Bridging the gap - Easy Pool Tutor

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.