Grip

[Terry Davidson]

particle:

When using the 'ring' grip you should try the following:

ONLY grip the cue with the upper part of the forefinger and the upper part of the thumb. The thumb should be hanging STRAIGHT DOWN and pointed towards the floor with the first knuckle of the thumb up against the forefinger which is curled around the butt.

More importantly the back 3 fingers should be just barely touching the butt of the cue and applying no pressure at all. If you have a tendency to turn the wrist as you bring the back 3 fingers back onto the butt on delivery THEN LEAVE THEM OFF THE BUTT. I have this tendency and the problem is you start closing the back 3 fingers early in the delivery and this will drag the wrist joint out of line and move the butt off the line of aim and also you will start decelerating the cue before the strike, which is a really bad thing to do.

When Hendry was young he took the back 3 fingers right off the cue at the end of the backswing (they were pointed out from his body and parallel to the floor). Using this method delayed those bad back 3 fingers from gripping the cue too early in the delivery.

So next time you're on a table try gripping with just the front of the hand using the thumb and forefinger (no 'air gap' between the butt and the web of skin between thumb and forefinger allowed) and keep the back 3 fingers very loose and just barely touching the butt and keep them that way through the stike, using the thumb and forefing ONLY to stop the cue.

This will have the advantage of keeping you accelerating through the cueball and in addition the butt will not go off line. You can check this easily by trying this grip and watching the chevrons on your shaft. With a grip where the back 3 fingers come back onto the butt tightly most players will turn the wrist in order to give the 3rd and baby finger a better grip on the butt and the chevrons will rotate perhaps 1/8th of a turn to the right. Using just the forefinger and not bringing the back 3 fingers onto the butt will eliminate this very common problem (which I have and can't seem to control unless I use just the thumb and forefinger)

Try it and see if it works for you too

By the way, picking up the cue off the table encourages the back 3 fingers to grip the cue, especially if you hold it as if you were going to hit someone with it. It's a great grip for those players who are not tempted to tighten the grip until well after the strike but for most players the tendency is to grip early and decelerate. Experiment a bit with the forefinger only grip

Terry

[Particle Physics]

Good evening Terry (Canadian time), thanks for your wise advice, once again. How did the nationals go for you? I saw a couple of results on the website, but haven't updated recently.

I agree with you about the back fingers, I'm trying to remove wrist rotation (rotate left on the backstroke and then right on the forestroke), it's a really bad habit and leads to a lot of missed shots; straight cueing is utterly crucial. The early Hendry technique you bring up is very interesting and it seems the only way a rear finger gripper can open the cue sufficient to avoid cue rise and chin scrapes (!). That, and elbow drop for long cueing. I will try and experiment just now and get back.

[Particle Physics]

Good evening Terry (Canadian time), thanks for your wise advice, once again. How did the nationals go for you? I saw a couple of results on the website, but haven't updated recently.

I agree with you about the back fingers, I'm trying to remove wrist rotation [rotate left on the backstroke and then right on the forestroke (viewed from the rear)], it's a really bad habit and leads to a lot of missed shots; straight cueing is utterly crucial. The early Hendry technique you bring up is very interesting and it seems the only way a rear finger gripper can open the cue sufficient to avoid cue rise and chin scrapes (!). That, and elbow drop for long cueing. I will try and experiment just now and get back.

*What a difference thumb knuckle contact makes to steadiness of the shot. I think I've been cueing with a ring which isn't as firm as the one you describe, the thumb knuckle just brushing against the finger. Firmer contact between the thumb and forefinger provides more power too it would seem. A firm ring grip also appears to deter the bad habit of cue slip in the hand, with the cue rotating clockwise as the hand moves to the left with the heel of the hand ending up on the left side of the butt, the cue being pushed out to the right of the shot line on the forward stroke through the ball, and the elbow collapsing inwards.