Is it time for a low deflection shaft for me?

[Positively Ralf]

I'm a part time player and have been classified as a C-C+ player. Higher skilled players who have played me all say the same thing, I've got solid fundamentals, very good stroke, good attitude, I know when to go for a safety and I have a good idea of how the tangent line works.

I've been playing part time with a maple shaft pechauer for about 4 years now. Is it time for me to switch over to an LD shaft? Or should I just keep using the table time I have during the week(4 hours on tuesdays) to work on other things? I mainly practice straight pool and will start thinking about just working on my 9 ball break more often.

thanks in advance for any advise.

 

[bbb]

i am not an instructor
but there must be a reason that so many pros use low deflection shafts

 

[The_JV]

I'm not an instructor, but figured why not...

In my honest opinion, using a LD shaft is just another way to play the same game.

Does it make doing some things easier..?.., yes, potentially.
Is there anything that you can do with a LD shaft that's impossible with solid maple..?.., I have yet to see it.

The switch to LD from solid maple was difficult for me, I won't lie. Took me a couple of weeks in my youth to figure it out.

My only solid advice is for you not to expect some dramatic increase in your performance just because of the purchase. I'd argue that most that claim their games improved are simply enjoying the benefits of focused table time that was required to recalibrate to the new LD.

 

[The_JV]

i am not an instructor
but there must be a reason that so many pros use low deflection shafts

sponsorship...? Keep in mind most use CF as well. Note Filler dumped the CF and went back the wooden Z3.

Busty, Efren, and even Alex P. use solid maple. ...or at least I do recall Alex switching back to solid maple after using LD or years.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I'm a part time player and have been classified as a C-C+ player. Higher skilled players who have played me all say the same thing, I've got solid fundamentals, very good stroke, good attitude, I know when to go for a safety and I have a good idea of how the tangent line works.

I've been playing part time with a maple shaft pechauer for about 4 years now. Is it time for me to switch over to an LD shaft? Or should I just keep using the table time I have during the week(4 hours on tuesdays) to work on other things? I mainly practice straight pool and will start thinking about just working on my 9 ball break more often.

thanks in advance for any advise.

Yes, low deflection ("squirt") is better, for the same reason that less crosswind is better for archery - less guesswork in aiming. And there's no time like the present to switch to it - the sooner you do, the less time and effort it'll take to "get over" the old way.

pj
chgo

 

[The_JV]

thanks in advance for any advise.

...don't sell the solid maple

 

[sixpack]

I'm a part time player and have been classified as a C-C+ player. Higher skilled players who have played me all say the same thing, I've got solid fundamentals, very good stroke, good attitude, I know when to go for a safety and I have a good idea of how the tangent line works.

I've been playing part time with a maple shaft pechauer for about 4 years now. Is it time for me to switch over to an LD shaft? Or should I just keep using the table time I have during the week(4 hours on tuesdays) to work on other things? I mainly practice straight pool and will start thinking about just working on my 9 ball break more often.

thanks in advance for any advise.

I switched about two months before COVID shut everything down and it was night and day for me. I just loved the energy transfer and the consistency of the LD shaft. I was playing with a 25 year old Schön shaft before that. The LD qualities of it are nice too. I didn't have much of an adjustment because I don't rely on feel too much in my aiming.

 

[The_JV]

I didn't have much of an adjustment because I don't rely on feel too much in my aiming.

This might be a good tangent.

Are you suggesting that the varying amount of deflection charactistics different shafts may have don't effect certain styles of player...?

I could see someone who doesn't use much side spin on shots, not experiencing much of a learning curve. Otherwise squirt is squirt. System, feel, HAMB players should experience the same thing when switching.

 

[Imac007]

I'm a part time player and have been classified as a C-C+ player. Higher skilled players who have played me all say the same thing, I've got solid fundamentals, very good stroke, good attitude, I know when to go for a safety and I have a good idea of how the tangent line works.

I've been playing part time with a maple shaft pechauer for about 4 years now. Is it time for me to switch over to an LD shaft? Or should I just keep using the table time I have during the week(4 hours on tuesdays) to work on other things? I mainly practice straight pool and will start thinking about just working on my 9 ball break more often.

thanks in advance for any advise.

If you are a player fixated on center ball striking and rarely use side, the change of shafts will do little to help.
If you tend to add side and deflection causes you to miss some shots as a result, the low deflection shaft will help on some shots.
Transitioning from snooker where I used a smaller tip and rigid laminated shaft, my first challenge was the amount of deflection I experienced on shots with side.
I bought a cuetec snooker cue with an 11mm tip.
It was solid maple with a brass ferrule and was even worse.
I love the slender snooker butt, with standard pool cues feeling fat and clumsy.
I bought a 13mm R360 low deflection shaft and love it.
I tend to use side on most shots.
The cut induced throw variances of center ball striking, creates a maze of different effects, situationally, that I refuse to navigate.
Gearing english with low deflection and convergent inside feed into my need to keep it simple.
If you are an old school player like Earl, who likes to use a fatter hit with outside english to throw balls in, you will need to adjust slightly with a low deflection cue.

 

[ShootingArts]

If you plan to move to a low deflection shaft the time is now, or a long time ago. They make the game a little simpler, the CF seems to transfer power better. Not going to make you a monster player overnight but as little as you are playing now it is easier to remember the effect of lower deflection and you pay a smaller penalty for being wrong, often none!

Truth is you can go to CF or be a hold out with the maple. Most sports have went to synthetic equipment and I think it is a matter of time until pool has about 90% synthetic shafts and a few holdouts.

Hu

 

[sixpack]

This might be a good tangent.

Are you suggesting that the varying amount of deflection charactistics different shafts may have don't effect certain styles of player...?

I could see someone who doesn't use much side spin on shots, not experiencing much of a learning curve. Otherwise squirt is squirt. System, feel, HAMB players should experience the same thing when switching.

I received this question in PM as well. I don't have time at the moment to formulate a good answer but I will respond as soon as I can.

 

[straightline]

Players tend to place their margins well in the fat part of reliable so it seems logical that a wide range of equipment can be accommodated with a minimum of readjustment. I don't use an LD - I prefer developing reliable offsets. It's just part of the trek.

 

[The_JV]

Truth is you can go to CF or be a hold out with the maple. Most sports have went to synthetic equipment and I think it is a matter of time until pool has about 90% synthetic shafts and a few holdouts.

🖐
...maybe if they release something with a maple grain finish...lol

 

[FranCrimi]

The answer comes easy if you've been playing with an LD shaft and then one day you don't have your cue and your friend lends you theirs, with a solid maple shaft. And then you can't make a shot with sidespin. The difference in cb squirt is huge. Sure, anyone can get used to any shaft, but you have to work so much harder with a solid wood shaft to properly compensate for the cb squirt. Why do all that work if you don't have to?

 

[boogieman]

Why do all that work if you don't have to?

Not disagreeing, but for some "all the work" is the allure of the game. Pool on hard mode is more fun. Tighter pockets, etc. Luckily once you get used to it, you don't have to do much thinking about your stick or deflection.

 

[sixpack]

This might be a good tangent.

Are you suggesting that the varying amount of deflection charactistics different shafts may have don't effect certain styles of player...?

I could see someone who doesn't use much side spin on shots, not experiencing much of a learning curve. Otherwise squirt is squirt. System, feel, HAMB players should experience the same thing when switching.

The more completely I tried to write this response the more tedious it got. So I'll give a quicker answer.

I use a lot of side spin.

After a long break from the game my instinct and feel wasn't like it used to be so I broke my game down and rebuilt it. I still work on getting in the zone and playing by feel but I also spend a lot of time measuring deflection and practicing adjusting for it. Moving to LD was as easy as just adjusting my pivot for BHE and shooting a few reference shots and that was about it. I played with it for about 6 hours over the course of a week to get more dialed in. By that time I was playing better than with my maple shaft. If I still played mostly by feel and having a library of shot pictures, I think the transition would have been far more difficult.

As Patrick Johnson pointed out a while ago, one of the benefits, often overlooked, of an LD shaft is that accidental off-center hits on the CB don't deflect as much so you have a larger margin of error as far as not hitting exactly center CB.

 

[FranCrimi]

Not disagreeing, but for some "all the work" is the allure of the game. Pool on hard mode is more fun. Tighter pockets, etc. Luckily once you get used to it, you don't have to do much thinking about your stick or deflection.

I guess it depends on what your goal is. If you're playing in a tournament, the stress of the event is hard enough without intentionally making the game harder for yourself.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

As Patrick Johnson pointed out a while ago, one of the benefits, often overlooked, of an LD shaft is that accidental off-center hits on the CB don't deflect as much so you have a larger margin of error as far as not hitting exactly center CB.

The closer your actual bridge is to your shaft's pivot point the less effect a stroke error will have on the CB's direction. I think that means LD is usually more sensitive, but pivot lengths and bridge lengths vary, so it's not a certainty - and the difference is probably too small to matter anyway.

pj
chgo

 

[The_JV]

The more completely I tried to write this response the more tedious it got. So I'll give a quicker answer.

I know all too well how that goes...lol

Moving to LD was as easy as just adjusting my pivot for BHE and shooting a few reference shots and that was about it.

I think I may have just recently said this somewhere else on the forum, but the notion of BHE sends chills down my spine. Not saying it's a bad thing or less effective than any other method. I simply can't compute anything other than a parallel shift from center to apply spin...lol.

 

[The_JV]

Not disagreeing, but for some "all the work" is the allure of the game. Pool on hard mode is more fun. Tighter pockets, etc. Luckily once you get used to it, you don't have to do much thinking about your stick or deflection.

Exactly... "all the work" is already done for someone that's currently hitting a solid maple. They know how to hit the shot.

As a LD user, I coud grab a solid maple and beat all the same local players I can normally. Might have 90% of my potting/CB control game right out of the gate. That 10% left on the table would be those extreme shots in power or cut angle. Given enough time I'd slowly gain that back as well. My point is, LD isn't going to make you a better player. It does make things a tad easier/forgiving, nothing more.

Once more, I'm not saying not to buy one. Just don't expect some automatic leveling up of your performance.