surely this has happened in a big match, what's the rule??

T

The Old Jaybird

Well-known member
Player takes a shot and the cue tip comes off,
can he take a time out to glue it back on??
go to his case and replace the shaft with a good one??
does the latter fall into the category of withdrawal from the match for breaking down his cue??

I have lost a tip a time or 2 in casual play, so it can happen.


Humor me, I'm an old guy just sitting around thinking about stuff.
 
Interestingly, at snooker if the tip comes off, the player can take a break to have a new tip put on. I believe that if the tip is merely damaged, the player must play on. Of course in snooker a player almost never has a second cue (most professionals use a one piece cue).

At pool, players are expected to have a second shaft. I’d be curious if the referee has a discretion to pause the shot clock if the player needs to change shafts in that situation, or if the player just has to use his break cue until he has time to change shafts.
 
I believe that we’re all old guys sitting around thinking.
Good question though.
In my opinion until we start using AI refs, then any human ref would let the player change shafts.

As far as gluing a new tip on, no.

Personally I would no doubt glue my thumb and my finger to the tip and a fair bit of the ferrule.
Most of my shots after that would have to be made with the side of the shaft.

Therein lies the problem.
 
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I realize I play in a small town compared to most members here .
In a end of the year partners 8 ball tournament a opponent mis cued and the tip of his cue went flying !

Sadly he didn't have a extra shaft or some super glue to repair it , but then the tip was about paper thin .
My partner and I gave him time to figure out a plan B .

We still won that game and the tournament .
 
you can replace the shaft
you can't take a break to replace the tip
there is no rule that says if you unscrew the cue that it's a withdrawal from the match.
Earl used to change a lot of shafts during play during his CueTec days, he always had issues with how the played... I saw him in a world championships coming with two cases, one for his cues, one for extra shafts and he switched shafts twice in a single match.
 
My research says this:

Tennis:

When a professional tennis player breaks a racket, they receive an immediate "code violation" for racket abuse, face a hefty fine, and must either play with the broken racket or switch to a new one from their gear bag. [1, 2, 3]

Golf:

When a pro golfer breaks a club, their options depend entirely on how it broke. Under USGA Rule 4.1a, if the damage occurs during normal play, they can repair it, replace it, or keep using what’s left of it. If the club was broken in anger, they cannot replace it.

My opinion is, if they broke it out of frustration (think Mike Segal) it's a loss of game. If it's accidental or, otherwise, not intentional, they can replace the shaft, if they don't have an extra shaft then they play with what they have.

In short: if you cause the problem there should be immediate consequences, if it was accidental then you better have spares or that's on you. I don't think fines should be applied in our world.
 
The Old Jaybird said:
Player takes a shot and the cue tip comes off,
can he take a time out to glue it back on??
go to his case and replace the shaft with a good one??
does the latter fall into the category of withdrawal from the match for breaking down his cue??

I have lost a tip a time or 2 in casual play, so it can happen.


Humor me, I'm an old guy just sitting around thinking about stuff.
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There wouldn't be an AZ without old guys thinking up stuff!! 👍🏻😉
 
GideonF said:
How would you rule if you were the referee? Assume a shot clock is in effect.
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That's a hard one. I think you'd want the match to finish as fairly as possible, but the tip is the player's responsibility. If there is no second shaft, you have a big problem. Maybe let him use his five-minute break to solve it.
 
I had a tip fly off of my break cue once. My opponent offered me the use of his break cue for the rest of the match, I declined and used my player, thats normally how I break anyhow. That will teach me to use a break cue. It angered me because it was a new Bulletproof tip, I finally found it after 30 minutes of searching, it was about 50 feet away under a table against a wall. o_Oo_O
 
I had a tip come off during a game in a small tournament and I finished the game with a house cue - then quickly glued my tip back on between games with the super glue I always carried. After the match I replaced the tip with a new Elk Master which was my tip of choice back then.
I didn't use a break cue back then and only had an Eckes cue which I used to break and for play.
 
Niels Feijen had a tip come off during a tournament not that long ago. Switched shafts but had never played with the new shaft and so the tip hadn’t been played in and played completely different. He struggled to make a ball and lost the match. Said it was a lesson learned.
 
7Baller said:
Niels Feijen had a tip come off during a tournament not that long ago. Switched shafts but had never played with the new shaft and so the tip hadn’t been played in and played completely different. He struggled to make a ball and lost the match. Said it was a lesson learned.
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Good point. Given that the top pros get all their shafts and tips for free, it would make sense for them to keep a “tournament ready” back up shaft - with the tip played in just how they like it.

SVB did a “what’s in the case” segment on Karl’s YouTube channel and I could not believe how many back up shafts he had in his case. Also had multiple break shafts with different tips (super hard for 10b and more responsive for the 9b cut break).
 
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