The Del Drive and its users..

[CJ Kumz213]

Just been watching a lot of clips of Ronnie, Shaun Murphy and Stephen Lee. Have any of you noticed all the Del Drive users use there middle finger to grip the cue. Whats the advantage over this??

[willtyson]

Hi there, Del is a chap who I'm proud to be able to say is a friend of mine, and I use the Del drive (not quite to the standard of the names you mentioned in your post though lol). Ultimately, in my opinion (and I will ask Del when I see him later today and see what he says about it) as long as you are driving - guessing you understand the concept of that as you have seen Ronnie etc, which is basically just dropping the elbow and getting through the cue ball rather than pecking - then it doesn't matter what fingers you use to grip your cue as long as your grips shutting as the elbow drops which is what will give you your timing. I'm not the best at describing all this, but Del is so if you want to learn it properly than a week at his place will transform your game :snooker:

[CJ Kumz213]

Hi there, Del is a chap who I'm proud to be able to say is a friend of mine, and I use the Del drive (not quite to the standard of the names you mentioned in your post though lol). Ultimately, in my opinion (and I will ask Del when I see him later today and see what he says about it) as long as you are driving - guessing you understand the concept of that as you have seen Ronnie etc, which is basically just dropping the elbow and getting through the cue ball rather than pecking - then it doesn't matter what fingers you use to grip your cue as long as your grips shutting as the elbow drops which is what will give you your timing. I'm not the best at describing all this, but Del is so if you want to learn it properly than a week at his place will transform your game :snooker:

Interesting point you got there. I'm still on the 'pecking' side as you and Del call. And my goal is the have a smooth effortless like the above mentioned people.. So lemme try and understand this concept, do you use a locked or loose wrist cause I have seen Ronnie and the others breaking the wrist during power shots??? And on the delivery do u start dropping the elbow immediatly or after cue ball contact??

[willtyson]

If you want smooth and effortless then the Del drive is the way to go! Personally I have my grip somewhere in between loose and locked, but that part - in my opinion - is just personal preference, I keep my grip slightly tighter in the front of the hand with my thumb and index finger reasonably tight on the cue, then when I pull the cue back the rest of the hand opens slightly (but I also change how much I open the grip depending on how much power is needed, when break building around the pack and I'm in the groove I'll sometimes barely open the hand at all, but when playing power shots I open the hand up a bit more) and then closes again at the point of impact on the cueball, which is also when the elbow begins to drop. So in short, I get down on the shot, feather, front pause and switch my eyes to the object ball, slowly pull the cue back opening the grip and then push the cue through and when the tip hits the cueball the elbow drops and the hand closes. This works for me and won't work for everybody, just get a cue action you're comfortable with and the rest of your game will follow. You sound like you want to drive which is great, like I said in my other post, go and see Del he will be able to tell you so much more than I can.. :snooker:

[CJ Kumz213]

If you want smooth and effortless then the Del drive is the way to go! Personally I have my grip somewhere in between loose and locked, but that part - in my opinion - is just personal preference, I keep my grip slightly tighter in the front of the hand with my thumb and index finger reasonably tight on the cue, then when I pull the cue back the rest of the hand opens slightly (but I also change how much I open the grip depending on how much power is needed, when break building around the pack and I'm in the groove I'll sometimes barely open the hand at all, but when playing power shots I open the hand up a bit more) and then closes again at the point of impact on the cueball, which is also when the elbow begins to drop. So in short, I get down on the shot, feather, front pause and switch my eyes to the object ball, slowly pull the cue back opening the grip and then push the cue through and when the tip hits the cueball the elbow drops and the hand closes. This works for me and won't work for everybody, just get a cue action you're comfortable with and the rest of your game will follow. You sound like you want to drive which is great, like I said in my other post, go and see Del he will be able to tell you so much more than I can.. :snooker:

Makes alot of sense that way. I am going to give it a shot when I have time later on during the day. And I will also see to it that I make an effort to meet up with Del. Thanks alot

[willtyson]

Makes alot of sense that way. I am going to give it a shot when I have time later on during the day. And I will also see to it that I make an effort to meet up with Del. Thanks alot

Give it a go, it will take a little time to get used to though. Will improve the amount of cueball reaction you can get without a doubt if you stick with it, happy practicing :snooker:

[vmax4steve]

Makes alot of sense that way. I am going to give it a shot when I have time later on during the day. And I will also see to it that I make an effort to meet up with Del. Thanks alot

The elbow must not drop before the strike, very difficult to do and if you're a beginner I would not try it. Small steps my friend not giant leaps.

[CJ Kumz213]

The elbow must not drop before the strike, very difficult to do and if you're a beginner I would not try it. Small steps my friend not giant leaps.

lol good point Steve. One step at a time

[willtyson]

The elbow must not drop before the strike, very difficult to do and if you're a beginner I would not try it. Small steps my friend not giant leaps.

Ahh, very true point. I did say I'm not the best at explaining all this stuff lol, that's why I'm not a coach I guess :snooker:

[itsnoteasy]

I have absolutely no idea what a Dell Drive is, but I do have a question on an exaggerated elbow drop, I say exaggerated ,as the elbow will drop naturally as you follow through anyway . What's the point in it, ?if it can't be allowed to happen until after the strike it's pointless, as the ball has left, it is no longer in contact with the cue tip so you can do what you want with it after the strike it won't help or hinder your shot. Have I got the wrong end of the stick here, I am known for it lol.

[CoachGavin]

The idea is that by dropping the elbow the grip doesn't come to a quick stop up into the chest. This means the player is more likely to accelerate into the cue ball rather than decelerate. A lot of pros who drop the elbow open up the front of the grip as they complete the follow through and so using the second finger to grip the cue makes this easier.

[CJ Kumz213]

I have absolutely no idea what a Dell Drive is, but I do have a question on an exaggerated elbow drop, I say exaggerated ,as the elbow will drop naturally as you follow through anyway . What's the point in it, ?if it can't be allowed to happen until after the strike it's pointless, as the ball has left, it is no longer in contact with the cue tip so you can do what you want with it after the strike it won't help or hinder your shot. Have I got the wrong end of the stick here, I am known for it lol.

Interesting thoughts you gat there. It just has more to do with driving through the ball with less effort. Its impossible not to accelerate when the elbow is dropping. Watch the clip I have uploaded. Especially 1:10

[CJ Kumz213]

The idea is that by dropping the elbow the grip doesn't come to a quick stop up into the chest. This means the player is more likely to accelerate into the cue ball rather than decelerate. A lot of pros who drop the elbow open up the front of the grip as they complete the follow through and so using the second finger to grip the cue makes this easier.

Thanks Coach Gavin, I have been waiting for you to post. Have so many things I had wanted to clarify with you.. I really wanna learn this method and start having that smooth Ronnie, Lee and Murphy type of cue action. But its so so hard. Ok so wanted to know what you do differently on the backswing compared to the ordinary cue action? What muscles are used especially how to initiate the 'Del Drive'?

[Sidd]

I personally think I am on this road for quite some time now. Maybe due to watching so much of Ron. However, this is a slippery ride, you can get it all together one day and then the rest of the week you keep wondering what did i do to make it work for me.... It is a real hard road to take on but if perfected, nothing like it. I personally am on this road so i can say so...

[Sidd]

Thanks Coach Gavin, I have been waiting for you to post. Have so many things I had wanted to clarify with you.. I really wanna learn this method and start having that smooth Ronnie, Lee and Murphy type of cue action. But its so so hard. Ok so wanted to know what you do differently on the backswing compared to the ordinary cue action? What muscles are used especially how to initiate the 'Del Drive'?

Normally you start the movement with the inner part of forefinger and thumb however in this regard the actual drive comes through the forearm muscle and not the hand so the actual muscle used is the forearm where the cue is held in the inner part of the forefinger or second finger and thumb without exerting any pressure...