A couple of years ago I switched from Predator to Mezz shafts and my game instantly improved, not sublty either, I had been playing with Predator shafts from the beginning, the Z since it was lauched. I got lots of comments from people that had known me for years, wondering what I'd done to improve so suddenly. Not as if I was a terrible player either, so it's pretty rare to see such instant improvements. Now I'm considering switching to solid hard maple or ash for good as it seems that improves my game even more.
I no longer miss the long, tough shots as often. I get better cueball control in terms of speed, I get more power in my shots, though maybe a bit less draw (not conclusively). Definitely more powerful follow!
I've started to wonder wether hollowing a shaft out has some sort of negative effect on accuracy. It's really weird, since I use a long bridge on my shots anyway, so in theory the ld shafts should give me more accuracy on center ball shots, but it just isnt happening. I wish there was a way to test this more scientifically. Anecdotally, for me, the tests are conclusive. I've always tested my stroke for straightness the traditional way, long kissbacks etc, and there doesn't seem to be anything at all wrong with my stroke, in fact all the tests showed me it was good.
I did a 100 shot, shotmaking test comparison (all super tough ones), 10 of each kind and the scores were OVERWHELMING in favour of hard maple. I should point out that the difference only shows when I put a little bit of power into the shot. Rolling it, it's hard to tell a difference. I even did different hard maple shafts against different Predators as well, and they all performed better for me than Predator shafts, though some were better than others. I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA why that is and it's extremely perplexing since I was way more familiar with the Predators and they should have a huge advantage from that alone! Mind you, all those shots were vertical center ball shot with a bit of pace. Similar results for TOI, btw, which is even weirder.
I no longer miss the long, tough shots as often. I get better cueball control in terms of speed, I get more power in my shots, though maybe a bit less draw (not conclusively). Definitely more powerful follow!
I've started to wonder wether hollowing a shaft out has some sort of negative effect on accuracy. It's really weird, since I use a long bridge on my shots anyway, so in theory the ld shafts should give me more accuracy on center ball shots, but it just isnt happening. I wish there was a way to test this more scientifically. Anecdotally, for me, the tests are conclusive. I've always tested my stroke for straightness the traditional way, long kissbacks etc, and there doesn't seem to be anything at all wrong with my stroke, in fact all the tests showed me it was good.
I did a 100 shot, shotmaking test comparison (all super tough ones), 10 of each kind and the scores were OVERWHELMING in favour of hard maple. I should point out that the difference only shows when I put a little bit of power into the shot. Rolling it, it's hard to tell a difference. I even did different hard maple shafts against different Predators as well, and they all performed better for me than Predator shafts, though some were better than others. I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA why that is and it's extremely perplexing since I was way more familiar with the Predators and they should have a huge advantage from that alone! Mind you, all those shots were vertical center ball shot with a bit of pace. Similar results for TOI, btw, which is even weirder.
Last edited:
