Why do some pool players hold their grip so far back (to the end of the cue)?

randyg said:
Could be where their 90 degrees forms?

randyg
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:bow-down::bow-down::bow-down:

Thats far too simple to be the reason, dont you think???:shrug::shrug:

On the extreme other end of the spectrum there is a local player whose forearm is almost at his finished follow thru position during ball address, his rear hand is at the top of the wrap on his cue, very short backstroke and almost no follow thru, his back and front stroke happen so fast its almost imperceptible. Most of his intended draw strokes are stop shots.
 
If you have long upper arms, you tend to grab the cue nearer the butt to be 90 degrees at impact.

I'm assuming a normal set-up and stance, of course.


Jeff Livingston
 
Most cues are made for short people. The standard is still 58" or 59". People who are taller with longer arms grip farther back on the cue than someone who is 6 inches shorter if they both have the same bridge length.

Give someone who is 6'6" a 59 inch cue and watch them struggle even with grip at the very end of cue.
 
i have been making a lot of 30 and 31 inch cue butts this year for taller players just for that reason
 
nine_ball6970 said:
Most cues are made for short people. The standard is still 58" or 59". People who are taller with longer arms grip farther back on the cue than someone who is 6 inches shorter if they both have the same bridge length.

Give someone who is 6'6" a 59 inch cue and watch them struggle even with grip at the very end of cue.
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Exactly Sir, and as wreiman has said below he is building longer cues, as are other builders.

Cues should be fitted to a player like any other sport or a pair of shoes.

My friend who is 6'8 and his knuckles dragged on the floor use to play with a 58'' cue, old school, thick butt, typical cue back then.
He looked like he was trying to get out of a shoe box.

Jim Buss built him a 64'' cue 15 years ago and his entire world changed. The old cue that is a beauty sits in the closet.
If you adjust your body properly and have the right tools everything falls in place nicely, a few tweaks and somebody moving your feet and head into position and it's off to the races.

Can you play with 58'' cues….Sure…why would you want to unless it fits you. Its 2016 not 1960, technology, training, technique and tools etc. have come a long way. It's time people got out of the dark ages in this game.
Willie Mosconi was a midget and had squirrel arms.

You will not have to spend 17,000,00 hours looking at videotape, mirrors, asking people if your arm is at 90 degrees, you can spend more time learning how to play pool, you could be learning spin.

Imagine a Major League pitcher with the text book mechanics and does not move his feet and open his arms during his delivery,you can't, he wouldn’t have made it out of little league. Or a hitter with a little league bat.

Open it up, the Ape Index and Body Gait combined with the proper tools and you will be happy.
 
Elbow Macaroni...

I'm not a strong player, but I hold the cue at the end, right at the butt. In fact, my little finger usually rests on the bumper. I don't know if I have always held it that way because it is what feels most comfortable, or if it feels most comfortable because I have always held it that way. In any case, I have been playing too long to change now. And I seem to do ok with it.
 
I read Billie Billing's book when I was just starting to play. She said to find the balance point and hold it about 6" to 8" (if I remember correctly) behind that. It seemed to work out well for me
 
stan shuffett said:
On the visual side, holding the cue at the butt sleeve/cap area allows for aiming that more easily matches what is seen at ball address.
As one's vision scrunches in toward or beyond the cue's joint, distortions occur. The cue ball has a larger appearance when up close with shorter bridge distances and aiming is little more challenging. I prefer 32 up to 36 inches in back of the cue ball. That places my vision well behind the joint of my cue.

Stan Shuffett
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I agree with Stan. Having more cue out front, a straight front arm, etc., allows for a better visual of lining the cue ball up with the object ball, for me anyway.

Good call Stan,

KMRUNOUT
 
Where were guys like Pat Fleming and Jimmy Reid holding the cue when they were playing with super-short cues?

What was the whole deal with that?

Today, we seem to be at the other end of the spectrum.
 
It's simple. It's because the human race has evolved so much bigger and taller since the days of the standard 57 to 58 inch cues, that the cues haven't kept pace with the humans.

In fact, the only one who seems to have gotten this is Earl.

All the best,
WW
 
Think of the radius of a circle: the farther the point from the center (tip), the more pronounced the deviation is.

Therefore, the closer to the tip you place you back hand, the more accurate you will be.

Cue butts are a scam to make money off suckers.
 
justinb386 said:
Have you ever noticed that some players, and even pro champion level players, have their grip on the cue almost to the very end of the cue (much past the wrap section of the cue, almost to the very butt end of the cue) while playing?

Is it just different for every player, about where they are most comfortable gripping the cue (while they are shooting), or do you think they were trained to hold the cue that far back, past the wrap section?

I do not think I have ever held cue cue that far back, while shooting, and I am just wondering if maybe I should be?

Are there any advantages of holding the cue that far back?

The only one that I can think of is that you can get a longer bridge (the distance from your hand to the cue ball), the further back you grip the pool cue.

I never really thought about it, and just gripped the cue at the point that I felt most comfortable with gripping it (which has always been a good distance from the very end of the butt cap, I think).

I just wonder why so many very strong players grip their cue so far back (below the wrap area of the cue)?

Thanks for any thoughts about this.
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Well Iv experimented with the hand up even and back I tend to play my best with my hand slightly forward , however if I want a big stroke I move hand back and pre cock my hand forward this method gives me much more power ,,
This is similar to a forward press in golf

1
 
Not sure if anyone mentioned this but it should of been said early in the thread that for some holding the cue at the end or really any position that they come up with is to directly affect "Timing". Changing the grip position will change weather you follow through or jab at the ball, this also allow as i think someone mentioned for a much better follow through as your wrist is not yet under the elbow when the tip is at the cue ball giving you and extra 3-4 inches of follow through be it for draw or follow.
 
I stand over six feet, and there is no place in particular that I hold the cue. Sometimes

I find myself at the very end, other times it shortens up, what does not change is my

stroke. If your stroke is consistent, and you can slide the cue and play it like it makes music

it will. Not every shot is the same, so why would you use the same grip/length of stroke to

execute it?
 
Earl Strickland's use of a longer cue

WildWing said:
It's simple. It's because the human race has evolved so much bigger and taller since the days of the standard 57 to 58 inch cues, that the cues haven't kept pace with the humans.

In fact, the only one who seems to have gotten this is Earl.

All the best,
WW
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It may not be Earl who started this craze, but whomever thought of using longer than standard 58' pool cues is an innovator. I believe some of the top players like Shane and Jason are following this idea and seems like a no-brainer.
 
Players tend to keep creeping up further on their cues. When this happens you can actually run out of stroke because your already to the end of it almost. Sometimes the hand will actually get stopped by the body. This can cause a crooked stroke and cause many misses.
It's hard for a player to see this on their own. I see very good players all the time that are too choked up on the cue.

I put a piece of tape on the butt of the cue so I can tell all the time where the hand needs to be.

With golf we have as many as a dozen or so clubs in the bag. With the cue stick we only have one club but we can turn it into many by adjusting the length of the stroke or raising the butt of the cue.

Lower level players can learn how this works from higher level players but the best way is to work with a qualified instructor.

Good Luck......
 
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