Tighter Grip

[tommy_boi]

Was playing some pool tonight, i was finding it hard to pot consistently, sometimes i would get a pot, the next i wouldn't, i had a nice loose grip, just like they tell you to do on here, but i thought to myself i would tighten the grip up, then i started to pot much better, why is this, i thought the more loose the grip was, the better?.

[deathuser]

IMO, not too loose..the grip should be more like how u would grab ur tv remote control. Just nice. Just let cue flow thru.

[tommy_boi]

Yeah, that is how i normally have it, but when i got hold of the cue tighter, my pots started going in.

[Sidd]

Now this is very tricky. The grip should always be loose no doubt but then not as loose as sloppy so one has to be careful of that. However, loose is preached so much because one has a tendency of unintensionally gripping tight. Secondly sometimes psyche plays her games upon us all the time so lets not be tricked by that. It might have seemed as griping tightly is making you pot more but it isnt so trust me. The TV remote level grip is a good indicator.

[nrage]

When I had some coaching from Terry he showed me the grip pressure he recommends. That is to take the cue in your grip hand, and with your bridge hand slide the cue in the grip. The cue should slide easily (except this may be difficult if it's hot and/or the cue is covered in varnish - for example).

What I got from this is that the grip is less about applying "pressure" and more about forming a cradle for the cue to rest in. When you get it right there are no gaps anywhere, but as you're not actively squeezing the cue you won't prevent it from sliding if sufficient force is applied.

If you think about it, the 'grip' only needs enough friction to start the cue moving from address to the end of the back swing and then from the end of the back swing to completion of delivery. As this motion is supposed to be as gradual and smooth as possible, very little friction is required. Compare that to the friction required to halt all that motion at the completion of the shot.. this is why everyone unconsciously tightens the grip at that point. The important thing to note is that the grip only tightens at the end, after you strike the white.

[Terry Davidson]

tommy:

If a person could start out with a tighter grip AND NOT INCREASE THE PRESSURE OF THAT TIGHTER GRIP UNTIL AFTER THE CUEBALL HAS BEEN STRUCK then that would be OK.

The problem is there just aren't that many players who can do that and most players who use a tighter grip will increase the pressure and will slow down the cue before it hits the cueball, or in other words decelerate through the cueball, which is a very bad thing and which will undoubtedly inject some body movement into the delivery and will take the butt of the cue off-line as the back 2 fingers come onto the cue tighter which encourages the wrist to turn inwards to the body.

The grip should start out loose in order to make it tougher to tighten those back 2 fingers prematurely but if you are able to control that unconciously and NOT tighten those back 2 fingers before the strike then you would be fine, but you would also be a very rare player

Terry

[tommy_boi]

Terry

I know it isn't the correct way to play, but for some reason it seems to help me, so if i am potting better with a tight grip than a loose grip, surely the tighter grip is working better for me, and why would i be a very rare player, is that cause most if not all other players, play with loose grip, i just see it as what is working and what is not, i was on the snooker table yesterday and lined some long straight shots up, used the loose grip and was quite a way off, i then used the tight grip and then i atleast hit the jaw of the pocket or potted the ball.

Thanks.

[Sam-Romford]

Tommy you are right, but so is Terry its just a misunderstanding

this video helped me out big time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojagkyrXQE0

i had exactly the same problem with loose grip (too loose) then a slightly tighter grip helps me cue straight
hope it helps

[Terry Davidson]

tommy:

My comment meant it is a rare player who can play without tightening the grip on delivery and if a player starts out with a tighter grip then he will have a tendency to decelerate through the cueball and also take the cue butt off-line.

But I think Sam might have it correct as perhaps your grip was too loose to begin with and you lacked control of the cue on delivery although there are a few definitions posted here in coaching strings which tell a player exactly what grip pressure it the best.

However, all that said, if YOU feel YOU play better with a tighter grip (even a white-knuckle one) then you should go with it as it what YOU feel is right for YOU that YOU have to use. Without seeing you actually play I cannot tell what you mean by 'loose' or 'tight'.

Terry

[Kevin DeRoo]

tommy:

My comment meant it is a rare player who can play without tightening the grip on delivery and if a player starts out with a tighter grip then he will have a tendency to decelerate through the cueball and also take the cue butt off-line.

But I think Sam might have it correct as perhaps your grip was too loose to begin with and you lacked control of the cue on delivery although there are a few definitions posted here in coaching strings which tell a player exactly what grip pressure it the best.

However, all that said, if YOU feel YOU play better with a tighter grip (even a white-knuckle one) then you should go with it as it what YOU feel is right for YOU that YOU have to use. Without seeing you actually play I cannot tell what you mean by 'loose' or 'tight'.

Terry

Excellent information Terry
One thing I would like to add is that I have found that cue butts with a higher gloss finish enable the player to maintain
a lighter grip even at impact , because of the clinging effect the finish has to the skin.
Kevin

[tommy_boi]

Terry

What do you mean by this (although there are a few definitions posted here in coaching strings which tell a player exactly what grip pressure it the best.)

Thanks.

[Terry Davidson]

tommy_boi:

There is a coaching forum as part of this site and if you go there and check it out it will have the answers to all your questions and in fact is quite a good read for those wanting to improve their technique. In particular on the grip, both nrage and myself have posted a method (borrowed from Steve Davis who came up with it initially) where a player can determine the exact grip pressure required

Terry

[Sidd]

tommy_boi:

There is a coaching forum as part of this site and if you go there and check it out it will have the answers to all your questions and in fact is quite a good read for those wanting to improve their technique. In particular on the grip, both nrage and myself have posted a method (borrowed from Steve Davis who came up with it initially) where a player can determine the exact grip pressure required

Terry

I did not know that Terry. How do i go there please?

[Terry Davidson]

tommy_boi & Sidd:

I am absolutely AMAZED!!! Here is an old dinosaur giving computer literacy coaching to a couple of younger guys. I thought it was the younger generation who was supposed to be computer literate!

So both of you have had all this snooker coaching horsepower at your fingertips and lacked the knowledge to get to it...AMAZING (just taking the pee boys)

Anyway...when you log into the site, go to the top and hit 'Forum' which is left of the 'Home' tab you probably come up in. When you get to the Forum page scroll down to the link for 'Coaching Questions' and you will find at least 55 pages of string titles and probably a couple of thousand posts regarding mostly snooker technique.

As I figure it will take at least a couple of weeks of 8hr days for you two to read all that stuff I expect to not hear from either of you for at least 2 weeks or more.

Terry

[Sidd]

Ah that. Well I know about it and have been posting threads and reading yours and others quite frequently and regularly dear. I thought you were referring to something else my bad...!

And yes you are right it has tons of advice and technique related material no doubt about that.