My dilemma with low deflection

~jj~

~jj~

3 ball ghost is strong
Silver Member
So, I play about B speed. Been playing for 5 years, and with a predator (314^2 and now 314).

I have a decent custom cue with two decent shafts in addition to the predator.

I find that I get a little careless when it comes to the purity of my stroke. I am having a good time blaming the predator for promoting laziness as it's a more forgiving shaft. ;-)

I also find that I have better cue ball control with the standard shaft.
I think the standard shaft will force me to develop a better stroke and try to play closer to center ball.

So I'm wondering if anyone else is in this boat, or has been. Do you think I will gain some knowledge and some added skill by playing with a solid conventional shaft for awhile, or am I wasting my time even thinking about it?
 
I tried a Preditor shaft when they first came out. I found that it helped in an extremely small percentage of my game, and hurt me in all the others. I am very content with the hit of a well made traditional solid shaft.
 
~jj~ said:
So, I play about B speed. Been playing for 5 years, and with a predator (314^2 and now 314).

I have a decent custom cue with two decent shafts in addition to the predator.

I find that I get a little careless when it comes to the purity of my stroke. I am having a good time blaming the predator for promoting laziness as it's a more forgiving shaft. ;-)

I also find that I have better cue ball control with the standard shaft.
I think the standard shaft will force me to develop a better stroke and try to play closer to center ball.

So I'm wondering if anyone else is in this boat, or has been. Do you think I will gain some knowledge and some added skill by playing with a solid conventional shaft for awhile, or am I wasting my time even thinking about it?
Click to expand...

I don't know, but I'm playing the game over 30 years and all I've ever known is a "standard" shaft. I just bought a 314^2, not because it's more forgiving, but because the cueball control is *supposed* to be better. I also have a custom cue with 2 "standard" shafts, but I guess I was just curious to see if LD was everything everyone is cracking it up to be. But it's going to be all or nothing for me. If I like the 314^2, I'll be getting another one and shooting with them exclusively, or I will put it in the closet and go back to the standard shafts.
 
I've yet to play with a ld shaft that was any better than the standard shafts I've always played with. I recently played with a friend's cue with a 314^2 and it was "ok". I think a lot of people are coming to the conclusion that standard shafts are, for the most part, just as good and in many cases, better.
 
I notice a fair amount of deflection, especially with a high inside english shot. Perhaps I shouldn't be hitting that shot, but it's a good test. the first gen 314 deflects enough that I decided to play with the conventional shaft for a bit. It deflects more on that shot, but the hit is way more solid.

the 314^2 and Z^2 require very little, if any compensation when i hit a high inside ball.

thanks for the responses guys. Anyone play LD and go back to conventional?
 
~jj~ said:
I notice a fair amount of deflection, especially with a high inside english shot. Perhaps I shouldn't be hitting that shot, but it's a good test. the first gen 314 deflects enough that I decided to play with the conventional shaft for a bit. It deflects more on that shot, but the hit is way more solid.

the 314^2 and Z^2 require very little, if any compensation when i hit a high inside ball.

thanks for the responses guys. Anyone play LD and go back to conventional?
Click to expand...

I've heard going back to a conventional after playing with an LD for a while can be a real b*tch. It's almost like you have to re-learn certain shots because of the "compensation" that the LD gave. That's the main reason I've been reluctant to try one. I guess I'll be able to answer this better once I've experienced it for myself.
 
I use LD shafts, and have for many years. 314 pre-cats, then OB1, and now I'm using Ca$h Cues ferrule-less LD's almost exclusively. Find something you like & use it. You have to understand there are some things you just can't do very well w/ LD shafts - jump for instance, but I like the trade off.
Tell you this though...
If you're getting lazy with your stroke - it's not the shaft that's causing it.
 
I bought a Lucasi Hybrid LD shaft a while ago to try out this LD craze. I like it alot. I do go back to my conventional shaft every now and then just for fun but I shoot almost exclusively with the LD shaft. I feel I have much more control with it. I just point and shoot unlike my conventional shaft where I would have to pivot my hand a bit on shots with alot of english.
 
I was in a ''slump'' a few years back and decided to hang up my 314 and go back to my standard shaft, at first i thought that i got sucked into the LD craze and that there wasnt much of a difference with my standard until i was sweating a 10 ahead match for a few bills

needless to say i still wish i had my 314 that night cause there was just too many shots that i didnt feel comfortable shooting. so for me its nothing but ld lol
 
Pushout said:
I've yet to play with a ld shaft that was any better than the standard shafts I've always played with. I recently played with a friend's cue with a 314^2 and it was "ok". I think a lot of people are coming to the conclusion that standard shafts are, for the most part, just as good and in many cases, better.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one. I tried the 314 out several years ago, but it never felt quite right to me. Of coures, I've got a LOT of years shooting with a solid standard shaft. I sold the 314 after about 4 months, and never regretted it.

One is not necessarily better than the other, but they are very different. So whichever shaft you are most comfortable with will be the one that is better for you.

I'm very comfortable with my standard shaft.

Steve
 
~jj~ said:
I notice a fair amount of deflection, especially with a high inside english shot.
Click to expand...
High sidespin usually means less "effective" squirt, not more, because swerve is accentuated when you hit high on the CB. When hitting a rail-frozen CB with sidespin you might actually have to compensate your aim in the opposite direction, for "negative squirt" (because you have to hit more downward on the CB, which really accentuates swerve).

pj
chgo
 
While I do agree that the laziness in my stroke not caused by the shaft, I have this feeling in the back of my mind that says if you get punished more often for a poor stroke, then you will develop a better stroke more quickly.
 
jj, shooting with a predator will force you to hit the cueball more accurately. Especially on softer shots. You have to hit the cueball where you are aiming. If you have any unintended english you will miss the ball horribly.

This is because the pivot point of the shaft is about 10" behind your bridge hand. With a regular shaft the pivot point is usually very close to your bridge so you can use backhand english all you want and still make the ball.

Hitting the cueball harder will shorten the pivot point. This is why you can hit firm shots easier with a predator.

The reason I use a predator is because it makes english way easier. You don't have to aim 4 feet left to make a ball with maximum english and a firm stroke. You can actually aim somewhat at the ball.
 
Don't forget its not black and white: high or low deflection. Non-LD shafts can have relatively low deflection compared to others. For instance, in my experience a Schon was high deflection. Now, I use Sugartree and Bluegrass shafts that seem to be LD compared to the Schon I had. I used to play with a predator 314-2 and had no trouble going from that to Sugartree, Bluegrass, or Rick Howard. These guys know how to make a shaft. In my opinion all three feel better than Predator.

I'm in the camp that thinks LD shafts aren't all that. I tried a couple and gave up on them.
 
I guess I fall into the minority here, but I prefer the LD shafts. I find that using the small diameter OB-2 shaft not only gives me more precise control, it also forces me to pay even more attention to a proper delivery and exact contact point.
 
Magic!?

There is no magic by using one shaft or the other.

Those that have been using a higher deflection shaft will find that they have to work harder adjusting to the low deflection shaft.

Will the game improve? Yes, but I don't think it's because of the shaft. I think it's because the player is praticing more and concentrating harder getting used to how it shoots. If that same time and effort was put into using the standard shaft, I think the player would be far ahead of the improvement line created by the switch.

IMO the LD shaft is probably easier for a beginning player to learn. They can see the aim line and point and shoot. They don't need to learn to make quite the adjustment needed as with a higher deflection shaft.
 
~jj~ said:
I also find that I have better cue ball control with the standard shaft.
I think the standard shaft will force me to develop a better stroke and try to play closer to center ball.
Click to expand...

I'm a long time Predator shaft user and I agree with you about having better cue ball control with a standard shaft. My stroke feels more powerful going through the cue ball with a standard shaft and it's almost effortless moving the cue ball around. When I use a standard shaft I take a little more time with my stroke because I know I have to be more precise on where I hit the cue ball if I use side spin than I do with the Predator shaft.

So I'm wondering if anyone else is in this boat, or has been. Do you think I will gain some knowledge and some added skill by playing with a solid conventional shaft for awhile, or am I wasting my time even thinking about it?
Click to expand...

I'm in this boat and after using Predator shafts for years i'm thinking seriously about switching back to my standard shafts. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like I can move the cue ball around so much easier with my standard shaft. The trick is to remember to allow a little on my aim using side spin for the cue ball deflection. Most standard shafts have their own characteristics so you should practice with one shaft and get comfortable with how it plays and deflects the cue ball.

James
 
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