All
top players have a bridge with which they take a firm grip
of the cloth and provide a channel through which they send
the cue on a straight line.
Without
a good bridge, you are doomed. You are a no-hoper. An unsteady
bridge will ruin everything. If there is any movement, say
with the thumb, any shot can and will go wrong
I
believe that more players should be concerned with getting
the bridge hand firmed up, before considering other more
advanced areas of the game.
As a starting point, place your hand flat on the table.
Then draw up all the fingers in a crab-like manner before
cocking the thumb in such a way that you are able to form
a 'V' between your thumb and the top knuckle of your forefinger.
Emphasize
the firmness of the bridge by pressing the forefinger into
the cloth.
Anyone who wants to realize just how important the bridge
is, need only try this simple experiment.
Bridge
along the baulk line making sure that the cue covers the
baulk line itself so that it is no longer visible from above.
Now lower the thumb and notice what happens. The cue goes
off line.
If
that should happen while you are playing a shot, it is one
way of putting accidental side on the cue ball.
Take a look at the strength of the bridges displayed above
and to the right. All fingers are pressed into the cloth
and wood, with particular emphasis placed on the forefinger,
the one that is the real basis of the bridge.
Players used to be criticised in the old days for the marks
left on the cloth as a result of the pressure placed by
their fingers, but this didn't bother them and it shouldn't
bother you.
However, don't drag your bridge hand back, particularly
against the nap of the cloth. There is no advantage in this
and it will create so many furrows that the table will look
like a ploughed field and could also rough up the nap sufficiently
to make slow shots more hazardous.
When
your shot is completed, just lift your hand from the table.
I believe that players pressing the first finger into the
cloth in the manner demonstrated above, will find firmness
along the left-hand side of the body. The fact that the
left side is so firm seems to make the right hand even freer
to get rhythm into the cue action.
The
reverse is true for left-handed players.
For screw shots the great Joe Davis adapted his bridge by
turning the hand over on to its side just by lifting the
left of the palm. But this is not the only way and today
most players today simply lower the whole hand and still
maintain a good 'V' in the bridge. It is up to you which
method suits you better.
For
a very deep screw shot Joe would use the loop bridge, which
very few players use today. The real reason he used it even
if he was not aware of the fact, was that he was inclined
to lift the cue when striking the cue ball.
This came about because he had the flourish so many billiards
players have of lifting the cue when playing a forcing shot
- sometimes even striking the light shade with the tip of
the cue.
The loop bridge counteracted this by stopping the cue coming
up. Young players today appear reluctant to use the loop
bridge, but my advice is to try it out. It is very useful
when the cue ball is tight to the cushion as shown top left.
A
solid, firm bridge is essential to become a decent player.
