After showing you how to get the proper stance in the first episode of our Anthony Beeler Instructional Lessons series, Anthony demonstrates how to get the perfect combination of accuracy and power by placing your bridge hand the correct distance from the cue ball. He walks you through the measurements you need to take and the best way to practice getting it right. In episode 3, Anthony will help you get a grip on your cue.

Transcription

Hello, I’m master instructor Anthony Beeler and today I want to talk to you about the correct bridge hand distance. The correct bridge hand distance is very important whenever you are trying to deliver a straight, smooth stroke. If you’re too far away from the cue ball, then that can lead to accuracy problems. If you’re too close to the cue ball, then that takes away from your power. So, lets go to the table now and see what the correct bridge hand distance looks like.

The first thing we need to do to determine the correct bridge hand distance is get a measurement from our elbow to our wrist. All you have to do is get a tape measure, measure from the elbow to the wrist, and you can see that mine is roughly… 11 ½”. So we’re gonna take this measurement, and we’re gonna go to the core of the cue ball, not from the edge. A lot of people will mistake this and measure from the edge, but if you do that then that’s not correct. We’ll measure from the core of the cue ball, back this way toward where your bridge hand will be. You’ll get the measurement of 11 ½” [or the measurement you took of yourself] and at that measurement we’re gonna place a dot, right here. This dot serves as the best measurement for a combination of power and accuracy.

In other words, when I get down on the shot, and I’m getting ready to shoot it, I want my “v” of my bridge hand – and what I’m referring to as the “v” is the point where the cue rests on my fingers – I want that to be right over top of that dot.

Now, obviously, when you’re playing in a match you won’t be able to go around and place a dot before each shot. But if you’re wanting to practice with this, what you can do is get a pencil and then mark the point of your cue where you want your “v” to be. Just mark it all the way around. And it will wear off in just a few hours, but for practice purposes, this is great.

Any time I get to a shot now, I should be able to get down, get my distance, and place my “v” right on the pencil line, and that’s the correct bridge hand distance. Now if I’m further away, then I’m gaining power and losing accuracy. If I’m closer up, then I’m gaining accuracy but losing power. This line right here serves as the best combination, or the best balance, of accuracy and power. And so, most of the time you’re gonna want to stay right here at this distance, ‘cause that’s the best combination. There will be times where you’re gonna want to vary from that, but most of the time that’s where you’re gonna want to be.

The correct bridge hand distance is the distance from your elbow to your wrist. You take that measurement, and you measure from the core of the cue ball back to the “v” on your bridge hand, and your distance will be correct. If you get a little bit closer to the cue ball than that, you’re gonna gain a little more accuracy, if you’re a little away you’ll gain power and lose accuracy. I think if you take that measurement, practice it, and work it into your game, then it will make you into a more consistent player.

The post Anthony Beeler Instructional Lesson #2: Bridge Hand Distance appeared first on McDermott Cue Blog.