Where do you grip your cue butt?

[sootyvrs]

Just curious to see where everyone grips their cue during a normal shot where you can get your bridge hand on the table.

Please also give details of how long your cue is and where the balance point is which will give details of how close your grip is to the balance point.

I'll start

I'm 5ft 8" tall

UK 8 ball Pool
17oz
56" length
17" Balance point
2" grip from end of butt

Snooker (old spec as no longer play snooker)
16oz
55" length
14" Balance Point
Grip at very end of cue

[nrage]

PLAYER
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1) Height: 69.0" (5'9")
2) Arm-span: 70.0"

CUE
---
3) Cue-tip-width: 9.5mm
4) Cue-butt-width: 29.5mm (1.16")
5) Cue-length: 57"
6) Balance point: 19.0"
7) Weight: 18.2oz

POSITION
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8) Bridge-length: 11.5"
9) Bridge to grip: 40.0"

If you add it all up.. 11.5 (bridge) + 40 (to grip) + 4 (hand) = 55.5" meaning I have 1.5 inches out the back of my hand.

[nrage]

Here is how to measure the 9 values I have above:

How to measure
--------------
1) Stand up against a wall, back straight, arms at sides. Have someone make a mark on the wall level with the top of your head.
2) Stand with both arms out at 90 degrees to the floor, directly out to the side not toward the front or back. Have someone measure the distance between finger tips.
3) Measure the distance across the cue tip with a small ruler.
4) Measure the distance across the cue butt with a small ruler.
5) Measure the distance from cue tip to butt with a tape measure.
6) Hold out one finger horizontally, place the cue across the finger (also horizontally), move it until it balances (horizontally). Measure the distance from the butt to the point where it rests on your finger.
7) Weight the cue on kitchen or bathroom scales
8) Place the white on the brown spot and cue up to it. Measure the distance between the cue tip and where it touches the bridge.
9) Cue up to the white on the brown spot with your normal bridge, the most level cue you can manage and the tip as close to the white as possible. Have a friend stand side on and ask them to adjust your grip hand until the angle between the forearm and cue is 90 degrees. Measure the distance from the butt to the 1st finger and thumb position, subtract this from the total cue length then subtract the bridge length to get the distance between your bridge and grip.

[Terry Davidson]

I'm 5ft, 11.75" and use a 57" cue balanced at 17". I grip the cue with about 1inch hanging out the back of my hand however I notice it changes quite a lot depending on the shot. So anywhere from the very back of the butt to somewhere around 3inches handing out the back.

nrage:

You'll be driving these mad with some of these measurements, but I agree with you if someone wants to really find out what's the best cue length and grip spot for themselves then they should do them all

Terry

[tommygunner1309]

If I gave these measurements to a beginner, he would take up basketball. I think people make the game more complicated with all this theory, and the average player gets confused and bewildered, and just doesn't have the interest to play. This may be alright for the pro players but with beginners I teach them to grip the butt with the upper arm straight and the forearm pointing down the leg to the arch of the foot, the hand being two to three inches away from the hip.

[Theguywithaplan]

I'm 5ft, 11.75" I use a 58.5" cue and hold it right at the end.

[ace man]

Don't really know, I suppose on average about 5cm will be hanging out at the back, maybe more, kind of like Mark King, but it really depends on the shot. My height is 1m 78cm.

[nrage]

If I gave these measurements to a beginner, he would take up basketball. I think people make the game more complicated with all this theory, and the average player gets confused and bewildered, and just doesn't have the interest to play. This may be alright for the pro players but with beginners I teach them to grip the butt with the upper arm straight and the forearm pointing down the leg to the arch of the foot, the hand being two to three inches away from the hip.

Sure. The detail was only for those interested, or for a coach to know/understand, not for a beginner player. The key is how you, as a coach, get the important points across - like, as you say, the stance and upper arm.

[tommygunner1309]

Yes that is perfectly true. Generally I find that once in position (forearm straight down leg, cue tip approx 12 inches from V on bridgehand) I put a piece of masking tape round the butt, and mark the cue with a pen (at the V). This way they should be consistent with their grip. Then its just a case of tweaking. Seems to work. I had a 15 year come to me who had never picked up a cue. He is now a regular 40 -50 break player. (He wants me to play him for a tenner, hahaha but then I would lose half of my fee)

[nrage]

Yes that is perfectly true. Generally I find that once in position (forearm straight down leg, cue tip approx 12 inches from V on bridgehand) I put a piece of masking tape round the butt, and mark the cue with a pen (at the V). This way they should be consistent with their grip. Then its just a case of tweaking. Seems to work. I had a 15 year come to me who had never picked up a cue. He is now a regular 40 -50 break player. (He wants me to play him for a tenner, hahaha but then I would lose half of my fee)

I used tape on the grip and a small square of tape on the shaft (instead of pencil, didn't want to draw on the cue) myself for a while to learn my own personal position.

[147alltheway]

I'm 5'11", using 57.1/4" long cue. on majority of shots I grip the butt just above flat ( 2" from bottom) whilst on long power shots I tend slide my hand right down the butt and on those tight cushions shots I grip it at 10"-12" from bottom