Body Shape

[Particle Physics]

No, not how tall you are and how much you weigh, but how one shapes up for the shot. I've noticed that Ronnie is chest over the line of the shot. Others, like Judd, appear to be shoulder over the shot. Shoulder over the shot makes sense for power and long potting, but chest over the shot makes sense to me for break building. When I go chest over the shot, with my right nipple touching the cue, I've noticed that I seem to see more of the ball, by that I mean that I'm seeing the ball symetrically, sighting with both eyes, so the ball appears to be fuller. The greatest players of all time (Ronnie, Davis, Hendry) are all said to sight symetrically, so this is something I'm trying to have a go at. Having always been right eye dominant, this isn't easy to get used to, I have to make a conscious effort to stare at the ball with my left eye, but it can be done. The other route is cue down one side of the chin and using the naturally favoured eye. However, when the chest is over the ball, the shoulder to cue hand line is now kinked. By this I mean that the upper arm and lower arm are no longer in the same plane, with the upper arm no longer in line with the cue and shot, but protruding by virtue of the shoulder being to the right of the cue line. This makes putting the cue through straight a wee bit more difficult, whereas with shoulder over the cue, the line is natural and straight, so straight cueing is easier. I guess it's horses for courses again, and it comes down to personal preference.

Any thoughts gents?

[Terry Davidson]

The only thing that really matters is if you adopt a set-up which will allow you to deliver the cue consitently straight. As a coach the most simple way to achieve this is to have the shoulder and elbow directly over the butt of the cue.

However, in saying that there are all different kinds of physique out there and each individual player must find the set-up that works for him and then practice like crazy. I would say that most players will develop a set-up with the shoulder over the cue, probably 90% and then 10% or so of players will need to adapt that a bit for their own particular physique.

For instance, there is no real reason Mark Williams needs to have his elbow way out to his left but he probably learned to play that way as a kid and it now seems natural to him and also he learned how to deliver the cue straight using that set-up.

Ray Reardon on the other hand had crushed his collarbone as a younger man in a mining accident and it was never set properly since there wasn't a hospital or doctor around. This meant when he threw his elbow out his shoulder socket sort of 'clicked' into place and wouldn't move no matter what he did or how much power he used. I think this was an advantage for him however I don't see a lot of players thinking of breaking their collarbones to achieve that stillness in the shoulder

Terry

[Particle Physics]

Terry, I heard that RR used a grip with the cue more into the palm, as well as having his forearm tilting over. Someone told me that Willie Thorne also used a similar grip. True?

I've read that one should adopt a grip with the V just touching the centre of the butt. I also read that the cue should be gripped with the inside of the thumb and the inside of the index finger with neither being allowed to move much through the shot, and the last three fingers doing the work. However, a pool playing friend described this as 'pinching'. I'm not sure what he meant, as I don't pinch the cue with my thumb and index finger through the shot, but some may I guess? What are you thoughts on grip sir?

[Terry Davidson]

Ronnie normally grips the cue with his middle two fingers. The grip you describe above is considered the 'ideal' grip and is taught by most coaches, however the grip can be of any configuration.

The true secret of the grip is to try and keep it 'firm, but not too firm' and also to keep the grip (the back of the grip actually) from re-gripping the butt too early in the stroke as this will take the butt off the intended line of aim

Terry