When I gambled with a guy a few months ago, he was bragging to my boyfriend and I, "Check out my new break cue. It weighs 22 ounces," he exclaimed proudly.
"Cool," I replied as I held it in my hands, pretending like I cared (sorry).
As a matter of fact, using a heavy break cue doesn't ensure you will break better. AT ALL.
One of my best friends in the 90's, June Hager Walter, SWORE by lighter cues. And her break cue was about 16 ounces. And she broke like a beast!
While that's not a technically scientific test, I just keep thinking about how her break got better as her cue got lighter.
/ Note: No animals were harmed in this experiment. /
Maybe it's the breaker, and not the weight of the cue?
That's prolly what it really is. Not the weight of the break cue itself.
But if you think about it, if I throw a heavy rock and a lighter-weight rock, the lighter rock will travel farther. But of course the heavier rock does more damage when it lands!
An armored truck will damage more than a Volkswagen bug when they crash. But everyone knows a lighter car goes faster before a heavier car. Why? The power to weight ratio is key. Equal power, the lighter car will go faster because the power has less weight to move.
Still, this can be argued all day long.
But after my gambling friend used his new heavy cue, he didn't make more balls, and had even LESS control of the cueball.
The guy needs to practice his break...
I agree that the player will make the difference. However, the formula F=ma ( force equals mass multiplied by acceleration) means that with a lighter cue you can have a faster bat speed ( to use a baseball term) and a heavier cue can apply the same force with less bat speed.
ReplyDeleteFor me it is easier to have better fundamentals with a heavier cue and control the cue ball. Of course the Magic rack doesn't require a hard break to be successful.
Most people only practice the break while playing games. Practicing the break like you would shoot a drill (10 to 30 times straight) is more effective. IMVHO.