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A lad I used to play had pretty severe spinal defects and he was a regular 50 break player, his mum ended up spending hundreds on private coaching sessions and afterwards I would play him for a few hours and never notice any real improvement in his game at all. IMO he had reached the limit of his skill, his disability obviously didn’t help but it certainly didn’t stop him seeing the angles!
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Last edited by Danger Steve; 1 July 2020, 02:19 PM. -
I know I bang on about this but it comes from watching Steve Davis in the WSC '82. His cue action went from cue arm behind the vertical with a bent bridge arm to accomodate this, to cue arm just about at vertical with a straighter bridge arm and he got stuffed by Tony Knowles 10-1. The following year his behind the vertical action was even more than usual and he was at his very best beating Alex Higgins 16-5 in the semi and Thorburn 18-6 in the final.Originally Posted by tomwalker147 View Post
It was clear to me that Davis like most players preferred a longer bridge to ball along with a straight bridge arm, but being tall couldn't accomodate this within the confines of a standard length cue without dropping the upper arm into the stroke before the strike, so he had to adapt his stance and cue action to suit.
I tried and couldn't do it as I didn't have eight hours a day to practise it so I ordered myself a hand made longer cue and went from struggling to make 30 breaks to regular 50+ breaks within a week, instant results as my upper arm no longer dropped from the shoulder. The cue was 62 inches long, extreme some would say but only the width of my fist longer than standard and it's this length that put my grip hand behind the vertical at address without any need to alter stance or bridge arm while keeping my 12 inches over my bridge to sight the line.
It's my belief that your cue must fit your height or that upper arm drop from the shoulder will always be an intermittant problem and now that I make cues I tend to cater for the taller player, just finished a 62 inch cue this week, itching to test it but can't
Speak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hairComment
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Thats interesting Vmax, regarding height - cue length, I'm 5' 10" ( prob 9.5", being an old git ) I remember seeing or reading that your cue should be the same height of your shoulder, mine is. However I saw Judd being interviewed after a match, he was holding his cue during the interview and his cue came to the middle of his chest about 4 inches Lower than his shoulder. so is there a kind of guideline for cue length vs Height.Snooker is a game of simple shots played to perfection, Joe DaviesComment
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I like to hold my cue at the very back of the cue, almost with my pinky dangling off, it feels comfortable there but it does leave me with a long bridge. I’ve experimented with having a shorter bridge because most Pros seem play with a short bridge (compared to mine at least), but then my arm is too far behind and feels awkward, so I have to adjust my grip, I did think maybe an inch sorter cue might be the answer to force a shorter bridge? But then again I would say 50% of the time I hold the cue in a different place depending on the shot, and sometimes I need all of the cue!
:snooker:Comment
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It's hard to find an image of Judd with the butt of his cue touching the floor with it standing vertical to his shoulder, I found this one, not right on the shoulder but pretty close.Originally Posted by John Flaf View Post
images.jpg
Speak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hairComment
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I think that if we do not run out of the cue while doing the feathers, we should be fine. Also, the distance between the bridge hand and the tip should be about 12". It also has to do with where we hold the butt end of the cue.Originally Posted by vmax View PostLast edited by fkhan; 2 July 2020, 08:03 PM.Comment
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Shaun Murphy had a crap season last year after shortening his new Parris cue because he felt his ferrule was too small at 8.5mm, this obviously brought his cue arm forward a tad and his upper arm was then in danger of dropping into the stroke. He then shortend his bridge to ball, which brought his cue back about two inches, played great this season. He could have had his cue lengthened and kept his bridge to ball the same to fix the same problem.
There are many players who have used the same cue since they were lads and those who have sprouted over six feet tall have simply outgrown them. I had a builder come around to my place last summer to lay some slabs, we got talking and he mentioned he played local pool, just bought a new cue but was struggling with it. I asked him how tall he was, six feet five he said and was using a standard length cue. I told him I made cues as a hobby and asked him to try one I had to see if he was more comfortable with it, it was a 61.5 inch 3/4. He cued along my breakfast bar, his bridge arm was almost straight, his bridge length was about ten inches over his thumb and his cue arm two inches behind the vertical. He then tried one of my 57 inch cues and the obvious problem was that his cue arm was forward of vertical at address.
I pointed out what the problem was and why and that he would play much better with the longer one, he said it felt really good and bought it on the spot, texted me a couple of weeks later, was playing better than ever and loving it.Speak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hairComment
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Longer bridge to ball helps sighting for long shots, shorter bridge to ball for close range, watch Ding for a perfect example. A short cue doesn't allow you to do this. When I used a standard length 57 inch cue I only held the cue with my forefinger and thumb, all other fingers were off the butt and dangling like your pinky. Now I hold the cue with the emphasis on my middle finger and all fingers touching the butt.Originally Posted by Danger Steve View PostSpeak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hairComment
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sorry to interrupt but i'm wondering another thing,if your cue goes even slighty offline during the backswing will you feel it in your chin?Originally Posted by vmax View PostComment
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I doubt it, it would have to be some serious movement to notice that with your chin?? It’s not exactly the most sensitive part of the body. You’d probably notice more on your chest, most players tend to tuck the cue into the chest to help keep it straight, you’ll notice Pros on telly always have a shiny patch on there waistcoat from the cue rubbing. You would definitely notice if the cue suddenly moved away from your chest, horizontally and vertically. Well, I would anyway!Originally Posted by kflps View PostLast edited by Danger Steve; 3 July 2020, 10:12 AM.Comment
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I wouldn't as my chin doesn't touch the cue because I'm tall and wear specs so getting down that low would mean looking over the top of my lenses and being able to see sod all. Also I don't like to feel anything dragging on the cue so it's also nowhere near my chest. Once again physique dictating technique, there's no one size fits all in this game, we all do it slightly differently. These are the photos I sent to snookerspex for a perspective on a correct fitment for my glasses, eye dominance and angle of lenses when down in the stance. You can see I sight with my left eye, right elbow not in line but shoulder is so I must not drop the upper arm from the shoulder, straight bridge arm, chin off the cue, you can't see my cue arm from the side (my mate not a good photographer) but it's about two inches behind the vertical, using a sixty two inch cue with twelves inches of cue over my thumb.Originally Posted by kflps View Post
Now I would say my cue fits my physique perfectly and my stance isn't in any way cramped, apart from the fact that arthritis in my neck, back and left hip due to a motorbike accident years ago is now starting to have an effect and I am starting to play with both legs bent now as I can't hold my head up as straight as I used to. I'm sixty two now and things will only get worse for me, photos are two years ago.
https://ibb.co/album/3fNs9r
Last edited by vmax; 3 July 2020, 11:53 AM.Speak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hairComment
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Thanks Vmax, very weird, when i saw him being interviewed his cue was about at the line of the logo on his shirt, Having said that it's quite possible he wasn't holding his cue verticaly though.Originally Posted by vmax View PostSnooker is a game of simple shots played to perfection, Joe DaviesComment
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so any way to detect if the cue is going even slightly offline when playing?i guess you feel the cue wobbling slightly in your grip??also how does it feel when the cue goes perfectly straight back and forth?Originally Posted by Danger Steve View PostComment
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For me, simple answer is no, not when your talking small fractions. There’s the obvious missing a easy straight pot, but you don’t feel it, you just notice because you missed an easy shot.... But again this comes back to concentration and technique, did I miss because I wasn’t concentrating or did I not cue it straight? We all miss easy shots regularly, probably mostly down to concentration, or not concentrating on the basic pre-shot routine. Chris Henry’s training balls look interesting if your looking for some help with straight cueing as they magnify very small flaws and highlight where you might be striking the cue ball incorrectly. Expensive though!Originally Posted by kflps View Post
Can I ask how long you have been playing? What level would you say you are at? How old are you? How tall? What length cue etc??Comment
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