Which Grip

[Joeyb1979]

I've been going back to the basic fundamentals again, and I've always had the 4 finger grip with the pinkie not touching the cue stick and right in the center of the linen of my cue....always has been comfortable and that is what I was taught.

I see many good players use all 5 fingers and gripping at the butt of their cue?

Is it just out of comfort? Which is the right and which is the wrong way?

 

[pooltchr]

Where you grip the cue has very little to do with the cue, and everything to do with your individual body structure. The goal is to have your hand directly under your elbow when your tip contacts the cue ball.

A loose grip that allows the cue to roll through your fingers as your grip hand swings forward seems to work best. My stroke starts out with my thumb and fingers touching the cue, and finishes with with the butt of the cue hitting the bottom part of my hand, and just my thumb and forefinger touching the cue.

We're all built a little different. But I would seriously look at where your grip hand is reletive to your elbow at contact, and not necessarily where it is reletive to the wrap. (What would you do if you had a wrapless cue??)

Steve

 

[Joeyb1979]

I was always told never grip the butt of the cue

 

[pooltchr]

Was there a particular reason given to validate that advice?

Steve

 

[Joeyb1979]

Yeah, since my dad told me so......and he was rated a 9 when he was playing apa........so I listen.....he's been playing a lot more years than I have.

 

[pooltchr]

Because someone, anyone, even your Dad, told you, does not answer the question.

WHY? If there isn't a valid reason for something, it may not be accurate. Perhaps, for his body type, gripping in the middle of the wrap was correct, but that doesn't automatically make it correct for you. Maybe someone told him years ago that was how to do it, because that was how they did it.

Again I ask the simple question. WHY should you grip the cue in the middle of the wrap? Is there a physiological reason that this is the best position? If not, you may need to reconsider the idea.

In pool school, we always ask our students to forget everything they think they know about shooting pool for a couple of days. The only way to learn is to have an open mind. Open up to new possibilities. If you continue to do the same things the same way, you will get the same results. In order to improve, you have to be willing to consider change.

You posed a question in the original post that suggested you were looking for ways to improve. Improvement comes from trying new and different things.

BTW, I used to always hold my cue at the wrap. Since I have learned how to stroke properly, my grip hand is now down on the butt cap.

Steve

 

[Mark Avlon]

I was always told never grip the butt of the cue

Cradle the butt of the cue is more descriptive of what a good 'grip' is.

 

[Joeyb1979]

Thanks for the input. I might experiment with it this weekend.

 

[toolboy]

I was told to grip the cue where ever it puts your forearm at the middle of your stroke. For me, that makes it about perpendicular to the ground. I was instructed that this gave you the best control with a maiximum forward and back stroke. I forgot to add that your arm was supposed to look like a clock pendulum.

 

[Scott Lee]

toolboy...This is true, when the tip is at the CB. Your reasoning is sound...another reason is that this allows the cue to strike the CB at the bottom of the swing, which is the only time the cue is level, in a pendulum swing. This allows your perception to be as accurate as possible, when stroking through the CB.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I was told to grip the cue where ever it puts your forearm at the middle of your stroke. For me, that makes it about perpendicular to the ground. I was instructed that this gave you the best control with a maiximum forward and back stroke. I forgot to add that your arm was supposed to look like a clock pendulum.