Wrist Position...

[Chowboy]

Hey all,
Was practicing a little tonight while concentrating on my wrist position. Seems at the beginning (back) of my stroke, my wrist is an a "natural" 15 to 20 degree bend. At the end, it straightens out, sometimes. When it does, I usually miss and the tip is pointing to the right of my aim line. I tried forcing my wrist straight throughout the entire stroke, but it did not feel comfortable or natural.

Is there a correct wrist position? Should I be working on keeping my wrist in the slightly bent position throughout the entire stroke?

Thanks all,
T.

 

[Louis Ulrich]

Hey all,
Was practicing a little tonight while concentrating on my wrist position. Seems at the beginning (back) of my stroke, my wrist is an a "natural" 15 to 20 degree bend. At the end, it straightens out, sometimes. When it does, I usually miss and the tip is pointing to the right of my aim line. I tried forcing my wrist straight throughout the entire stroke, but it did not feel comfortable or natural.

Is there a correct wrist position? Should I be working on keeping my wrist in the slightly bent position throughout the entire stroke?

Thanks all,
T.

Hi Chowboy,

This sounds like something that you should have somebody actually watch you do, and see if they can find your faults.

In general I would suggest that your wrist remain relaxed so that it flows with your stroke. If your stroke is not going through straight you may want to focus more on that then your wrist. Fixing a problem, if you even have one, will probably not feel natural to you at first, but after you find something that works it will eventually become easy with practice.

I hope this helps and good luck with your practice.

Louis

 

[poolbiz420]

Good Advice

Hi Chowboy,

This sounds like something that you should have somebody actually watch you do, and see if they can find your faults.

In general I would suggest that your wrist remain relaxed so that it flows with your stroke. If your stroke is not going through straight you may want to focus more on that then your wrist. Fixing a problem, if you even have one, will probably not feel natural to you at first, but after you find something that works it will eventually become easy with practice.

I hope this helps and good luck with your practice.

Louis

Real good advice Louis, I kind of have the same problem I'm starting to work with someone here in town to fix it.

BTW Louis, you wouldn't happen to have a brother that lives in Battle Creek MI. would you?

 

[Purdman]

The Wrist

Two years ago I had the Scaphoid (sp) bone removed from my right (grip) wrist. They also fused four bones together with a spider plate. Man, I can tell ya how much the wrist is involved in the stroke. I still ain't right but I love the game.
I have your problem also, except it is on long shots where I over follow thru. Something goes crooked when I do that so I am working on it. You do have to identify the problem before you can fix it.
Purdman

 

[Louis Ulrich]

Real good advice Louis, I kind of have the same problem I'm starting to work with someone here in town to fix it.

BTW Louis, you wouldn't happen to have a brother that lives in Battle Creek MI. would you?

Yes I do. Josh.

 

[Snapshot9]

Most people ...

develop wrong position on the wrist because they do not
hold the cue properly with their butt hand. The bent wrist
then propagates into another problem of follow through,
particularly on long shots (tendency for the tip to go left
at the last second for a right hander because the wrist does
not break properly for a straight stroke). Then these people
always want you to fix their problem on 'long shots', but do
not want to change anything else ..... duh! This is just one
of the hundred reasons why I am so firm about learning the
basics the RIGHT WAY to begin with, and not just pick up a cue
and shoot for 6-8 months and expect to be a super star. Anything
worth doing, iis worth doing the right way the first time
(Can you tell what type of Dad I had ... lol). I mean, if you
want to do something well or be good at it, why wouldn't you
study the right way to do it to begin with, and get the proper
help if you needed it? The average shooter does not have any
idea of how hard someone good has practiced and worked to
get where they are, the hours they have put in, the hours studying
Pool, the training, the books, just thinking about a shot or Pool
in general. They think that if they just play with someone else
so long that they will naturally get super good .... At some point,
down the line, they start to find out that it takes a lot more work
than they thought, they start to realize their limitations, but by
then, they already have these odd little habits and stances and
positions or shoot shots the wrong way that are developed because
they never took the time to learn the basics the right way. It's like
adopting a teenager with all kinds of bad habits, and trying to go back
and teach them the right way to be.

 

[poolbiz420]

Yes I do. Josh.

I kind of thought so. Had the plesure of meeting him last year and have bumped into him at several tournaments since then. Him and Sunny are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Both of them are also very good players.

 

[Scott Lee]

Is there a correct wrist position? Should I be working on keeping my wrist in the slightly bent position throughout the entire stroke?

Thanks all,
T.

Yes, there is a correct wrist position. The wrist should remain relaxed throughout the backswing and forward stroke. When you're at the "set" position (which is where your tip is at the CB, and you're deciding if this is the ONE swing where you're going to commit), the knuckles should be straight across. As you go into your backswing, at the end, your knuckles will naturally tilt up. As you change direction and stroke through the CB, your knuckles will again be straight across as you strike the CB, but tilt up the opposite direction, at the finish of your stroke. Looks like this: \ ___ / (but the slashes are way steeper than the actual tilt of the knuckles. This is a very natural grip position to utilize, as long as your grip is relaxed.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com