Cue Action

[maddocks]

Hi,

just a couple of questions regarding cue action. Firstly, prior to addressing the shot i always keep my eyes on the object ball, on the point of contact. I then proceed to place my right leg directly in line under my cue followed by my left leg, slightly in front which is bent. I grip the cue by basically resting the cue in my fingers, gripping only with my fore finger and thumb.

The problem appears upon delivery. As with all cue actions, there is going to be some slight form of twist upon completion of the shot, when the grip closes and contact with your chest is made. However, on power shots, this seems quite apparent.

I'm thinking to myself that maybe i am placing my cueing arm too far away from my body. Would it be in general better to bring my arm in as close to my body as possible, and slightly twist my grip hand outwards so my thumb and fingers point downwards?

The only problem i can see is that my cue would then be touching my hip during feathering. Is it such a bad idea to bring my left leg further forward and bend it quite a bit, followed by bringing my cue arm shoulder up as much as possible. It just seems that my cue arm feels like its going a bit wayward, but bringing it all into my chest would enable it to stay inline?

Thanks in advance,

Tom

[Terry Davidson]

Don't take the twist out of your hips and have the hips too close to the butt as that's a bad idea.

It sounds to me as if you need to do a couple of things. The first is (as you mentioned) to cock the wrist which will stop the wrist twist as you deliver the cue. Remember the primary grip (or more correctly 'hold') on the cue should be with the forefinger and thumb only and with no 'air gap' between the top of the butt and the web between forefinger and thumb.

Secondly, get the chest down to the cue (DO NOT lift the cue into the chest) and that will give you the 4 points of contact on the cue. With the 4 points of contact and a cocked wrist you should be able to deliver the cue straight and eventually CONSISTENTLY straight

Terry

[maddocks]

Thanks for the reply.


I always get my chest on the cue by lowering myself. I just feel maybe bringing my cue horizontally inwards, not vertically, and move the top of my back elbow out, i'll cue straighter. My arm appears to point slightly towards the right.

Ive noticed robertson, who stands quite similar, can get his body (hip) a good 2 inches out the way. Does locking your left arm under your cheek help achieve this, he just seems to get it well out the way, which would allow me to bring my cue in. I think my hip is in the way, causing me to move my arm away from it hence not cueing entirely straight.

Tom

[Terry Davidson]

Tom:

If on the backswing the back of your thumb either brushes or nearly touches the outside of your trousers then your hips are too far into the shot and you should get the trouser pocket at least 2" away from the back of the thumb.

If you try and move your cue horizontally that will force a change in your stance and perhaps a change in your elbow position. It's much better to bend the left leg more and swing the hips over and this will automatically put your chest closer to the cue.

Neil does have his right shoulder pretty tight against his right cheek and this technique has two advantages. First it will help bring the right shoulder even higher (right handed player) and just a touch more towards the centre of the back and usually it aligns the right elbow directly over the butt of the cue when a player uses a wrist cock. It also helps to eliminate head movement, which I guess is 3 things actually.

My own recommendation is the wrist cock should bring the straight bone in the forearm directly over the butt of the cue or even a little inside the butt of the cue (similar to Steve Davis in his prime). This should get rid of any wrist turn in the horizontal plane when delivering the cue.

As you seem to be having a little trouble getting the grip correct try this. Just lay the cue on the table and pick it up as if you were going to hit someone over the head, or in other words just like gripping a hammer to drive a nail. Of course, the hammer grip is too tight to be proper snooker technique and you should relax the grip to a point where you can slide the butt of the cue within the grip very easily and maintain that light pressure all the way through the cueball and ideally until the back of the grip thumb hits your chest.

Terry

[maddocks]

Really appreciate the replies.

Bending my left leg seems ideal, especially considering im 6'4. By moving my hips over, will my right leg still be directly above or slightly bent. Are you saying physically move my hips laterally or a twist onto the left leg (bending it more) and back onto the right leg (straightening it more)?

Tom

[Terry Davidson]

Ideally, twist the hips (actually using the spine) out of the way by bending the left leg a bit more but keep the right leg STRAIGHT.

To describe the 'ideal' set-up for the right side, in the address position the grip hand should be over the laces of your right shoe and right forearm hanging exactly vertical and the hips 2" or more away from the butt of cue (although the butt isn't there until you backswing of course).

Left shoulder over to left cheek, bridge arm almost straight with a slight bend in it. Push the left elbow and forearm into the table and ensure you have somewhere between 9" to 12" from the 'V' of your bridge to the tip of the cue. In this set-up and at your height I would say you will likely be gripping the cue at the very back or with 1" butt out the back of your grip hand. If you have any more then your cue is too long, which a lot of tall players do in the mistaken belief they need a 59" or 60" cue which is not really necessary and will give them less control.

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

I forgot one important point. Once you get into the set-up I've described lay your cue straight along the side of your straight right leg. It should be at a slight angle from the vertical, with the butt around 2" ahead of the tip so the angle would be around 80degrees rather than a straight 90degrees when straight up.

Terry

[maddocks]

Oh right, ive never considered applying some force with my bridge arm. I'll tense both legs then . . . i assume the slightly slanted leg is away from the table then? I'll give it all a try and hopefully get some setup videos, i guess it gets habit with time, a habit worth getting into. By the way, my cue is one ferrule shorter after it snapped off, so im right at the end of the cue.

Thanks a lot!

Tom

[Terry Davidson]

Yes, the top of the leg should be further away from the table than the bottom.

One other point I forgot to mention. DO NOT introduce any discomfort. If you can get down into this position and stay there in the address position for one minute at both the address position AND at the end of the backswing without anything getting stressed and uncomfortable then you should be OK.

However, if something really causes you pain, then make minor adjustments until you get rid of the pain. One thing some players will do is to have their right foot pointed along the line of aim but this puts terrible stress on the knee joint and also the major muscles in the right leg. Point the right foot anywhere up to 45degrees off the line of aim to the outside to relieve this discomfort and stress

Terry

[maddocks]

Right,

i had a go twisting my body and thought it felt a bit awkward, still determined to get my hips out the was i guess, like you suggested, placing my foot at an angle over the line of aim followed by my left foot being parallel to my cue. This should certainly move my body out the way. Ive made an image - Neil's stance isnt perfectly parallel after all, the angle under the cue must be the reason he can get his body so distant out of the way.

Tom

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/1725/setupbi.jpg