Does cue weight affect control of shot?

[147 Club]

i seem to play with a lightercue compared with others , so when i miss i think that i am jerking my arm which sends the cue offline. my question is if i have a heavier cue, would i have a lesser chance of sending the cue ofline at impact?

[Deepscrew]

my cue is nearly 20oz and my jerk is in the same class as denis taylors!

The theory is sound that heavier should keep things more in straight but in practice who knows!

[damienlch]

i seem to play with a lightercue compared with others , so when i miss i think that i am jerking my arm which sends the cue offline. my question is if i have a heavier cue, would i have a lesser chance of sending the cue ofline at impact?

No, I don't think so. A heavier cue will not "anchor" your arm on line to the shot; it's a difference of only a few ounces, not pounds...

If you are jerking the cue offline, then you probably have to work on your technique.

But if you feel that you can play better with a heavier cue, no harm in trying it out and see how it goes.

[cazmac1]

I remember hearing some where that Jimmy white played with a cue heavier than most pros around at that time, I think it was 19 OZ's
They said that with a heavier cue you could generate more power with a slower action. Therefore a slower action should improve accuracy. before my self enforced break from snooker I was working on slowing my action down and found that in doing so had a loss of power, so I am currently thinking of adding weight to my cue or purchasing a heavier cue. My current cue is 17 oz.

[Terry Davidson]

I believe Jimmy used to use a 20oz cue when he was younger. I also think Frank Callan recommended getting a heavier cue as you get older.

This principle is the one behind the Gravity Cue so perhaps you should at least see if you can try out one of those before changing your cue or see if you can find a heavier club cue to try out.

I prefer a cue around 18.5oz which I feel is the best compromise I can reach between the heavier club tables and the super-slick match tables (including my own table) that we are called to play on.

I have in fact tried a heavier cue at 19.4oz but I found that was a little heavier that what I needed

Terry

[Deepscrew]

The theory with golf clubs is the lighter they are the faster the swing speed. So i suppose it makes sense that the lighter the cue the faster you can push it forward.

My new Mastercraft will be 18oz so it will be interesting to see how i go with it.

[cazmac1]

The theory with golf clubs is the lighter they are the faster the swing speed. So i suppose it makes sense that the lighter the cue the faster you can push it forward.

My new Mastercraft will be 18oz so it will be interesting to see how i go with it.

I would not agree deep screw. A heavier object once moving forward takes more effort to stop, so as all good coaches teach that you should drive the cue forward and not quit or decelerate it makes sense that a heavier cue should aid this as once moving forward it should naturally want to slow down less than a lighter cue. I know we are only talking about oz's but in this game tiny things make huge impacts. Of course if the cue was so heavy that it was hard to start moving in the first place it would have the opposite effect but I think most players would not have any trouble driving a 19 cue forward.

[cazmac1]

PS
I think you've made a good choice with master craft.

[cazmac1]

I believe Jimmy used to use a 20oz cue when he was younger. I also think Frank Callan recommended getting a heavier cue as you get older.

This principle is the one behind the Gravity Cue so perhaps you should at least see if you can try out one of those before changing your cue or see if you can find a heavier club cue to try out.

I prefer a cue around 18.5oz which I feel is the best compromise I can reach between the heavier club tables and the super-slick match tables (including my own table) that we are called to play on.

I have in fact tried a heavier cue at 19.4oz but I found that was a little heavier that what I needed

Terry

Hi terry do you know what weight jimmy using now

[Deepscrew]

Its all guesswork really!!

As you put in the other thread the feel is something that cannot be ordered no matter how much you pay, so what turns up from one cue to another is completly unknown.

Ive played with my current cue for 10 years and my order from Mastercraft is my first custom made cue. Might be a complete waste of time but ive got everything crossed. Im sure the workmanship will be great but who knows if it will suit me/feel right. Time will tell and im sure a big slice of luck is needed too!

[cazmac1]

Your dead right or course and with the weight of a cue other things come in to play things like the size of your arms are they skinny or fat or have you got muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger. To give an example a boxer who trains would be able to generate more raw power than some who does not do any kind of exercise with the same weight of cue. I think only yourself can be the judge of what is required and I think age does play a part in that. I'm hoping to get a 18 0z as well or have weight added to mine
Good luck with your newcue

[tofushop193]

force = mass x acceleration
so with a heavier mass u need less acceleration to achieve the same force.. but with a heavier cue the acceleration might get slower so they will cancel out each other i think its better to experiment it with diff weight

[rasul68]

I have played with both medium (180Z) and heavy cues (20z), my experience is that I seem to have lot more contol of the white ball with the lighter cue. screw back, side etc seems to be more effort less...I think large part is how you excute the stroke

[damienlch]

I have played with both medium (180Z) and heavy cues (20z), my experience is that I seem to have lot more contol of the white ball with the lighter cue. screw back, side etc seems to be more effort less...I think large part is how you excute the stroke

I seem to screw back easier with cues weighing around 17oz to 18oz than a 19oz one. So I agree with you that it's mostly the execution, usually.

[cazmac1]

I would never play with a 20 oz cue. I'm with terry and wouldn't go higher than 18.5 I'm only talking about going up an extra oz. I have no problem with cue power. But my new cue action is much slower than it was previous so I feel I need a little more punch. The cue I have now is 17 oz and is much lighter than what I'm used too. There has to be a relationship between the balls cloth and and weight of the cue I'm sure that this could be work out in some mathematical way but the force however comes from the player and all players are different and it is this variable that you have to work out for yourself by experimentation.