what pros play with maple regular deflection shafts ?

I cracked the ferrule on my LD shaft and then went back to a regular maple shaft with ivory ferrule for a couple of weeks.

Threw off my eye, arm and brain computer. Long hard shots were a lot harder. The manufacturer fixed ferrule at no charge and now I am back in business.

Noticed with regular ferrule easier to keep cue ball right against the rail in one pocket than with a short ferrule.

Balls throw way differently with a regular ferrule.
 
donny mills said:
I switched because I wanted to increase my inside English accuracy. That happened immediately but the problem was everything else went downhill. I did switch back right away. But I knew deep down I should use LD so I went back again. 4 years later everything else caught up and I got that extra edge I wanted.
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Thanks Donny... Interestingly cut shots with inside English used to be no problem for me at all, not with my Revo they are more difficult and I don't play enough to fine tune that shot.

Take care !
 
So now in 2025, are there any pro players who are using old school high deflection maple shafts?
 
Back in high school there was this kid (some measure of mental challenge) that everyone claimed could recite any MLB player stat you could dream up. He'd run around the halls until someone would test his knowledge with a random question. He'd hit the brakes, declare whatever and zoom, off he went. Truth was, no one bothered to fact check him, and nearly all were simply entertained with his all encompassing "knowledge" to the point that they didn't care if he was wrong. In reality he simply spat out some random number in a tourettes like fashion, and really didn't know anything about baseball.

I get the same vibe from this thread.
 
There's a beauty in the patterns with maple shafts. The ball travels naturally and even with English.

It's not the "law of physics defying" LD shafts of today.

Plus its much more forgiving if you mis-hit a shot.
 
it is hard to make any objective conclusion since top pros are paid to play with certain new or in vogue equipment. so they will have to favor the newest or most expensive shafts and cues . and they will play just fine with any cue or with any shaft on it.

and so since many players follow what pros do or at least mimic them no real conclusion can be inferred.

so as always it boils down to what works for you.

the 400 you spend on a new shaft might make you a little better but maybe not as much better if you spent that 400 on lessons.

ive hit some black shafts and they are fine but i play with old maple shafts made for me years back. with lots of deflection.

i cant really think of any time deflection made me miss or caused me not to shoot a shot the way i wanted.
you get to know how much over to hit the object ball. just like you have to do with throw , or any english.
 
maha said:
it is hard to make any objective conclusion since top pros are paid to play with certain new or in vogue equipment. so they will have to favor the newest or most expensive shafts and cues . and they will play just fine with any cue or with any shaft on it.

and so since many players follow what pros do or at least mimic them no real conclusion can be inferred.

so as always it boils down to what works for you.

the 400 you spend on a new shaft might make you a little better but maybe not as much better if you spent that 400 on lessons.

ive hit some black shafts and they are fine but i play with old maple shafts made for me years back. with lots of deflection.

i cant really think of any time deflection made me miss or caused me not to shoot a shot the way i wanted.
you get to know how much over to hit the object ball. just like you have to do with throw , or any english.
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You have taken your game to a level where you learned to adapt with deflection and can play with it. Learning deflection is part of the game.

Others haven't and are using LD to help compensate.
 
billiards_watch said:
You have taken your game to a level where you learned to adapt with deflection and can play with it. Learning deflection is part of the game.

Others haven't and are using LD to help compensate.
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Until they figure out how to make a zero deflection shaft. Everyone on some level needs to compensate for deflection. Is it easier to overcome deflection adjustment when you deal with a consistent lower magnitude...?.., of course. Is it some badge of honour to master the heavy deflection of solid maple shafts...?..., meh, I don't think so.

What's impressive is when a player can switch back and forth and within a few shots play near the same level.
 
Maybe some of you are over-spinning the ball. For most shots, if you play position for the right angle, you can stay on or near the center axis. I've switched back and forth but always come back to maple shafts. Way more feel. In fact........I've been playing with a new entry level Meucci lately with pro shaft. I bought it on a whim....and I really like how it hits/plays. As you were.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Him, Daulton, maybe Brumback too. Probably the only American top pro's left that might be on regular maple.
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All three of these are retired. I played pool with Brumback a couple of months ago and yeah, he used standard maple. His preferred tool these days is a ping pong paddle though :unsure:
 
iusedtoberich said:
I believe the Ko brothers are still using standard maple, standard deflection shafts.
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Yeah, looks like you are right. Ko bros play with a zen cue with standard maple. And the tip has an unknown brown thing on it and is tapered. And lots of silver and what not. There you have it sports fans. Proof that nothing matters, and anything goes.

Peace be with you...
 
The_JV said:
Until they figure out how to make a zero deflection shaft. Everyone on some level needs to compensate for deflection. Is it easier to overcome deflection adjustment when you deal with a consistent lower magnitude...?.., of course. Is it some badge of honour to master the heavy deflection of solid maple shafts...?..., meh, I don't think so.

What's impressive is when a player can switch back and forth and within a few shots play near the same level.
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There are two guys at my pool hall that picked up the game in the last 3 years and have always played with carbon with the exception of a house cue.

I will try and see if they can play with maple. I know the switch from wood guys to carbon isn't a problem but I want to see if the guys that grew up on Carbon, damn I'm getting old, can transition to wood.

I'm sure the difference will be the long shots that need a bit of english and juice will harm them.
 
billiards_watch said:
There are two guys at my pool hall that picked up the game in the last 3 years and have always played with carbon with the exception of a house cue.

I will try and see if they can play with maple. I know the switch from wood guys to carbon isn't a problem but I want to see if the guys that grew up on Carbon, damn I'm getting old, can transition to wood.

I'm sure the difference will be the long shots that need a bit of english and juice will harm them.
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They'll definitely struggle, without question. You need a strong handle on the physics with a blending with experience to be able to flip back and forth. Watching players who only know LD hit some shots with HD, is always entertaining.

However we really shouldn't make this a CF vs wood debate. That's not the variable. The only CF I ever found that had less deflection than my old Predator Z2 was a 10.5 cynergy. Even now my slightly turned down wx900 is more LD than most CF I've come across.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Him, Daulton, maybe Brumback too. Probably the only American top pro's left that might be on regular maple.
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chohan probably has a shaft similar to his previous SW with his new sponsor. (which was real thin and long taper so not very high deflection anyway)

scott frost plays with a cognescenti
 
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