the grip

[Dakota Cues]

Try this: instead of making a whole fist, only tuck your pinky into the postion of a fist (tuck it up into your palm)...let the other fingers dangle (remember, the dangling fingers will curl probably 50% on their own in the "relaxed" state). NOW shake your wrist. It will not shake freely side-to-side but it WILL rock freely front-to-back.

I actually demostrated this to my local PH owner a week or two ago, so your comments are very well-timed.

This type of grip has straightened out my stroke substantially...which boosts confidence...which helps you make balls...which makes the game fun again...which makes you $$$ in your weekly ring game...

mosconiac:
I always thought the pinky was sort of a "useless tag-along-for-the-ride finger," and thought of a way to utilize it. I found the "pinky space governor" trick indeed works wonders for me, in being able to deliver the cue accurately without the heel of my grip hand bumping the cue and diverting it off line.
-Sean

BLYMEE!!!

I'm going to try this tonight. I actually remember I guy I shot with a long time ago doing this. I thought it was just some weird gimmick, and didn't give it much thought. Now that I can understand the reasoning behind it, I think I'm going to work with this a bit.

The biggest pro with the loose grip was the amount of action I could put on the cb.

The biggest drawback, like op said, is that it's also more apt to go offline.

This little trick might be a win/win situation, and I'm willing to invest the time it takes for it to feel "Comfortable" to potentially see some long term benefit from it.

Thanks!!!

 

[Masayoshi]

I'm not really opinionated one way or another on this topic. Obviously a death grip is bad, but I think there are merits to a more firm grip even if it is against common knowledge. There are many good players that use a medium grip (tighter than loose, but not death grip) as well as many good players that use a light grip. I think that the hand is such a delicate and complex instrument, one type of grip might not work for everybody. For me, I started with a loose grip, but found that a medium grip works the best in terms of consistency and I never noticed a loss in power. I can play well either way, and still break with a looser grip (except when I soft break) because it helps in getting the wrist action to build up more speed.