Jun 21, 2010

Pool Cue History

According to reference sources, before the cue came the mace. This was something like a lightweight golf club with a foot at the end of it that was used to push the cue ball rather than strike it. Sounds strange but true!

If the cue ball became frozen against a cushion, it was difficult to use the mace because the foot did not fit under the edge of the cushion. So you could not strike the ball cleanly.

By the late 17th century, players took up the practive of turning the mace around and using the butt end to play shots off the cushions. It is from this that we get the word 'cue' - stemming from the French word 'queue' meaning tail. Hence flatless cue sticks were in common use by the turn of the 18th/19th century. The mace, however, was in use until well into the 19th century.

The introduction of the cue opened up new possibilities for billiards and snooker and eventually led to the development of rubber cushions. Then followed the game of pool including 9 ball and so it was that pool cues developed in a different way to snooker cues.

The use of chalk with a cue is also an interesting part of cue history ... in the days before tips were put onto cues, a player would sometimes twist the end of his cue into a plaster wall or ceiling to get a chalk type deposit on the end - this reduced the chances of a miscue and so provided an advantage in the game.

It was John Carr who first sold cue chalk in small boxes.

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Jun 8, 2010

Pool Cues

Pool cues are to pool players what tennis racquets are to tennis players. They have to feel absolutely right!

This includes several key factors:

length of cue
grip type
cue tip

Professional pool players, including 9ball players, usually have a custom made pool cue. There are some top class pool cue manufacturers to choose from too.

There are plenty of choices when looking for pool cues online. Stores such as Amazon offer a decent range for the amateur pool player.

If you take your game of 9 ball seriously you might like to buy a cue that you've seen a professional 9 ball player use such as Efren Reyes or Daryl Peach.

Before you decide which pool cue to buy and how much money to spend, remember the real value of the game of pool is in how much you enjoy it. If you don't enjoy the game then no matter how good your pool cue is, it won't help!

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