Holding the cue butt

[loopy2]

I hold the cue with the flat of the butt resting on the last 3 fingers.
Would this be considered the correct or wrong way?
Is there a correct position?
What position do you have the flat part positioned?

[CoolBlue]

I hold the cue with the flat of the butt resting on the last 3 fingers.
Would this be considered the correct or wrong way?
Is there a correct position?
What position do you have the flat part positioned?

There might be a coach or textbook somewhere that says I'm incorrect... But if it works for you, then keep your own individual style...

You could try holding the flat up, or to the sides and see if that helps or ruins your game... experiment, but not to the detriment of your game and the enjoyment you have out of playing...

Happy days

[Wimm]

I was holding my cue like you untill a few weeks ago! You will notice that with this grip you are going to roll the cue during your cue action! My snooker coach (ex-coach of Bjorn Haneveer) told me it would be better to change my grip. In the beginning it feels pretty akward, but you will get used to it....

[damienlch]

but why do u feel u need to change the way u hold the butt? are ur shots not coming out right? ... if so, perhaps u can experiment on your grip... maybe holding it too tight or too loose when following thru?... or perhaps u can try holding the cue further up or down...

whether the fingers are on the flat side or whether flat side is facing up or down shouldn't matter much... but i tend to hold it facing up just for consistency's sake...

[Acrowot]

Just hold it wherever feels right for you. It is you that is taking the shots ....... lol.
:snooker:

[loopy2]

It is not that I need to change my grip. Analyzing myself, stance, grip and action etc. I just wondered if I was holding the cue in the correct way. would the flat of the cue on my fingers alter the plane of the cue going back or forwards. I personaly find with the flat down I get more grip to start the forward motion.

[Acrowot]

Did not take you long to respond. loopy.
You sleeping on the PC? ............ lol
:snooker:

[loopy2]

Watching Chelsea v Villa on half screen and flicking between pages on IE.

[CoolBlue]

Watching Chelsea v Villa on half screen and flicking between pages on IE.

Chelski gonna nick it?

[loopy2]

Totaly agree.

[davipp]

Hi Loopy2, I think we need to know why cue makers have the flat on the butt in the first place. Is it just a traditional thing or is there a purpose for it. IMO I believe it is there to assist in the follow through, so therefore it should be facing up. But each to their own.

[Luke Hooper]

I remember someone telling me when I first started that the flat end of the butt was used in the older days of snooker when rests weren't available and apparently people used to hold the tip end of cue and used the butt end to reach the ball and hit the cue all and the flat edge was so that it would stay on the baize easier

Now I for one personally cannot believe that however now you've just said it I haven't even thought about it since that day..

When I went to john parris I too was told (by another customer) thT I was holding the cue wrong when I was practisinh on the table And that you should hold the flat edge up.

I asked john about this and he said it doesn't really matter however the cue
aker will always choose the best part of the cue ( with equal flex left and right ) as the top part and will put that on the flat edge oftheir cue.. And also they will decorate the top edge of the cue.. So all in all it is more popular/made so that the butt is flat edge up

hope that helps? Perhaps someone will correct me but I'm just going by what I've been told in the past..

[Terry Davidson]

The flat part of the butt was there as originally in table croquet that was what the ball was pushed with.

Nowadays, at least with ash, cuemaker will make the flat part so when it's straight up the arrows on the ash should also be straight up and you will be cueing with the strength of the grain side to side rather than up and down (not really important unless you have a VERY whippy ash cue).

So, either straight up or straight down is correct as far as the grain goes but I don't think it really matters as long as you hold the cue the same way for all shots. Even off the cushion you should rotate the cue until you get the arrows to where you normally have them as then you will be using the same part of the tip all the time, which is more important

Terry

[loopy2]

Terry. You say the makers place the chevrons,( I have never really took any notice of the chevrons,) and butt flat face up. So I would guess that is how we are expected to grip the cue. Do your coaching courses tell the same ?

[RGCirencester]

Terry. You say the makers place the chevrons,( I have never really took any notice of the chevrons,) and butt flat face up. So I would guess that is how we are expected to grip the cue. Do your coaching courses tell the same ?

Most people will hold the cue with the chevrons pointing upwards but by know means is this what you have to do.
John Higgins for instance has always had a cue with the chevrons running the opposite way from normal, so they are pointing downwards towards the flat. He has always had it this way and so any new cues he has made are made this way.
Does that put him at a disadvantage from other snooker players? Well his world titles say no

Don't worry so much about it.