Very little has been written about the grip hand, perhaps because it’s almost always behind your body, your line of aim, and the spot where most people assume the game is being played—on the table. Nevertheless, even tiny problems with your back hand and arm can translate to critical errors up front. Consider bowling. So much depends on the movement and proper coordination of the back arm as it swings back from the body and then comes forward to release the bowling ball.
Now visualize your swinging arm in the same way, holding a cue instead of a ball.
Your back arm and hand are what really control your cue on every shot.
Unfortunately, when players do realize that control lies with the back hand, they tend to start overcontrolling, which becomes problematic. The solution is compro-mise. Develop solid fundamental skills in handling your cue properly, then let the cue stick do the work. This means, first and foremost, ease up on your grip. Frankly, we prefer not to use the word “grip.” People picture a death grip or vice grip and feel they need to strangle their cue. Wrong. A better word than “grip” is “hold.”
Much has been written on where to hold the cue, mostly focusing on finding the balance point of your cue stick, then moving the hand back 5 to 6 inches (about 12 to 15 cm) or more if you’re a taller player. Shorter players with long arms will tell Figure . Keeping the back arm in line with the elbow ensures a smooth swing.
Figure . Stretching to reach a shot with one leg behind you provides a comfortable alternative stance for hard-to-reach shots.
Figure . Another stance alternative is one leg on the table. (But remember, in the rules of pool,
you this hold doesn’t work.
In fact, there’s no steadfast rule for a spot to hold your cue behind the balance point. Instead, focus on the placement of your swinging arm in relation to the cue and the floor. The upper part of your arm, from your shoulder to your elbow, should be parallel to the floor. The lower part of your arm should be closer to the balance point, go ahead. If you don’t know where the balance point of your cue is and feel that you need a reference point to start with, you can find the point a few inches from the bottom of the wrap or 8 inches (20 cm) above the butt. Hold the cue lightly with your index finger and thumb until, like a scale, the cue stick tips neither to one side nor the other.
On finesse shots, or shots in which the cue ball and object ball are very close together, you’ll be using a shorter bridge, in which case you’ll need to move your grip hand closer to the joint of the cue to maintain your parallel position. In con-trast, when your bridge hand is farther from the cue tip, your back hand moves backward, accordingly (see figure 1.9).
To hold the cue properly, use your two middle fingers and your thumb. Then wrap your index and little fingers around the cue. Your cue should rest gently in your grip hand, and your hand should turn neither inward nor outward but rather hang relaxed and in line with your arm from your elbow down. Imagine you’re hold-ing a cream puff that, if squeezed too hard, will ooze out fillhold-ing. A light hold on the cue is crucial for a straight, smooth follow-through; this point can’t be emphasized enough. Just check out the pro golf tour, where you’ll see few calluses on players’
hands despite the rigors of swinging a club at 120 miles per hour. A loose hold gives the professional golfer incredible results. What does that tell you? In the same way, a relaxed hold on your cue can give you the best results.
Here’s a test to check if you’re holding your cue stick too tightly. Lay your bridge hand down in an open bridge on the table. If you can lift the front of the cue stick off of your bridge hand, using your grip hand, you’re gripping too tight. Figure 1.10 (page 16) demonstrates this exercise. It might not be easy to stay loose initially, especially in difficult or tense shot and game situations. But remain steadfast in your resolve and work toward a loose grip.
A simple way to practice loosening your grip is to hold a couple of pieces of chalk along with your cue stick. Shoot several shots holding both the cue and the chalk and you’ll soon realize that holding onto the chalk with the cue in your hand forces you to relax your grip hand more. You still have control over your cue with the relaxed hold (see figure 1.11, page 16).
Figure . The ideal swinging position of the arm.
Figure . (a) Player is using a shorter bridge with the grip hand closer to the joint of the cue.
(b) When the bridge hand moves farther from the cue ball, the grip hand moves back accordingly.
a
b
Often, the fingers and thumb surrounding the cue aren’t the only problem areas in a player’s grip. The wrist should also be relaxed. In other words, your entire arm, from elbow to fingers, should move freely and naturally. If you’re forcing your arm to move, or forcing everything into a straight line, you’re exerting force that just isn’t needed, and that actually works against the power of your stroke.
Figure . Use chalk cubes to determine just how loose your grip should be.
Figure .0 Is your grip too tight? If you can lift your cue off the table in this position, you need to loosen your hold on your cue.
All that said, there’s increasing evidence that top players do vary their grip pressure slightly, depending on the shot they’re taking. Different grip pressures can be applied strategically to shots to elicit different responses from the cue ball. If, for example, you intend to move the cue ball a short distance after contacting an object ball, slightly tighten your grip on the cue. This restricts wrist action and kills some of the roll of the cue ball. But be careful. Gripping too tight can make you anxious about the shot. Experiment with varying your grip pressure until you’re comfortable with it, and watch the different cue ball reactions available to you from the same arm swing with just a slight variance in grip pressure.
The key to using grip pressure is to maintain the same pressure on the cue throughout the shot. If you tighten up more on your follow-through, you’re in essence regripping the cue and changing the kinetics of the small muscles in your hand and wrist. This allows anxiety to enter the shot sequence. It also has a tendency to affect timing, preventing you from hitting the cue ball at precisely the right time, which can have a profound effect on your shot.
Bridges
Your bridge hand serves as a foundation on which to guide and support the front end of your cue stick. Most miscues are caused by a faulty bridge (or lack of chalk) so don’t neglect building a bridge you can depend on to keep your cue moving straight through each shot.
Traditionally, the first bridge taught to students by instructors has been the closed bridge, with variations of the open bridge reserved strictly for cue ball posi-tions on, or close to, the table rail. New theories have replaced tradition in recent years, and many professional players are leaning toward the open bridge for more of their shots (see figure 1.12).
The reasons for this choice are few but convincing. First, it’s easier to sight the shot without the distraction of an impeding knuckle, which is raised in the closed bridge. Second, when a player reaches a certain skill level, the closed bridge is no longer needed as a guide; rather, the emphasis in aiming and delivery is placed on the swinging arm. In the past, players typically first made an open bridge before they learned the closed bridge from a local pro or teacher. Today’s players learn the closed bridge, often switching to the open bridge when they’re comfortable with their swing and delivery of the cue through the shot. Snooker players, who are shooting with smaller millimeter shafts at smaller balls into smaller pockets, almost always use the open bridge. (This makes a good case for the open bridge because the game of snooker requires great control and accuracy.)
Closed bridges might still be preferred in tight situations, when the cue ball and object ball are close together, or in certain finesse shots requiring extreme spin. A closed bridge is useful in
teach-ing amateurs to stay down if they’re having problems follow-ing through. On the other hand, a new player can begin to rely heavily on the closed bridge, and in fact will often move the hand during execution of a shot in a feeble attempt to steer the cue stick from the front.
This bad habit is more easily avoided and corrected with an open bridge. By not allowing so much control in front, you won’t attempt to steer your cue with your bridge hand.
Your best bet? Learn to execute shots with all of bridges we show you here, then experi-ment with which works best for each of your typical shot situations. Being able to bridge in each of the ways shown gives you the most flexibility for executing any shot.
Figure . In the open bridge, the cue stick rests on top of the bridge hand, guided by the thumb and forefinger.