Month: June 2019

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Snooker Cue Tip Maintenance: The Lowdown, Part Two

SnookerZone has already explained how to stick on a snooker cue tip in 7 easy steps in 5 mins. If you missed that post then visit by clicking here.

Yesterday, on the blog, we explained what a snooker cue tip burnisher does and why you need to use one for your tip. Click here to read now if you missed it!

So, on to today’s blog, we’re going to delve a bit deeper into cue tip maintenance…

In today’s lesson, you’ll learn…

  • Why it’s important to look after a cue tip…
  • What products are best available for looking after your tip (based on our knowledge)
  • How to use them…

A snooker cue tip is the most important part of a cue. You need to look after it. If you look after your tip, its lifespan will increase and in the long run, you’ll be saving money by not keep having to buy new tips! We all like to save money, right?

CUE TIPS AND CHALK: THE TIP PIK…

Sometimes, depending on how hard a tip is, chalk can be difficult to apply initially and stick to the tip.

There are a few ways to ensure the chalk goes on well and grips the tip – some ways are, well, unorthodox, but here’s one way through a great product that SnookerZone uses.

The better the chalk sticks to the tip, the more grip you’ll get and be able to play a wide variety of shots.

This is where a snooker cue tip pik comes in! A tip pik is a useful tool which can make the tip fibres loosen up so that chalk can better be applied and stick better.

Here’s a video on Youtube that explains it…

CLICK PLAY TO WATCH NOW BELOW:

SnookerZone recommends the bow tie 3 in 1 cue tip tool! 

<<<<<<CLICK THE IMAGE below to shop for yours, now<<<<<<

With this tool. you can…

 

  • Shape and dome your tip how you want it…
  • Use the tip pik to ensure chalk better grips the tip when applied…
  • Make the tip more rounded…
  • Make your tip look a million dollars and feel a million dollars when playing…
  • Look after your tip and increase its lifespan…

GET YOUR 3 in 1 TIP TOOL HERE, NOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
News

Snooker Cue Tip Burnisher: Make Your Tip Last, Save Money…

A Snooker Cue Tip Burnisher Will Make Your Tip Last Longer…

 

Your snooker cue tip is precious to you, isn’t it?…

So, as a snooker player, you want to look after it, right?

Once you’ve fitted a snooker cue tip on what do you do?

Quite apart from playing with it, it’s important to look after your tip – so it lasts longer…

If it lasts longer, you’ll save money in the long run!

There’s a few products out there for tip maintenance, but first, let’s tell you what a snooker cue tip burnisher is…

BURNISHING YOUR TIP: WHAT IS IT?

A snooker cue tip burnisher is an object that helps keep the tip in shape and stops it from losing shape when it’s knocked in.

A tip can lose its shape when played with a lot and the burnisher is a product that ensures the tip keeps its shape well.

It’s important to burnish each time you play to prolong the life of a tip.

It doesn’t matter what tip you have, they all need tender loving care in their life cycle.

HOW DO YOU BURNISH A SNOOKER CUE TIP?

You put your tip in the cylinder – and roll the tip around vigorously on your knees for a few seconds for a few minutes so it generates heat on the tip and you’ll notice a darken shine when taking it out.

If you do this for a few minutes, you’ll see your tip looking great!

There’s a few burnishers out there – but it doesn’t matter which one you use…

CLICK HERE TO PROLONG THE LIFE OF YOUR TIP AND STOP IT MUSHROOMING – PROTECT YOUR TIP AND SAVE MONEY IN THE LONG RUN –  START BURNISHING NOW…

 

 

 

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News

New Pro Louis Heathcote Makes Positive Tour Start

The new snooker season has kicked off with the Riga Masters qualifiers and International Championship qualifiers at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield. 

It wasn’t long before the new pros, barely out of their graduation clothes at QSchool, would get to the grind of the professional ranks and be playing seasoned pros.

This part of the season is fairly quiet but any new pro and rookie wants to get off to a good start by winning matches and gaining confidence for the long season ahead.

One such graduate on the tour for the very first time, is Louis Heathcote, 21, from Leicester who has won his first two matches as a professional and will be appearing in the main stages of both the Riga Masters and the International Championship.

Heathcote defeated Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham 6 – 4 in the IC qualifier – despite Noppon making two centuries against the new pro. He managed a ton himself though and seems to be unphased by the new situation he finds himself in as a rookie on tour.

He is yet another Midlands snooker man making a name for himself already.

Last year’s English Amateur Championship winner Joe O’Connor made great strides as his first time as a professional almost reaching the Crucible last season and reaching the semi-finals of a ranking event – the Welsh Open.

Leicester is the hotbed of snooker with the likes of Mark Selby and Ben Woollaston as top ambassadors in the sport.

The main stages of the Riga Masters don’t begin until the end of next month, the 26 – 28th July with the International Championship beginning in August from the 4th – 11th. 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
News

Why Using Acronyms Will Help You Focus on Your Game

Hi there,

Do you know what an acronym is?

An acronym is a series of letters that form a word but they usually depict something to help people remember.

For example: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation).

Why is this relevant here?

Because in sport, and more so in snooker, people need something to help them focus and remember something important in their technique.

A good coach will often try to get you to remember something by using this form of training. It helps your brain remember it easily.

An acronym or watchword can really help you focus on something that might be going wrong in your game to help you remember…

For example:

If you’re struggling to focus on getting through the cue ball, you could use an acronym such as…

SAT! (STRIKE AND THROUGH!

Or, if you’re struggling to focus on keeping your grip hand relaxed on the cue, you could use a watchword such as…

RAT! (RELAX AND THROUGH)…

Here at SnookerZone, our watchword is…

FAM! FOCUS, ASSESS, MEMORISE)

So, what’s that all about?

Here’s the lowdown…

FOCUS

Snooker is a game that requires complete concentration so if you’re not 100% focused for whatever reason, then why not just say to yourself, FOCUS!

But the word also refers to the fact that we want to FOCUS on an aspect of your game (technical part and make sure you’re completely focused on that!

ASSESS…

This part is simple. When you’re doing whatever it is your practicing, we want you to ASSESS your progress!

This means RECORDING EVERYTHING you’re doing!

It could be anything from recording how many straight pots you achieved in a certain routine, or, how many you potted on the line-up routine.

It also means assessing your technique. Ask yourself these questions after you’ve played a shot.

  • What was I doing right there on the shot?
  • What didn’t feel comfortable?
  • Where was the cue tip pointing on impact?
  • Did I feel like I followed through the cue ball enough on the shot? Eg, did the hand hit the chest?

ASSESSING AND RECORDING mean just that. RECORDING and analysing the data or results when you get back and also analysing your technique.

Once you get in the habit of ASSESSING your own game, you’ll be able to see where others might be going wrong.

When you get good at it, watch others in your local club and watch what they’re doing.

  • Do they have a pre-shot routine?
  • Are they looking long enough on the object ball etc or focusing enough on the cue ball when addressing the ball?
  • DO they have a nice rhythm around the table?

These are questions you can ask yourself and of others.

So remember. ASSESS EVERYTHING! However small…

MEMORISE! 

It’s simple. When you find something that works. Remember it! Write it down. Stick it on a post it note.

At SnookerZone, we bought a WHITE BOARD and every time we find something that works and is improving our game; we write it down and have it somewhere visible so we can REMEMBER it all the time so when we go to practice, it is fixed in our brains!

YOUR HOMEWORK: 

Find something in your game that’s not working, or you feel you could be improving on and find a little watchword…

Every time you go to play, USE IT to focus…!

But remember from SnookerZone…FAM!

  1. FOCUS
  2. ASSESS
  3. MEMORISE!

Enjoy your snooker!

PS: Have you checked out any of our product reviews in the Training Zone yet? Read the reviews by clicking on the image link below…