Switching to a low deflection shaft, pros and cons?

[dr_dave]

FYI, I have a complete list of pros and cons of low-squirt (low cue-ball deflection) cues here:

Low Squirt (Low Defection or LD) Pool Cue Shafts - Billiards and Pool Principles, Techniques, Resources

Answers to frequently-asked questions about low squirt (low deflection or LD) pool cue shafts.

billiards.colostate.edu

There are also links to addition resources for more information on related topics.

Regards,
Dave

 

[dr_dave]

t has better performances ( let's say it imparts more spin to the cue ball).

The difference is spin-generating capability does not vary much between low-squirt and regular-squirt shafts ... not enough to really make a difference anyway. However, there are some possible explanations for why some people think this. For more info, see:

http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/cue.html#spin​

Regards,
Dave

 

[dr_dave]

Consistency comes from practice, not your cue.

Good point.

An argument can actually be made for a low-squirt cue providing a slight increase in accuracy (see my December '07 BD article), but the difference is minimal.

Regards,
Dave

 

[mm4pool]

my new OB2

just received my OB-2 yesterday right before 9 ball league. took it with me and used it during warm ups. WOW, i couldnt make a ball, i rattled so many in and out it became a joke with my team mates. i finally put it away and went back to maple. of course then i was screwed up from that so not a very good night. anyway my question - how long of a relearning curve have most of you had who are using a LD shaft? in other words how long am i going to be the butt of team jokes? i will say that the hit and feel are great, and on straight shots i can work the ball much better, even draw the length of an 8 foot table now!

Thanks for any feedback

Mike

 

[KoolKat9Lives]

just received my OB-2 yesterday right before 9 ball league. took it with me and used it during warm ups. WOW, i couldnt make a ball, i rattled so many in and out it became a joke with my team mates. i finally put it away and went back to maple. of course then i was screwed up from that so not a very good night. anyway my question - how long of a relearning curve have most of you had who are using a LD shaft? in other words how long am i going to be the butt of team jokes? i will say that the hit and feel are great, and on straight shots i can work the ball much better, even draw the length of an 8 foot table now!

Thanks for any feedback

Mike

My doctor told me this was the prescription for switching and getting back to the level I was at pre-switch:

- 2 hours of good practice, 4 times a week for 2 weeks

With further practice and play, I will grow ball after ball, whereupon people I used to lose to will instead begin to hand over their paychecks to me.


KK9 <-- just guessing for my situation, but I think I may be in the ballpark. I hope to demo a 314/2 soon & am not committed to switch yet.

 

[mm4pool]

well since i am the captain of my league teams i guess i will hold myself out for 2 weeks and practice and see what happens, thank Dr. KK9. back to the mother drills for me!

 

[KoolKat9Lives]

well since i am the captain of my league teams i guess i will hold myself out for 2 weeks and practice and see what happens, thank Dr. KK9. back to the mother drills for me!

Please share your learning curve, whether in this thread, or another or via PM.

Good Luck and thanks!

 

[Blue]

Please share your learning curve, whether in this thread, or another or via PM.

Good Luck and thanks!

I am a lurker here and first time posting. I got myself a 314^2 shaft early this year.

Just want to add that it took me about 3 months to get used to the 314^2 shaft, and also the over runs on positions.

I am cueing softer now and have a shorter follow through with my stroke.

I hate playing like this, but I am getting more run outs and break clears compared to playing with a maple shaft.

 

[Jeff G. Martin]

To those asking about the learning curve...

Mine was literally half of a rack. The first LD shaft I tried was an OB-1. First shot I took was way way off. At that point it was kind of like one of those "ohhhh okay" moments where you've figured "it" out. I was able to adjust very quickly. I shoot with an OB-2 now, and I don't think I'll ever go back. The ONLY thing I didn't like was the conical taper. I had my cue maker extend the taper a little bit and now it's much more comfortable in my hands. To those who may be wondering....I didn't notice any difference in performance after adjusting the size of the OB-2.

 

[instroke2]

+'s

If you're playing allot of 9 or 10 ball, with allot of 3 rail shape, a low deflection shaft makes it allot easier on tough or small pro cut pockets.
Less guessing at the amount of deflection to gauge for.

-'s

Some low deflection shafts feel terrible on the hit, at least to me. They feel like a hollow hit. The Mezz shafts and Mcdermott I-series are my preferences. Followed by the 314 which started it all...

Allow for your brain to evolve with the new shaft, some people get it right away, and some people it takes a couple months, depends on how much table time you have i guess.

good luck with it,

 

[Gerry]

20 years of "maryland" style cues....boars, blacks, scruggs, joss, schon etc. with standard shafts......loved them all, BUT I wanted to improve.

1st LD was a Lucasi radial spliced. played well with about 1/2 the ld properties of say a predator.

2nd was a 314-2 which took me about 3 months to fully get back up to speed with. biggest improvement was the ability to aim center ball and use whatever spin needed. only thing I didnt like was a bit of a harsh hit.

as of 2 weeks ago I now play with an OB. basically the same LD characteristics of the predator, BUT MUCH MUCH smoother hit. no harsh feel like my 314-2. also whatever anyone sais.....the OB out spins any shaft I have played with. there just seems to be an endless supply of RPM's in the OB.

G.

 

[radge69]

Are you saying if I switch butts while using the same maple shaft - that the play characteristics would be more different than switching butts on the same LD shaft? Why would that be?

In my experience generally if someone is using solid shafts, and they get a new cue they are going to use the shaft that came with the cue. You are correct, you could just use the same solid shaft on a different butt.

What about when it's time for a new shaft though (old one broke, wore down, ect)? You have to learn a new shaft. With a LD shaft, if you stick with the same brand of shaft, you pick up right where you left off.

Don't get me wrong, I shoot with both types, and could care less one way or another. Just throwing out some thoughts for ya.

 

[dabarbr]

Matt, you know I'm one of the older guys here and have been playing for most of my life. The regular maple shafts have always been fine with me but mainly because that's all there was.

A few years ago I felt that my game was starting to really fade and felt that I needed to make a change. I decided to try an LD shaft so I tried the Predator and had a hard time with it. Now I realize that I didn't give it enough time. Probably because then I didn't have the time to give to make the adjustment.

A couple of years ago I decided to take some time off from playing matches and bought a Tiger LD shaft. After a couple of months of playing with it every day the improvement in my game was amazing and that's when I realized that I could not go back to a regular maple shaft anymore. My game was revitalized and a spark of new energy came with it.

I'm not saying it was the Tiger shaft, it probably could have been any of the LD shafts out there. It's just that I committed myself to give it a couple of dedicated months of solid playing to actually see if there was any difference. Now I'm thinking of trying one of the other LD shafts to compare, now that I'm comfortable with this type of shaft.

I think you should give one a try and be prepared to give it a good test drive. Good Shooting. Frank

 

[mm4pool]

learning OB-2

well, i have had my OB-2 for a week now and have about 10 hours with it. here is what i have found so far, the first time i tried to use it I couldnt hardly make a ball, very frustrating! put it away and used maple to play league match. next day talked to a few people, got some input and tried again, results were better but still mixed. on Wednesday of this week i went to OB Cue's office to pick up a break cue I won in another raffle and was talking to Jessica there, she pointed out that i should go back to center ball no english and then slowly work back to using english. WOW, what an insightful lady. i played wednesday and thursday nights in league with it and what a difference, i am still getting the gauge of how much but i will say that when i do my part (put a good stroke on the ball) i can move cue around to where i need it for next shop SO much easier now with better control, still trying to get speed right but at least i end up in the right general area.

in short i am glad that i made the switch and i hope that the improvement continues.

Mike

 

[dr9ball]

I am a lurker here and first time posting. I got myself a 314^2 shaft early this year.

Just want to add that it took me about 3 months to get used to the 314^2 shaft, and also the over runs on positions.

I am cueing softer now and have a shorter follow through with my stroke.

I hate playing like this, but I am getting more run outs and break clears compared to playing with a maple shaft.

How much of your improvement could be due to the shorter follow through and cueing softer? Seems like you changed some things besides the shaft.

 

[akaTrigger]

I've played all my serious pool using an old school maple shaft.

For those that have tried the low deflection shafts as well as non-low deflection shafts:

- What do you see as the pros and cons?

- How did it affect your level of play?

- Also, what do most of the professionals use these days?


Thanks in advance for sharing,

Matt

Hi Matt,

I just wanted to say thanks for starting this thread. Because of the comments, I tried out then switched to an OB2 just three weeks ago and I love it!

 

[HitHrdNDraw]

ld shafts

Not sure if anyone mentioned this (i didnt feel like reading 3 pages of comments) but the Mezz Hybrid Pro II is a great shaft... its a solid piece of maple with a carbon core... great hit... just ask mika (twice)

 

[KoolKat9Lives]

Hi Matt,

I just wanted to say thanks for starting this thread. Because of the comments, I tried out then switched to an OB2 just three weeks ago and I love it!

Cool! Great to hear. :smile:

BTW, I'm not greedy or nuttin', so sending only 10% of all future winnings is all I require. My PayPal addy is Ammatool@yoohoo.com.

 

[greyghost]

In my experience generally if someone is using solid shafts, and they get a new cue they are going to use the shaft that came with the cue. You are correct, you could just use the same solid shaft on a different butt.

What about when it's time for a new shaft though (old one broke, wore down, ect)? You have to learn a new shaft. With a LD shaft, if you stick with the same brand of shaft, you pick up right where you left off.

Don't get me wrong, I shoot with both types, and could care less one way or another. Just throwing out some thoughts for ya.

one thing to remember with shafts and especially custom cues, some custom cue makers carry the taper of the butt into the shaft so far, which has influence on how those cues play...so depending a custom with that taper carried onto a LD production shaft should play better than one just bought that matches the joint.

 

[mdavis228]

Also be aware that there are many parameters in a cue that contribute to the way a cue performs, with or without an LD shaft. If you take a shaft - LD or not - that you've been playing with for long enough to be familiar with it, and put it on a different cue, and expect to see identical performance - you may be surprised. Different butt tapers, different woods, full or short splice, etc... All can & will contribute to the feel AND performance you perceive to more or less noticeable extents.
Lots of folks will say it ain't so - some of them cue makers. But it is so... And the best cue makers, the ones most capable of producing a desired end product that varies based on the customer's desires - they know it's so & they know how to use it.