Both 3kushn and Bert Van Manen are right! FunnyDieckman made those same comments, to me a few years ago. Maybe that why I’m USBA #1 NonMember still today. But promote those who outside of USBA try!

As of Today Date: That n_den / 3C billiard take it down ... That get my attention!

So Alex Kazakis (824) played in the Scottish Open last May. This is what he was doing a few weeks before and a few weeks after.

I'd say Athens players are pretty fortunate.

great player, I love to watch her play.

Woodshaft said:

I watched some of her play in the Vegas tournament, looks like she is using a wood shaft now and shooting great with it.
She was using a Revo for at least the past few years. I don't know if it's a 314 or Vantage, but she seems to like it!
Nice to see yet another young star realize that wood shafts give better feedback.
Back-to-back Vegas champ, 22 year old Wiktor Zielinski, has always enjoyed his wood 314 wood shaft-- he shoots like the game is almost too easy for him!
I guarantee you that if it weren't for sponsorship money, the vast majority of touring pros would use wood shafts.
Again, to each his own in the cf/wood shaft debate: You think cf is better for you-- use cf.
But for those who still think cf is superior to wood for actually PLAYING POOL, it's not.
Carbon fiber shafts make great break shafts though, that's for sure.

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I see that this post is at least 3 years old, but I highly disagree. I was a CF hater too, for the longest time, until I had the opportunity to try out the Whyte Carbon shaft, that a fellow pool player loaned me for a few hours, during a tournament. Up until that point, I had only ever tried out a few CF shafts, from custom pool cue makers, which may have come from very cheap CF tubes from China (but no idea), and my hate for CF was based on my experience with those. The Whyte Carbon was a game changer for me. I never felt so much power, in the feedback, off of the cue ball, if that makes any sense. For example, I could draw the cue ball back, with very little effort. I could really feel how LD the shaft was too, if that makes sense. The feedback was so amazing though. Never felt anything like it, with any Maple shaft I ever tried. So, in my opinion, the Whyte Carbon CF shaft is worth every penny of that high retail price. On the other hand, I have played with a few Jacoby Black shafts, and they hit very nice, but the Whyte Carbon just felt like it was on another level. Did not get the same power / feedback with the Jacoby, for example. Anyways, with that being said, I feel that not all CF shafts are created equal, and they will all probably feel / hit different from each other. Some, probably not nearly as nice as a lot of the good LD Maple shafts out there. But, others, probably far better. Like, the Whyte Carbon, for example. But, that is just my opinion.

I'm sorry, I forgot to describe that they are stop shots that I'm doing. Clean stop shots. Thank you for the replies. I hadn't thought that just because you pot the ball does not mean it is a straight shot. Would 45/50 be what a semi-pro could do?

Referring to the last couple of pages..."Break as hard as you can and you be a great player fast". lol

Woodshaft said:

I watched some of her play in the Vegas tournament, looks like she is using a wood shaft now and shooting great with it.
She was using a Revo for at least the past few years. I don't know if it's a 314 or Vantage, but she seems to like it!
Nice to see yet another young star realize that wood shafts give better feedback.
Back-to-back Vegas champ, 22 year old Wiktor Zielinski, has always enjoyed his wood 314 wood shaft-- he shoots like the game is almost too easy for him!
I guarantee you that if it weren't for sponsorship money, the vast majority of touring pros would use wood shafts.
Again, to each his own in the cf/wood shaft debate: You think cf is better for you-- use cf.
But for those who still think cf is superior to wood for actually PLAYING POOL, it's not.
Carbon fiber shafts make great break shafts though, that's for sure.

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There are wood shafts that transfer the energy from YOUR stroke as efficiently as a CF shaft but they are few and far between, wood changes, wood will never be consistent because it's a natural product, all wood has different grain structures even in the same family of wood, does it make wood bad? No, does it make it inconsistent and liable to change? Yes, the advantage of CF is it can be specifically designed and engineered to propel a cue ball as efficiently as the person striking the cueball as possible, is all CF the same? Absolutely not, Becue has been engineering CF cues and shafts for 10 yrs now, they offer several different shafts that produce several different types of feel or hit if you like, I'm using the Prime II shaft, this shaft does produce feedback, to me it's the perfect blend of transfer of energy and feedback, I have nothing against wood, if you are playing YOUR best pool with wood you should stick with it, I swore I would never use a CF shaft and I didn't lie kinda, I'm using a complete CF cue and playing the best pool of my life

Bob Jewett said:

That shot doesn't tell you if your stroke is straight. It just tells you that you can pocket a ball on a straight shot. There are players with crooked strokes who can make that shot consistently.

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This comment reminds me of a story from Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. Sure, that was about golf, but I think it still applies.

A player Penick was advising won his first match in a tournament easily. He then called Penick to say he was confident about the next opponent:
“The guy I play tomorrow I can beat easily. He has a bad grip and also a bad swing.” The player lost that next match.

Penick said:
“The lesson to be learned,” I told my golfer later, “is don’t be afraid of the player with a good grip and a bad swing. Don’t be afraid of a player with a bad grip and a good swing. The player to beware of is the one with the bad grip and the bad swing. If he’s reached your level, he has grooved his faults and knows how to score.”

wrldpro said:

That lizard wrap color is cognac color and it’s hard to find.

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Yeah. This would look so good on my Viking Ariel Carmeli Red diamond.