The perfect cue?

Over time perceptions have changed in terms of what is considered 'ideal' when it comes to cue specifications.

Rewind 100 years when English billiards was the primary cue sport and the cues used were shorter and lighter than modern cues. They also had a significantly thicker butt end.

An average cue in those days may have been 55-57" long, 10-11mm tip (no ferrule), 14-16oz, 30mm+ butt end.

Cues would have been made from Ash, Maple and Pearwood. The butts would have been primarily African Ebony.

Almost all of the cues would have been 1 piece.

There were deorative splices added to cues, but not to the extent that they are today.

Today an average specification for snooker would be along the lines of: 57-59", 9-10mm (obviously with a ferrule), 17-19oz, 29-30mm butt.

Shafts are still made from Ash, Maple and Pear, although Ash is by far the most popular. Speaking from my experience, I would say 95% of the cue I make are Ash. Probably only 1% Pear.

One piece cues are more popular today than they were 10 years ago, but there are also still many 3/4 jointed cues being ordered.

Cues are very decorative now compared with years gone by. Many exotic timbers are used from all over the world to enhance the look of the cues and make them personal to the player.

When you consider that over the years, cloths have got faster, balls are lighter and tables are heated, it's surprising that cue specs have changed so much and in the way that they have.

Yes, snooker is a game of stun, screw and power, more so than billiards, but the power is not generated by the cue. The cue action of the player is so much more important than the cue they are holding.

Providing that your cue has been made using good quality materials by a skilled craftsman then I absolutely believe that any player can get used to any cue and build their game around it.

I'm shocked at the amount of professional players that change cues regularly throughout their careers. Some players change regularly throughout a season!

Others use the same cue from the start of their career to the end (Ken Doherty comes to mind) but generally that doesn't happen as much any more.

In my opinion, if a professional player is searching for the perfect cue, then they are searching for answers that aren't there.

So what is the ideal cue spec....well I'm not sure there is an answer to that. But one thing is for certain, altering your cue by a quarter of an ounce, or fitting a titanium ferrule, or reducing the tip size by 0.2mm will not make the slightest bit of difference to your game. The money you would spend on the alteration would be better spent on a coaching session.

I often get asked what spec my own cue is and the answer is that it's quite traditional. It's an ash shaft with a macassar ebony butt. It is 57", 10mm (brass), 17oz, 30mm butt.

It works for me, but is probably slightly unusual when comapred to the majority of snooker cues ordered. I can count on one hand the amount of 10mm cues I have been asked to make in the last 5 years.

It would be interesting to hear your views! No doubt there will be a wide range of opinions on this one!