Helped needed with cue follow through

[robertmac]

just cue through the ball. When the ball has left the cue, see how far your cue extends past where the white started its journey. You should be looking for a minimum of about 6 Inches.

I am looking at how to fix my cue action so that I dont jab at the
cue ball and I follow through instead.

I do need to review how close to the butt end I hold my cue as well
as how close my bridge hand is to the cue ball.

Any tips ?

Thanks

[DeanH]

Think the other way, many coaches talk about driving the cue hand into the chest so this would be the point that the cue & cue hand would stop.
The bridge hand, specifically the V where the cue rests should be between 8" and 12" away from the cue ball.
I am sure you will get a few repleis from the superb coaches on this site, but can I say that there is nothing better that physically seeing a coach as then they can see the "whole" of your stance/address/delivery.

[robertmac]

Thanks for the reply and I would love to see a snooker coach
but in Canada where I live the closest one would be Terry
and he is about a 5 hour drive not to mention the cost.

[SouthPaw]

I find imagining i'm striking all the way to the object ball helps to follow through, once you touch your chest job done then watch the object ball sail into the pocket

[j6uk]

You could try visualizing it another way.. Its about timing right?! To get max effect from little effort. This resonates through most sports. Timing is being able to capture that fastest moment say, from A (start) to B (finish) and making contact with whatever your hitting, a football, cue ball, tennis ball or even a face in boxing, ooch.
So in snooker say, from your back swing being (point A) you accelerate to max speed (make contact) and then abruptly stop close to or at the chest (Point B) then, the follow through after contact could be roughly 3-6"
Oh and work 8 sleep 8 practice 8 :snooker:

[robertmac]

Thanks all. I will start trying your suggestions when I play next.

[itsnoteasy]

Tension in the arm can cause the jabbing type of cue action, also if your arm is to far forward from the vertical it wont leave enough room for a decent follow through, but i would try and relax the arm let things flow rather than hitting at the ball, you should find this will release the arm and allow a little elbow drop which also helps the follow through extend a little. I dont think a coach will be long to give you the definitive answer, a video uploaded of you cueing would let them point you in the proper direction,stick at it, it will come.
Also do search on here Terry(and others) has written some great stuff about how to hit through the cue ball, well worth a read.

[Sidd]

While in practice ask a friend to watch you play a simple shot. This is how:

Place a brown and pot it with a straight CB but place another ball with the cue ball full ball on the side so that you can see after the shot where the cue ball was placed. Then take the shot but at end of delivery do not move and let the cue remian in the position where it finished ... and ask your friend to roughly measure the distance your cue has travelled after the contact with CB... this can be repeated with different shots and angular pots etc then you can be sure if you are following through or not... secondly while you complete the shot just check where the grip hand finished... if your cue tip is 4-6 inches from the CB position and your grip hand finished at the chest... you are following through just ok and if that is the case your problem might lie in the jabbing you mentioned so try to relax the cueing arm and no pressure on the grip throughout the stroke is the key to a nice smooth cue action...!!!

hope this helps.

[mythman69]

great advice . . .

Thanks!

[Terry Davidson]

robertmac:

It's all been said above. This is one of my consistent problems and I use the 'imagine striking the object ball with the tip' trick however this has let me down during matches when I'm under pressure.

I've recently discovered that each player requires a grip which actually assists him in accelerating through the cueball. Sad to say I've discovered (for myself) the best grip to encourage this is the one that I would teach a beginner (I went back to basics with myself to try and get this right) which is gripping the cue between the upper thumb and forefinger with the back 3 fingers barely touching the cue and allowing those back 3 fingers to remain loose until the very end of the delivery when they do grip the cue.

I've found this grip will naturally lead to driving through the cueball consistently.

Terry

[Sidd]

robertmac:

It's all been said above. This is one of my consistent problems and I use the 'imagine striking the object ball with the tip' trick however this has let me down during matches when I'm under pressure.

I've recently discovered that each player requires a grip which actually assists him in accelerating through the cueball. Sad to say I've discovered (for myself) the best grip to encourage this is the one that I would teach a beginner (I went back to basics with myself to try and get this right) which is gripping the cue between the upper thumb and forefinger with the back 3 fingers barely touching the cue and allowing those back 3 fingers to remain loose until the very end of the delivery when they do grip the cue.

I've found this grip will naturally lead to driving through the cueball consistently.

Terry

every single word of what you mentioned is true.. If you remember I tried my previous grip that I used to play with as an amateur (still am an amateur) but during those days i used to hold with thumb forefinger and let the last three loose and away... so I tried it again and my potting and positioning improved greatly... So I am now experimenting with the Steve Davis preached grip... thumb and two fingers and the last three barely touching... I can see this works fine for me and yes as you mentioend the secret for every player is to find a grip that allows him acceleration...!!!

Lets see where I go from here...

[j6uk]

Create a fixed point in/and shoot from the elbow every time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMXfGQFqgYY After a couple of hours practice when the cue feels heavy, the grip is light and the balls are going in the center of the pockets you know your on to something

[Sidd]

Create a fixed point in/and shoot from the elbow every time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMXfGQFqgYY After a couple of hours practice when the cue feels heavy, the grip is light and the balls are going in the center of the pockets you know your on to something

Hmmmm thanks, interesting observation. However, the elbow has to drop a little on backswing and also on follow through and so one cannot easily create fixed point in elbow ... but well more importantly can you further elaborate what do you mean by:

"After a couple of hours practice when the cue feels heavy, the grip is light and the balls are going in the center of the pockets"

Cue feels heavy-- girp is light... plz elaborate for better understanding.

[j6uk]

Wee bit more than an observation, I know its not easy to see on the screen but when the pros go through the white, making those 70+ breaks frame after frame, they are contacting that cue ball with their elbow (fixed point) and the 'so called grip' only comes into effect when shot is completed. A cliche but its true 'effortless, simply the cue is doing all the work' hence light grip, then cue feels heavier and potting center of the pockets.
No boredom or tiredness. Okay maybe feeling it the neck after 4hrs

[razvan]

Can you explain more: "Create a fixed point in/and shoot from the elbow"?