So imagine this: neutral racker, EVERY tournament, NO eyeballing the rack, period. Balls are racked, ladies and gentlemen, break the balls.
So, what do you suppose would happen after all the "belly-aching" stopped? Shorter, less boring, WAY less aggravating matches, that's what. For all parties; players, officials and sweaters. Ok, yeah, someone here is gonna say "Well, then someone will bribe a ref / racker and someone ( who, obviously, won't be eyeballing the rack ) is going to get gaff racks." Ummmm... yeah. Sure, it's a larcenous world. And the "planned-and-paid-for" gaff rack is gonna happen MAYBE .000000000002 of the time. What this would get rid of is this maddening, endless, time-consuming clown-show of taking 15 minutes between games "checking" the rack / re-racking.
Ok, I'm now running for my reinforced bunker / bomb-shelter!
Not even look at it? Is that how people approach going into the stack in straight pool? No look for a dead ball...just hit and hope?
I disagree with your post on a number of levels. First of all, if reducing the time racking is your overriding goal, rack your own achieves that in most cases without the added expense of neutral rackers. For the most part, rack your own is the best at insuring the quality of the rack is high, and places the penalty on the racker alone if it isn't. If a rack is not perfect, which is extremely common, then looking at the rack is a requirement for any sort of reliable outcome. Making balls on the break makes tournaments go quicker. Poorly racked balls resulting in dry breaks of clustered tables also slows down a tourney. For the vast *majority* of players, rack your own is the quickest method to insure a good rack and good pace of play. I personally think advocating any shot in pool without even looking at it is crazy.
KMRUNOUT