30-40 years ago, most pros played with custom made cues. Slowly but surely players started to get sponsorship by cue companies, first the good old American cue makers and later Chinese and other imported cues brands.
If 40 years ago a player wanted a SW because some top pros used them, later it switched to Joss or Schon, then Predator and today they want CueTec because that’s what SVB plays with and so do many more top players.
The custom cue industry is in decline. A custom cue that was worth $2500 20 years ago, should be worth today $5000 or more if the cue maker is gone… but that’s not the case, they are still worth about the same (sure, there exceptions).
Wooden cues are still in demand because old players are still around, it will die out eventually.
The butt is important to the feel and hit of a cue. And today it is still mainly made of wood, but this will change too, these things take time. Composite shaft have been around for many years but only became popular when they were good enough for the top players.
The butt section will go through the same phases. There are great cues already that play and hit amazing that are hybrids. It’s just a matter of time.
