So what’s so important about the bridge?

For many experienced players the bridge is a pretty natural thing. We don’t think about it, we just plop our hand down on the table and slip the shaft between our fingers and shoot away. What’s the big deal? Many shots are missed due to basic flaws in the bridge. Listed below are some of them. There may be more, but these are the most common.

10 Common Bridge Flaws

1. Too Loose
2. Too tight
3. Too far away from the cue ball
4. Not level
5. Too high
6. Too low
7. Unbalanced
8. Supports the body, not the cue
9. Bunched up
10. Limited contact with the table.

Just to torture you, I will dissect every last one of those common flaws to strike home the importance of the bridge. To begin, I will bring to your attention that every stroke of the cue passes through your bridge.

If your bridge is weak, so is your stroke. If your bridge looks like crap, so will your stroke and anything you intend to do with it. The bridge is used to support and guide the shaft of the cue. You can have the best cue that money can buy, all of the knowledge in the world, and the stroke that nightmares are made of, but if it does not have the proper SUPPORT and GUIDANCE, it’s useless!

This is what makes the bridge so important. The list of flaws is given as an example of what to stay away from. The bridge is made up of several different parts. It starts with the bridge shoulder, the bridge elbow, the bridge forearm, the wrist, the inner base, the outer base, the stabilizers (the pinky, ring and middle fingers) and the loop which is made when the tips of the thumb and forefinger are placed together. All 8 parts must work together for the bridge to properly perform its function.

The 8 Basic Parts of the Bridge

1. The shoulder
2. The elbow
3. The forearm
4. The wrist
5. The inner base
6. The outer base
7. The stabilizers
8. The loop BREAKING DOWN THE COMMON FLAWS Too Loose.

Too Loose

A loose bridge can cause two problems. a) The shaft can slip from side to side causing an inaccurate stroke on the cue ball. b) The shaft can slip up and down on the stroke and the follow through causing an inaccurate stroke on the cue ball. This is the primary reason that I stay away from the open hand bridge unless it is absolutely necessary. Even when it is necessary, I will try to find away around it. The bridge needs to hold the shaft firmly to ensure that the tip makes contact with the cue ball precisely where want it to. A loose, unsteady bridge places that in jeopardy.

Too Tight

Skipping through all of the BS, too tight means too tense, and we are not striving for tenseness. A tight bridge causes your shoulders (emphasis on the plurality) to tighten up as well. The bridge is supported by the non-shooting or bridge arm. This arm consists of all 8 parts. If the shoulder on the non-shooting side is tense, I can bet the other side is tense as well. When this happens, the shaft tends to be pushed downward into the felt. An excellent example of this is the break shot in 9 ball. Look at a table that has been played upon quite a bit. You will see a mark that leads from the break spot to the top of the rack. Down near the break spot you can see where the tip and the shaft of the cues have contacted the felt. This is caused by tenseness in the breaker’s shoulders and bridge arm. When the breaker releases his break power, the weight is transferred downward, causing the shaft to contact the cloth. The effect is also aided by the fact that the bridge hand is squeezed so tightly that the shaft stops at a point PRIOR to the extent of the follow through, hence the shaft of the cue has nowhere else to go but downward into the cloth. (Mike Sigel’s break is the perfect example of this).

This actually zaps the power FROM the break by effecting maximum follow through. Many players (when breaking) believe they are generating power into their break, when they are actually just generating tenseness into the mechanics of the task. Quite simply, a tight bridge eliminates and hinders maximum follow through, therefore it should be avoided at all costs.

A key to identifying this flaw is that generally there is no bend at the elbow. There should be a slight, relaxed bend at the elbow, and the wrist should also be relaxed. The loop should allow the shaft to guide freely. I’ve said this before, "NEVER SACRIFICE ACCURACY FOR POWER". There is a difference between being effective and being explosive. Only use enough power that you can control. So what is just right? For me and most players, I take the crease of the bend in my thumb and place the nail of the forefinger there. By doing so I will have a stable bridge in MOST situations. From this position, it is easier to elevate the cue and remain stable. This will vary from person to person, but for the norm, it allows the bridge to remain stable, and not too loose or too tight.

Too Far Away From The Cue Ball

This is extremely important to accurate shooting. I perform an experiment when my students are addressing the cue ball. I go to the butt of the cue and wiggle it from side to side. I have yet to do this with a new student without having the tip of the cue move completely off the face of the cue ball. I then have the student move the bridge hand closer to the cue ball until the wiggling is minimal. This flaw is the primary cause of "mis-hitting the cue ball" as well as "coming up short" on position. Take 3 or 4 inches off of your follow through and I guarantee that you will soon be "punch stroking" the cue ball to overcompensate for the lack of cue ball action. This is a good example of how one bad habit can breed other bad habits. Your hand should be no more than 4-6 inches from the cue ball depending greatly on the situation.

When using the mechanical bridge, most players will unconsciously place it as close to the cue ball as possible. Yet, when bent down over a shot, the same player will resort back to 8 inches plus away from the ball. The closer the bridge hand is to the cue ball, the more accurate the stroke will be.

Not Level

Once I had the opportunity to teach this game to a man who would shoot with the knuckles of his bridge hand facing straight up in the air. It was one of the ugliest sights I had ever seen. I called this malady "The Chicken Claw". It was created and extremely tense open bridge that he decided to close one day. It was the end result of an extremely un-level bridge hand. For a level bridge, there are four (4) factors: 1) The STABILIZERS. The tips of your pinky, ring and middle fingers should have contact with the cloth. 2) The INNER BASE. The ball of your hand (beneath your thumb) should have contact with the cloth. 3) The OUTER BASE. The ball of your hand beneath your pinky should have contact with the cloth. 4) The LOOP BASE. The outside upper edge of your thumb should have contact with the cloth. This base also determines the height of your bridge. When the thumb is extended the bridge raises; when the thumb is bent the bridge lowers. All of these factors will vary from situation to situation. Remember, an un-level bridge destroys accuracy.

Too High

This is the result of the loop opening up, causing the loop to be loose and the base(s) to raise from the cloth. This causes the bridge to become unstable, effecting your stroke. Re-checking your stance (too close to the table, weight distribution etc;) should alleviate this problem. If your bridge elbow is locked, this is a sure sign of of poor balance and weight distribution. The elbow should be RELAXED.

Too Low

This is caused by crouching and standing too far away from the table. Hence the bridge tends to "flatten out". When this occurs, it is a sure sign that you have lost your "centering" (see previous post -Center of Mass). A sure sign that this is occurring is when your bridge elbow is dragging on the felt. This causes the bridge shoulder to droop and the forearm will actually rest on the cloth. The shoulders will be un-level, as will your balance, and your stroke.

Unbalanced

This occurs when the bridge seems to "roll" from side to side. This is also caused by the shoulders being uneven. It is caused by your weight being shifted to one side, causing an imbalance in the closing of the hand. The shooting side of your body will feel as if it is higher than the non shooting side. Aligning the ears DIRECTLY above the shoulders should alleviate this problem. The ears should never be forward of the shoulders (sagging head) nor should the shoulders be forward of the ears. This is caused by the shooter leaning forward towards the table, or leaning back away from the table while in their stance. (See Factors of Stance Mechanics).

Support the body and not the cue

Have you ever left the pool hall with a soreness in your bridge shoulder? This is caused by having the bridge shoulder support your body instead of the cue. By now you have probably realized that many flaws in the bridge are brought about by flaws in your stance and balance. If you are properly centered, you will be properly balanced. When you are properly balanced there will be less tension and deficiencies like this will be less likely to appear.

Bunched Up

The bridge hand should be loose and relaxed. This is different from "too tight" as all of the fingers are "crumpled up" (making a semi-fist). The Stabilizers should be extended and the loop firm so that the shaft glides smoothly. Having the bridge hand bunched up is a sure sign of tension. The tension is passed down from the shoulder to the elbow, to the forearm and then eventually the wrist and the hand.

Limited Contact With the Table

The four factors of the level bridge are extremely important in this area. If the bridge hand is not completely supported by the four bases, it will not completely support and guide the shaft of the cue either. The four bases should have contact with the table unless the situation does not allow it. As I explained earlier, there will be times when you will have to raise a base from the surface of the table. In doing so, follow this rule: If I do not have at least three of the four bases contacting the cloth (or rail) I need to either reassess the positioning of my bridge hand or the positioning of my entire body. Examine your bridge carefully to see if one or more of these deficiencies exist. Mostly, these deficiencies creep into our games when we least expect it. Videotape yourself and see how your body language changes during different situations. Chances are you won’t detect the deficiencies by yourself. Always take lessons from a pro whether or not you believe that you need it. Usually most of us wait until the problem is extremely out of hand before we seek help. Many of us never seek help and the problems multiply and grow. Look at our game as a garden. It looks better and grows better if we keep the weeds out!