Cue confusion

The opinions stated in this post are personal, coming from an amateur player. Having said that, I confess that I am really confused lately with the ?technologically advanced shafts?, like the 314(2). I play with such a shaft for more than a year now and I still can?t find out anything that makes it superior to any other plain shaft. Lately, I was forced to play for a week with my old cue (a very cheap one). I wasn?t expecting to play any good, since supposed to be a much inferior cue and on top of that I wasn?t used to it. Furthermore, the cue?s shaft had a cheap tip installed on it, in contrast with the moori tip that I was using in my 314. I even asked the captain of my team not to play on the leagues match. Anyway, I played and played much better than I play with my ?good? cue and everything was feeling right and better .

Is anyone other that feels like I feel about these shafts? I feel like, they don?t give you any feedback. I don?t think that they generate more spin than a normal shaft with a well shaped tip. In addition, I got the impression that plain shafts are more forgiving.

Of course, they have much less deflection, but I?ve got the feeling that deflection is seriously overrated. We are talking about slight better deflections rates, which don?t result to anything significant. You have to compensate for deflection anyway, a lot or les will not make any difference. It would be nice, if you didn?t need to compensate at all and therefore, take that parameter complete out of the equation. This is not the case with any shaft though.

Another, thing that I have come across is that if you have developed a very good stroke then you will be able to apply much more spin with such shafts and generally appreciate them much more. My objection here is that if you have an excellent stroke then you will probably be able to generate much more spin and play much better with any shaft anyways.

The only positive think that I can think of (for playing with a 314, Z or OB shaft) is that because they are not very forgiving, they help you to develop a very good stroke.

Anyway, these are my thoughts. As I said, I am really confused and would like to read other ppls opinions on the subject. I am thinking to switch to another cue and probably to a bit softer tip (than moori). I am curious if the feel that the OB shafts have is the same to a 314, or are more responsive. Does the OB-1 feel more like a plain cue and gives you some feedback, or it feels dead like a 314? Before many years, I was playing with a buffalo cue and liked it. I haven?t found a buffalo retailer on the internet though, which is weird .

Thanks a lot for reading my long post . I probably was a bit hoarse with my 314(2), but these are my personal thoughts and wanted to share them with you.

Poke N Hope said:

I read this thread shortly after it was posted but I did not have time to reply. I looked for the thread this morning and was amazed that is was on page four. I figured you would have been flamed to hell by the "Radial Consistency Aficionados? ?.

Yes, I agree with you, Deflection is overrated to a certain extent. All shafts will deflect, you will have to make adjustments with any shaft. The debate: Laminated vs. Solid Maple shafts has a long history here.

I believe that it is the Indian not the arrow. There is no such thing as a magic shaft that you can use that will make you three balls better just by using it. Practice and playing is what will make you better.

I believe if you have go fundamentals (Stroke, Stance, Follow thru etc..
) you can play with anything.

Bottom Line: Different Strokes for Different Folks. Some like laminated, others don?t. I believe that having a shaft with the proper taper for your playing Style and a properly groomed tip is two of the most important things in a shaft.

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I think that I agree with all that you said. I have tried many different things and for only one I am really sure that it helps: a properly groomed tip. I can't say the same for anything else, including expensive shafts.