or not to shorten up - and I wanted to see if my bridge
really was comparably long. I find it hard to sight tough
shots with a short bridge...and also hard to get my stroke
rhythm going. I actually measured it out (I'd been told
it was 20" by others) and it's more like 16-18" - which
I guess is just as bad as 20" anyways.
Any other long bridgers out there?
 
I normally use 10" to 12" bridge. When the cueball is frozen to the rail, I shorten the bridge to 7". Also, if I'm about draw table length or so, I shorten the bridge a bit, as well as with slow shots with maximum sidespin.

I can shoot straight with a 14" bridge but my previous cue was so flexible that position play was difficult to control with a longer bridge.
 
Egg McDogit said:
thanks for the responses everyone. I was really surprised
to hear that no one was going over 12". One of the reasons
for the bridge length survey is I'm mulling over whether
or not to shorten up - and I wanted to see if my bridge
really was comparably long. I find it hard to sight tough
shots with a short bridge...and also hard to get my stroke
rhythm going. I actually measured it out (I'd been told
it was 20" by others) and it's more like 16-18" - which
I guess is just as bad as 20" anyways.
Any other long bridgers out there?
Click to expand...

my shortest bridge is about 6-7 when i just want to cinch a shot. my average bridge is about 10 inches. on shots that require me to travel more than the norm, i use a very long bride, probably around 15-20 inches. also sometimes when the cue ball is just far enough from the rail that it feels uncofortable to put my hand on the table, i use a long rail bridge that is probably around 15.

i use a pump stroke, very close to what the philipino players use, and to me its more comfortable and feels more fluent using this stroke with a longer bridge. now its gotten to where i don't really pay attention to the length of my bridge, i just shoot off of feel and when i step into the shot, i just put my hand on the table where i "feel" it should go.

as far as my speed, i consider myself a B+, but as of late i haven't been allowed to play in the local tourneys that don't allow A players. i'd say that i'm still a b to a b+ player as far as on a national level, but i think i'm making the transition into an A player right now.

thanks

VAP
 
hey vap

I have a pumpstroke too...I think that's one of the reasons
for my long bridge...have a hard time getting my stroke
going unless I have some room to work with. Where in VA are
you by the way? You play at champions, hi-cue, etc. at all?
maybe we could get together and hit some around sometime.
peace
 
Egg McDogit said:
I have a pumpstroke too...I think that's one of the reasons
for my long bridge...have a hard time getting my stroke
going unless I have some room to work with. Where in VA are
you by the way? You play at champions, hi-cue, etc. at all?
maybe we could get together and hit some around sometime.
peace
Click to expand...


check your pm's

thanks

VAP
 
Egg McDogit said:
Hi all, been lurkin for a while and finally got
registered for posting - one more idiot in the forum :)

I was wondering how long everyone's bridge/stroke length is -
let's say on a stop shot where the cb and ob are each placed
on the spot lines. Also if you don't mind, please also
post your speed. I've always heard that 6-9" is optimal
for most shots and I thought it'd be interesting to see
what we come up with on the forum.
peace

bridge length: about 20"
speed: refer to name :)
Click to expand...

I use different bridge lengths for different shots.
 
LastTwo said:
I use different bridge lengths for different shots.
Click to expand...


i think a better question would be "what is the range of your bridge lengths, and what is your "norm" bridge length"

mine would be 6-20. my norm would be about 10-12.

thanks

VAP
 
I have a fairly long bridge, on shots like the one in question it is from 9-11 inches. I have no idea of my speed as to A, B, C or APA rankings.
 
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