Practice with new Aramith balls, or old balls?

GrayBeard said:

I just recently got my home table installed (9' Brunswick Mission style table,) and it came with a set of standard Aramith balls
(the ones that go for about $90 at Ozone) that are in decent condition, but I'm contemplating buying a set of Aramith Tournament
Pro Cup balls, and am wondering....do the Pro Cups play noticeably different (better) than the standard Aramith balls? If I buy
them, should I use them for practice sessions, or just reserve them for games? What would you do?

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I'd buy a new set of centennials. And play with them. In my opinion, they are the best balls made. I have 3 sets. Enjoy your new table.

You should buy 15 sets of balls, play with all of them and on day 16
start over with set 1 again. LOL (Arimith Pro Cup)

P.S. Enjoy your new table. ! :thumbup:

Or just run the ones you have through a polisher and play with them. I highly doubt most of us could tell the differences between the two if they were both in the same condition. Old, dull, worn out balls is another story. But if they are good, use them. I, personally, couldn't justify the extra cost. If I absolutely had to buy a new set, I prob still wouldn't spend the extra denaros. The standard Aramith set is more then good enough for me.

I suppose there is an argument that the next class up will be more durable, and wear the cloth less. Spend what your wallet (or wife) will allow.

I have a set of Arimith Pro and a set of Tournaments both about 3 years old
when clean, they play about the same
when dirty, they Pros have more throw

Show that table....

Big difference. Those are cheaper balls and it.shows. Centennials or super pro are
Worth the extra $.

just one week ago I took the plunge and purchased the pro tournament set, but the set with the measles ball and cleaner and jim rempe training ball. the reason being, the regular set comes with the black logo cue ball and I have not heard many good reports on it. the measles ball, imho, is the better choice. the first time I hit with this set, it seemed to hit different. it may be the new resin they developed. I am well pleased with this set except it being a little pricey, but I learned long ago, most times, you get what you pay for......I almost purchased the centenials as suggested in a previous post but then heard good things about the duramith resin with the pro tournament set, I would do it again. hope this helps.....

GrayBeard said:

I just recently got my home table installed (9' Brunswick Mission style table,) and it came with a set of standard Aramith balls
(the ones that go for about $90 at Ozone) that are in decent condition, but I'm contemplating buying a set of Aramith Tournament
Pro Cup balls, and am wondering....do the Pro Cups play noticeably different (better) than the standard Aramith balls? If I buy
them, should I use them for practice sessions, or just reserve them for games? What would you do?

Click to expand...

The Tournament set plays different from every other cueball set I've tried (which is pretty much all of them), including the standard Pro Cup set.

They play a bit "heavier" and need more stroke to get the same spin and follow/draw with the cueball.

Everyone that played with them said the same thing, and most at my regular pool rooms hate using them because they don't have the stoke to get enough action out of the Tournamet set.

I have/had just about every brand ball set and if the table is kept clean and the balls wiped down each time before playng there is not very much difference from $75 ball sets than $250 ball sets. Best set of balls I have out of many sets are Eagle balls. They are a $40 striped nine ball set. I've had them for months and they are still like new. Nothing sticks to them. I don't know if they make 15 ball sets or not. Just like $1000 cues, $200+ ball sets are not needed. IMO. Johnnyt

Do you plan on playing anywhere else besides your home table? If you plan on joining a league you should check and see which balls are being used and try to stick with those. If your just playing at home, buy the nicest set you can afford!!!

New2Cue said:

Do you plan on playing anywhere else besides your home table? If you plan on joining a league you should check and see which balls are being used and try to stick with those. If your just playing at home, buy the nicest set you can afford!!!

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New2Cue said:

Do you plan on playing anywhere else besides your home table? If you plan on joining a league you should check and see which balls are being used and try to stick with those. If your just playing at home, buy the nicest set you can afford!!!

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I generally agree with this... Play with the same balls primarily in use at the hall you frequent most.

I'd also suggest weighing your pool balls with a good postal scale to see how heavy they are, and if there's much variance from ball to ball. And maybe consider buying a measles cue ball to add to your set if they are within a few grams of each other. And as someone else mentioned, giving the ones you have a good polish is a great idea. Might make you feel different about "needing" a new set at all.

I have a set of Raschig balls and a set of Aramith Super Pros. Honestly, they play pretty much identical, but I use the Aramith Super Pros (added measles CB) because that's what the pool hall where I play league uses.

On a related note.... I went to Germany earlier this year and bought a cheap English 8-ball set to bring home with me..... it turns out they are 15 grams heavier than what I am used to. You can feel the difference holding them in hand, and that CB is very tough to move around and almost impossible to get any extreme English to work properly. On my table, compared to the Raschigs or Aramith SPs, they are almost like a gaffe set of pool balls... But, I found that using them on my 9' table actually simulates the type of game you have to employ when playing with oversized cue ball on a bar box with slow cloth.... So, they have become a bit of a training tool for me. The lesson there is, don't go by price... know your dimensions and weight specs, and try to buy based on quality and consistency. This set I bought was cheap for a reason.

Play with both. See if you notice a difference. Decide from there.

GrayBeard said:

I just recently got my home table installed (9' Brunswick Mission style table,) and it came with a set of standard Aramith balls
(the ones that go for about $90 at Ozone) that are in decent condition, but I'm contemplating buying a set of Aramith Tournament
Pro Cup balls, and am wondering....do the Pro Cups play noticeably different (better) than the standard Aramith balls? If I buy
them, should I use them for practice sessions, or just reserve them for games? What would you do?

Click to expand...

I have a set of the aramith premiers and brunswick centennials. If they play differently, it is so slight that I can not tell. The new aramith balls do have a lifetime warranty, so there is no reason not to use them all the time.