Off the Cushion.....

[Blondie]

Hi guys,

..........and it's probably me, but do you guys find it harder to play when playing shots off the cushion?

I always find that my game pretty much comes to a standstill, although I do try and use some backspin, but to be honest this is pretty much impossible when the cue-ball is right up against the cushion. Any thoughts on what you would do in this situation?

I've been able to get some back-spin on the cue ball when it's been an inch, or a couple of inches away from the cushion, mainly by elevating the cue butt a bit, but then I'm not as accurate.

I've also tried raising my bridge hand too, and fingers, which is a little uncomfortable, but it has actually helped to move the cue-ball, although the stroke itself is still not as smooth as it could be. And my grip seems to be quite tight too. Is there anything else really I could do here, do you think?

I've seen Steve Davis before raise his bridge slightly higher when he's on the cushion, and I think this gives more power to the shot, although when I've tried this the tip of my cue touches the cushion. And not sure if it's because my bridge hand is not as firm as it could be, that this keeps happening.

Having to hold the cue at angle as well is difficult too, although I find as if I have more control of the cue, and the cue-ball when I'm coming down on the shot as opposed to playing it along the cushion rail, if that makes sense. And as I say though guys, it's probably me , but value your expertise, if you did have any tips and hints on playing cushions shots....

Lol...xx

[Semih_Sayginer]

best advice is to watch john higgins videos of him playing shots "under" the cushion.

IMHO hes the best at playing this type of shot, though some others are particulary good too

[Cyril]

John Parrott has always been excellent at playing from under the cushion.

[Blondie]

best advice is to watch john higgins videos of him playing shots "under" the cushion.

IMHO hes the best at playing this type of shot, though some others are particulary good too

Hi Sem,

......thanks for your advice, greatly appreciated, and I've found a couple of vids of John "under" the cushion, so to speak on youtube, although it is match-play, and I couldn't find any of John solo, or practising.

.....making a 147, [John Higgins' 147 in 2003 LG Cup], during one occasion, John looks to be a couple of inches from the cushion, with a slightly raised bridge, plusl flat hand, striking the cue-ball under, and I think some back-spin too. [great style, and makes it look so easy...]

...and also found, [China Open 2006 Final v Mark Williams], tight on the cushion, and looks like a slightly raised bridge again, couldn't quite see, plus striking the cue-ball under, although couldn't see if this is centre straight, or with side..

It certainly helps Sem, although think I need to do a bit mork on angles as well, top, bottom and side, and wouldn't it be great to be able to play like John, . I'll keep having a look at the vids too, and practice a bit more tonight. Great help though, thanks again.

Lol...xx

[April madness]

hmm, but not always the backspin is possible, and why/when to choose to play from cushion with backspin?

(pardon me for a completely amateurish question in your thread, Blondie)

[Semih_Sayginer]

np Blondie.

Cyrils suggestion of JP being great from "under" cushions is also a very good call. IMHO he is one of the best at this shot.

more than ever, you need to try to keep perfectly still on this shot (as with others anyway) as youre only hitting a very small part of the white (like when playing extreme side, but only the top extreme), and you could also clip the cushion if not cueing properly.

so, head still, body still, cue straight through. stay down on the shot until the cueball has at least made contact with the object ball, but preferably a couple of seconds after the initial strike on the cueball

[Blondie]

John Parrott has always been excellent at playing from under the cushion.

Hi Cyril,

..........thanks for this, and also had a look on youtube too for JP vids, and found one of JP versus Tony Drago Malta Cup 2007.

And a nice example of JP being a couple of inches off the cushion, plus slightly raised bridge, and striking the cue-ball under, with some spin. Couldn't see for sure though. And haven't been able to find any shots of JP being right on the cushion, but will keep looking, as v.interested to see how he plays this way.

Thanks again, and great help..

Lol....xx

[The Statman]

Well, the general advice is not to worry about backspin or anything complicated if you are right on the cushion, as with the bodily position you have to acquire you cannot help but sacrifice some of the accuracy. (You can't look down the cue and see the target from such a raised position, and the cueing is unorthodox as well.)

That is, of course, why commentators go on about the importance of leaving your opponent tight on the cushion – it restricts their options.

I regard myself as pretty good from the cushion – compared with an average club player, not with professionals! – and the best thing I can suggest is to try to have the cue as close to horizontal as possible and concentrate on hitting cleanly the small part of the ball that is available. Just keep your eye on the direction and make sure you hit it smoothly – no fancy stuff; it may restrict the type of shot you can play, like a 'negative' containing safety rather than a return to baulk or pot attempt, but there it is. That's the whole reason you were left with that position (or the whole reason you should have avoided it, if the previous shot was yours!).

God I make it sound easy, don't I! And of course, it is not. The real answer is the same, of course, as for any shot – practise, practise, practise.

[Blondie]

np Blondie.

Cyrils suggestion of JP being great from "under" cushions is also a very good call. IMHO he is one of the best at this shot.

more than ever, you need to try to keep perfectly still on this shot (as with others anyway) as youre only hitting a very small part of the white (like when playing extreme side, but only the top extreme), and you could also clip the cushion if not cueing properly.

so, head still, body still, cue straight through. stay down on the shot until the cueball has at least made contact with the object ball, but preferably a couple of seconds after the initial strike on the cueball

Hi Sem,

..........many thanks for the further advice, greatly appreciated,, and also had a look at some JP vids too, but still need to find some 'on the cushion' ones, so to speak. Youtube is great though, and will continue to look as I find this v.interesting...

And know what you mean about 'keeping still', head, plus body, used to find this quite difficult, but ok now.

And don't suppose you'd know of any practice drills I could do for 'on/off the cushion' shots. As I find practice drills v.helpful, and quite relaxing to do.

......and many thanks again for all your help though, it's been great...

Lol...xx

[Blondie]

hmm, but not always the backspin is possible, and why/when to choose to play from cushion with backspin?

(pardon me for a completely amateurish question in your thread, Blondie)

Hi April,

..good to hear from you , and it's an interesting question, in this context anyway, to backspin or not?. Definitely doesn't work for me when the cue-ball is against the cushion, although I've had some success, only a little really, with the cue-ball being a couple of inches from the cushion.

But after talking to the guys, think I need alot more practice, which I enjoy doing.

And sorry I didn't come back to you earlier, at work, and off to another meeting now....

Lol...xx

[Blondie]

Well, the general advice is not to worry about backspin or anything complicated if you are right on the cushion, as with the bodily position you have to acquire you cannot help but sacrifice some of the accuracy. (You can't look down the cue and see the target from such a raised position, and the cueing is unorthodox as well.)

That is, of course, why commentators go on about the importance of leaving your opponent tight on the cushion – it restricts their options.

I regard myself as pretty good from the cushion – compared with an average club player, not with professionals! – and the best thing I can suggest is to try to have the cue as close to horizontal as possible and concentrate on hitting cleanly the small part of the ball that is available. Just keep your eye on the direction and make sure you hit it smoothly – no fancy stuff; it may restrict the type of shot you can play, like a 'negative' containing safety rather than a return to baulk or pot attempt, but there it is. That's the whole reason you were left with that position (or the whole reason you should have avoided it, if the previous shot was yours!).

God I make it sound easy, don't I! And of course, it is not. The real answer is the same, of course, as for any shot – practise, practise, practise.

Hi Statman,

..........thanks ever so much for your reply, and great that you enjoy playing from the cushion . Must admit, it's something that I'm struggling with a little at the minute, but with the great advice from Semih, yourself, and the guys, determined to get better..

And interesting your point on the cue being close to horizontal as possible, didn't really take this into account before, but will certainly try this way, and also hitting smoothly, which I've tried to do, but with the bridge raised slightly, it can be uncomfortable, but as you say, with more practice, more movement should be possible, and a smoother stroke helpfully.

And thanks again for your reply..

Lol...xx

[The Statman]

No probs.

Of course, that is the general advice for any shot (except the severest swerves) – to have the cue horizontal and strike smoothly through the cue-ball. So, it stands to reason that being against the cushion should make no difference, even though it does not seem so naturally 'correct'.

I try to have the cue perfectly horizontal for these shots – but as you say it is not such a naturally comfortable position and therefore it does require a certain convincing that it's the right way to go.

And, by the way, just because I do something a certain way doesn't mean to say that it is the accepted norm! If you find a more comfortable (for yourself) alternative that produces no worse a result, go for it!

PS

...great that you enjoy playing from the cushion

That is an exaggeration!

[Semih_Sayginer]

obviously, with your bridge hand being higher than on the bed of the table it will be harder, as well as being forced into hitting only a small part of the cueball, than most shots, but IMHO what makes it much harder is how close your hand is to the cueball. IMHO this makes all the needs of straight parallel cueing more difficult, and very easy to not hit the cueball exactly as intended. seen so many good players who can knock in regular 70's or above come up on the shot when in this situation, where theyre rock solid in "normal" situations

[The Statman]

obviously, with your bridge hand being higher than on the bed of the table it will be harder, as well as being forced into hitting only a small part of the cueball, than most shots, but IMHO what makes it much harder is how close your hand is to the cueball. IMHO this makes all the needs of straight parallel cueing more difficult, and very easy to not hit the cueball exactly as intended. seen so many good players who can knock in regular 70's or above come up on the shot when in this situation, where theyre rock solid in "normal" situations

Yes indeed. All of what you say.

The problem a lot of younsters have (added to the extra difficulty in playing from the cushion, they are also often shorter people!) is the ability to acknowledge that certain shots are just not possible from the cushion that would be possible from anywhere else. They should just accept that it cannot be done, but instead they try to carry on regardless.

The same is true of awkward cueing over a ball.

[rambon]

What about literally playing "off of" the cushion? If a ball comes to rest atop the green part of the cushion I assume it is still in play. Does the player have to play from there or is it a foul shot and the ball is subsequently replaced in the D as if the ball had gone off the table?