Loose vs locked wrist

[wayync]

Is there a preferred way? I see alot of pros using either a locked wrist cue action where basically the wrist and forearm are one vertical line during delivery and also a very loose sort of whipping style action where the forearm leads and the hand follows but I've never seen a pro use both. Does anyone have any advice on which one would be better?

[Bigmeek]

One bit of advice is NOT to copy Joe Swail. haha. Don't know how he manages to pot a ball.
I think the locked wrist would be my preference but I suppose it what feels natural and comfortable. If you're starting out you should try and develop good habits from the start. If you're an old timer it may be difficult to try to change.

[snookerdad]

As with a lot of things in snooker, there is no right and wrong way.

If you are an established player and you are cueing straight and getting through the cue-ball nicely, them I wouldn’t recommend changing whatever style you have.

If, however, you have a straight wrist and you are having problems getting through the cue-ball, then a cocked wrist coupled with a dropped elbow (the Del Hill drive) can help.

Tim (World Snooker coach)

[Terry Davidson]

wayne:

I would recommend the locked wrist for you as you didn't learn the loose wrist technique as a youngster and it is very hard to learn and control properly.

You can achieve this very easily by moving the butt just very slightly towards the end of the forefinger (if you are using that forefinger grip). This has the effect of forcing you to turn your wrist slightly outwards away from your hip in the address position.

Of course the absolute best solution for you is to get your butt back here to Alma and we can work some more on getting you to deliver that cue straight!

Terry

[wayync]

But is it true the loose method allows you to generate more power as well as spin? There must be pros and cons for each method

[Acrowot]

As I remember, Joe Davis used to advocate a dropped elbow, when he used to write an article in one of the Sunday papers in the old days.

I think it was in The News of The World.
:snooker:

[Quackers]

The players I have seen who get the most reaction from the cue ball for the lowest speed of cue action all seemed to use the "loose wrist" method. But this introduces major timing issues which are very difficult to master.

[Terry Davidson]

First of all, try it out yourself in practice and see which you prefer and which is the easiest to master and go with that as that will suit your natural technique.

As for the pros/cons - the loose wrist will give you a bit more follow-through however as has been said your timing and coordination needs to be perfect to control it accurately and also ensure there is no sideways movement of the wrist at all. So you are giving up accuracy for more power which is a sort of basic low in snooker, the harder you shoot the less accuracy you have.

Also, for most situations in a frame you don't need a lot of power and shouldn't use a lot of power unless you absolutely have to. As Ray Reardon once said, "if you do have to use a lot of cue power then you've selected the wrong shot or played very back position".

As for the locked wrist, Steve Davis used this in his prime in the 80's and still does today. He prefers to have the much better accuracy over the ability to screw a 10ft shot back 10ft. I recommend the locked wrist for any player who is over about 25 and has already started to play unless they started with the loose wrist and learned how to control it.

So you have to decide for yourself which is the best route for you...more accuracy and higher breaks with more consistency with the locked wrist or else less accuracy but more cueball power (and perhaps control) with the loose wrist.

Also, the loose wrist technique demands very accurate hand-eye coordination which deteriorates with age and it is a proven fact coordination get worse as you get older (did you know in international table tennis you are past your prime at 23 because your hand-eye coordination is not good enough anymore).

So, if your are over 30 years of age and didn't start out as a teenager using the loose wrist technique, I would recommend you use the locked wrist for accuracy and much better consistency.

By the way, you can ALWAYS get more power (even with a locked wrist) simply by increasing your backswing length. You can also get that increased power into the cueball by increasing the follow-through and ensuring your cue keep accelerating THROUGH the cueball and keeps accelerating until your hand hits your chest and you've dropped your elbow (STRAIGHT DOWN).

Try a locked wrist deep screw shot and pull your cue back to where the ferrule gets back to the 'V' of your bridge (see Ronnie (locked wrist), Mark Selby(locked wrist) or John Higgins(locked wrist)). You will be amazed at how much power (and control) you can get.

Terry

[wayync]

Wow thanks for the awesome post Terry. I guess it does have to do alot with age as all the more seasoned pros seem to keep their wrist locked now. The only pro I really still see with a loose wrist is Judd trump and he does it so well. One thing I noticed for softer shots is the loose wrist will give you a larger margin of error.

[cazmac1]

I've just got back from my coaching lesson with del hill today and this was the area that we worked on the most (the del drive), del said I was a natural driver. I did this without knowing it or understanding what I was doing, I could feel the benifit immediately. I have the lesson video and will post on my you tube page shortly.
:snooker: