ld shaft revisited

L

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am one of those guys who prefer standard maple shafts mainly because that is what I have always played with. I never saw the need to buy a ld shaft and relearn how to aim again.

Years ago I received a predator with the 314 shaft on a trade. I tried it and did not like it so in the closet it went. Over the years I pulled it out and shot a few racks ...mainly to knock the rust off it. ....so to speak.

4 years ago I received a McDermott with a g core shaft. Same as the predator it went in the closet and was pulled out occasionally to hit a few racks at home with.

I have always really liked the design of my McDermott but did not like the shaft. I decided today that I am gonna make myself like that McDermott and took it to league.

Well surprise....surprise.. I played pretty well with it . Well enough to win my 9 ball match 38-18 in a 38-31 race.

I believe the reason I played so well is not the shaft itself. It was the fact that I realized it played a whole lot different than my meucci therefore I had to treat every shot like it was the most important shot I have ever attempted.

Sure I missed a few shots I think I would have made with my standard shaft but I attribute it to mu lack of focus at times.


My team mates commented on my new cue. I replied it was an old cue that had been in the closet for the Las 4 years. One team mate asked to look at it and sighted down along the cue and said.....no wonder you missed that was shot....its warped from leaning in the closet foe 4 years....take it him and lean it again the opposite wall to straighten it out. I grabbed the cue and rolled it across the table and I was straight...no wobble at all..he said....had you worried didn't I..every one busted out laughing.
 
gregnice37 said:
Do we see a pro shaft in your possible future for your muecci.
Click to expand...

That thought never tossed my mind.

Come.to think.of it.....it would be cool to.have one made with ring work match my gambler.. You might not never see another one like it.

Since I live right down the road from the factory I might stop in one day and talk to bob about it.

I know you can buy a new gambler with a pro shaft but mine is an older model with different ringwork.
 
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Maybe I'm weird, but when I made tge switch to ld 3 or 4 years ago after playibg with standard maple since I was 11 (33 now) I don't remember struggling with relearning aiming at all. I think part of the reason is I always really really sucked at compensating for the squirt in the first place, and pocketing any balls with english was a struggle. For me switching to ld was a natural fit. Bottom line I think the adjustment can be somewhat overrated depending upon the player. For me it really let me focus on things besides aiming and allowed me to improve my use of english and overall game.

I say give it a few more chances for sure before deciding to go back.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
lorider said:
I am one of those guys who prefer standard maple shafts mainly because that is what I have always played with. I never saw the need to buy a ld shaft and relearn how to aim again.

Years ago I received a predator with the 314 shaft on a trade. I tried it and did not like it so in the closet it went. Over the years I pulled it out and shot a few racks ...mainly to knock the rust off it. ....so to speak.

4 years ago I received a McDermott with a g core shaft. Same as the predator it went in the closet and was pulled out occasionally to hit a few racks at home with.

I have always really liked the design of my McDermott but did not like the shaft. I decided today that I am gonna make myself like that McDermott and took it to league.

Well surprise....surprise.. I played pretty well with it . Well enough to win my 9 ball match 38-18 in a 38-31 race.

I believe the reason I played so well is not the shaft itself. It was the fact that I realized it played a whole lot different than my meucci therefore I had to treat every shot like it was the most important shot I have ever attempted.

Sure I missed a few shots I think I would have made with my standard shaft but I attribute it to mu lack of focus at times.


My team mates commented on my new cue. I replied it was an old cue that had been in the closet for the Las 4 years. One team mate asked to look at it and sighted down along the cue and said.....no wonder you missed that was shot....its warped from leaning in the closet foe 4 years....take it him and lean it again the opposite wall to straighten it out. I grabbed the cue and rolled it across the table and I was straight...no wobble at all..he said....had you worried didn't I..every one busted out laughing.
Click to expand...

Is the G-Core shaft really a low deflection shaft ?
 
JoeyInCali said:
Is the G-Core shaft really a low deflection shaft ?
Click to expand...

Well its proclaimed to be and I believe that is why it is cored:angry: ...hence the name g core.. It also has the real short ferule. I do prefer it over the predator because I feel it has a slightly better feel due to the wood to wood joint.

And last but not least ....it darn sure plays like one.
 
lorider said:
Well its proclaimed to be and I believe that is why it is cored:angry: ...hence the name g core.. It also has the real short ferule. I do prefer it over the predator because I feel it has a slightly better feel due to the wood to wood joint.

And last but not least ....it darn sure plays like one.
Click to expand...

I like the g core shaft. Its has a stiff hit and with a Kamui soft tip feels good to me. I do not think the shaft is LD as stated on a above post though. It is advertised as a high performance shaft. The core is carbon fiber and Mcdermott says it is more radially consistent.
 
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lorider said:
Well its proclaimed to be and I believe that is why it is cored:angry: ...hence the name g core.. It also has the real short ferule. I do prefer it over the predator because I feel it has a slightly better feel due to the wood to wood joint.

And last but not least ....it darn sure plays like one.
Click to expand...
http://www.mcdermottcue.com/mcdermott_gcore_shafts.php
It doesn't look like it's a reduced mass/ low deflection shaft.
In fact, it might even be considered a high deflection shaft compared to regular maple shaft. Unless that center of the G-core is just foam or air.
 
JoeyInCali said:
http://www.mcdermottcue.com/mcdermott_gcore_shafts.php
It doesn't look like it's a reduced mass/ low deflection shaft.
In fact, it might even be considered a high deflection shaft compared to regular maple shaft. Unless that center of the G-core is just foam or air.
Click to expand...

When comparing the g core to LD shafts for me the aiming is no different. The thing I like is the shaft has a regular maple feel in your hand. The sound of the hit is a slightly higher pitch than most shafts. When switching back to a standard shaft I then have to compensate in aim some for the flex of my standard shaft. IMHO
 
tslavin11 said:
When comparing the g core to LD shafts for me the aiming is no different. The thing I like is the shaft has a regular maple feel in your hand. The sound of the hit is a slightly higher pitch than most shafts. When switching back to a standard shaft I then have to compensate in aim some for the flex of my standard shaft. IMHO
Click to expand...

The flex really doesn't have much to do with cue ball squirt.
The standard maple shaft you have might have a much heavier ferrule.
 
I own a g core and it used to be my main player, they aren't really LD at all. They carbon fiber core is actually an arrow made by Easton. Idk what the ferrule material is but I was using it to break and the ferrule mushroomed and I had to send it back to McDermott.

I switched to an OB1+ tapered it to my liking and taken down to 12.4mm, put an Ultraskin SIB medium on it and I've never felt a better hitting cue, it just has that nice spring to it when you want power and softness when you want touch.
 
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