any coaching advice on these clips much appreciated

[Terry Davidson]

snooks:

Stick with the 59" cue as I thing anything over that length would be going a bit overboard. It's generally thought the more compact the cue action the better.

On the cue height thing...if you think about it precisely, unless you are leaning over the table with your grip over the bed of the table, the cue MUST be on a slight incline because of the height of the cushion. With the butt around 1" above the cushion (at a guess) I would say this is around 10degrees or so. With your technique have the butt 3-4" above the cushion it means your cue is around 20degrees for a slope (or plane) and therefore you are striking the cueball at a more downward angle than, for instance, the pros do.

It means that with any unintentional side, or even intentional side, you will be getting a slight masse effect which for sure will take the cueball off-line more than if you had your cue on a lower plane. I think you should now work on getting down into the shot more by widening your stance just a bit, maybe 3" and bending the right leg just a touch more to get down another 2" or so with the chest and right hip on your bent leg.

Terry

[kevy62]

one more thing. Does anyone who has watched some of the clips think that my cue is long enough for me?

Hi there, actually I only watched one video & that's the first thing I thought.. you seem to be gripping your cue well off the end of the butt for every shot? this has got to be unstable to a degree .

I would have thought someone else would have commented on this by now.
I normally shorten up in amongst the balls to reduce the amount of follow through needed on the shot, then lengthen the butt if more power is needed.

So yes I do think your cue seem just a bit short for you. cheers, Kevin.

[gem]

Hi there, actually I only watched one video & that's the first thing I thought.. you seem to be gripping your cue well off the end of the butt for every shot? this has got to be unstable to a degree .

I would have thought someone else would have commented on this by now.
I normally shorten up in amongst the balls to reduce the amount of follow through needed on the shot, then lengthen the butt if more power is needed.

So yes I do think your cue seem just a bit short for you. cheers, Kevin.

This is what I do as well. I use the full length (59 1/2") on longer shots and grip up slightly when in the pack.
I have my cue balanced between 18-19" which allows it to still feel fine when holding up.

[jim evans]

gem n kev it would help if you both stated how tall in comparison,hi james nice to see a good cueist with a intact cue lol

[gem]

gem n kev it would help if you both stated how tall in comparison,hi james nice to see a good cueist with a intact cue lol

Hi Jim.
I am just under 6'3" but have an armspan around 6'7". This means longer cues suit me fine. My game improved when I went from standard (57-58") length cues to longer ones and have settled at 59 1/2".

[Terry Davidson]

snooks:

Just wanted to have you check something as a 59" cue is rather long and one of the determining factors is how much cue is hanging past the 'V' of your bridge. In the video I just re-checked it looked a little long when you had a hand-on-the-table shot.

Place the cueball on the brown spot (like you're going to shoot the spots) and get down into the address position and have a look and see where the 'V' of the bridge is in relation to the line of the 'D'. It should be just behind the line about 1" or so as for your height you should have about 11" or so hanging out there.

I did also re-check and see you grip the cue at the back and your bridge forearm is fairly straight, which is fine. This might mean you are standing a little bit too far back from the shot though and perhaps you could try bending the bridge forearm just a little bit more and also moving your bridge a little closer to the cueball, but at the same time you should compensate at the back of the cue by moving the grip up the butt by the same distance.

What I can't figure out is I'm 6ft and use a 57" cue which I normally grip in the same place as you do and I have long arms but I think I prefer a more compact cue action. Just experiment with it for awhile and see if it feels any better...if it doesn't then revert to your present style

Terry

[snooks1000]

I chop and change things regularly Terry, and occasionally play with a shorter bridge and bring my grip up the cue, as Nigel Bond suggested to me last summer. My problem is i never have enough faith or confidence to stick to one thing for any length of time. I know this isn't a good thing but I've always been the same. Believe me, if something can be changed in an aspect of technique I've done it.

[Terry Davidson]

snooks:

So if you just try out recommendations and then give up on them and change thing why are you seeking any coaching because all you're doing is frustrating anyone who gives you advice by ignoring that advise.

Don't you think if Nigel Bond, who is a good coach, and myself give you the same advice that it might be worth something?

Why did you even bother to post your videos if you're just going to ignore any advice you get and keep experimenting?

Terry

[pottr]

I think you have far too many thoughts swimming around in your head over your technique.

Your action doesn't look like it belongs to you, it looks particularly forced and your last comment has probably explained why. I gather you've taken points from many coaches and pros you've watched and ended up with a muddled collection from columns A, B and Q.

Post a video of yourself just walking around the table and slotting shots without so much focus. I think that's the only way a coach could spot the real potential in your action.

[snooks1000]

Interesting point. Thanks for your reply. I think theres definately some truth in what you're saying and i might just give that a go so as to compare the clips.

[pottr]

I'd be interested to see it. After all you get through the ball pretty well in fairness. I don't mean play at a suicidal pace, just with a clear head.

I think us amatueurs, even decent amatuers are sometimes guilty of trying to fine tune our proverbial Ford Mondeo actions using the same tuning fork and measurements required for the O' Sullivan type Ferrari cue action.

[snooks1000]

Terry, in my defence i haven't ignored anyones advice. I try and take everything on board and most of the swapping and changing of technique I've done off my own accord. I had a couple of hours with Nigel in the summer and i stuck with what he showed me for a good while but (rightly or wrongly) didn't feel it was doing much good and was getting aching pains in my neck after practice. I'll happily try anything to do with technique that someone more knowledgable than myself suggests

[snooks1000]

just had a couple of hours in the club and if I'm honest, I'm just a mess technique wise. Got myself into a right muddle haha. May be a case of going back to basics

[mattyshinobi22]

anything that doesnt feel natural will feel uncomfortable, but just gotta stick with it. I remember going to coach when i used to cue like ray reardon, but my arm was alot worse. after painfully tucking my arm in and learning to have my arm virtical, i do it now without thinking. i cant believe i used to cue with my arm overally to the right.

the strain i endured with it was bad i kept wanting to go back to how i normally cued, but knew it was wrong hindering my improvement. but the more you do something, the more you will get used to it and it will become natural in time.

[Terry Davidson]

First of all, I'm very surprised Nigel would have you doing something that was uncomfortable for you, as COMFORT is the very first rule of the snooker technique.

Secondly, I agree with you and as you've done so much fooling around, go right back to basics. Put a couple of light pencil marks on your shaft at 10" and 12" from the top of the ferrule, get down into the address position with the bridge arm almost straight and ensure the 'V' of your bridge is between the two pencil marks.

Once you have adjusted that, place a piece of electrical tape where the front of your grip is on the cue when in the address position with a hand-on-the-table shot. (This is the Terry Griffiths method for returning to the basics).

After that, there are only 4 things to remember and practice when practicing solo:
1. Absolutely no upper body movement from when the bridge hand hits the table until AFTER the cue has been delivered and the grip hand has hit the chest. Don't even breathe in or out, take a deep breath when standing behind the shot and then exhale it as you drop into the shot and don't breathe in (or the reverse works too). Remember to drop the head STRAIGHT DOWN on the line of aim of the cue and keep your eyes on the object ball as you drop down.
2. Nice loose grip, however you want to configure it (1,2 3 or 4 fingers) ensuring the cue is just laying in the bed of the fingers and with the primary hold on the butt being between the top of the forefinger and the top of the thumb (some players prefer the second finger for the primary hold, i.e. - Ronnie)
3. Slow backswing, keeping it absolutely straight then rear pause if you have one.
4. Start the delivery, accelerating SMOOTHLY and not tightening the grip and go through the cueball, keeping the acceleration going until the hand hits the chest. You should try and keep the grip nice and relaxed until the cueball has been struck, or even a little after that even but a longer backswing helps with this.

If you do just these 4 things consistently you WILL improve. Everything else is just noise and of secondary importance and really not to be worried about as every player will have a slightly different stance, grip, feather number and length, backswing length, etc. etc.

Most important...DRIVE THROUGH THE CUEBALL!!!

Terry