A pool hall in my area has fairly new GC IV's with 860 on them, and 3-rail kicks do not work on those tables like they do on other tables I play on. My experience with the standard corner-to-corner 3-railer is that you should aim at the second diamond with running english, like this:
Every table I recall playing on has been pretty close to this; maybe not exact, but close. I have a GC II in my house, and the shot works fine on that table. If you aim at the second diamond on these GC IV's, however, you will fall well short (about point A) of the target pocket. You have to aim WAY long to get a 3-railer anywhere near the corner pocket, but I did find that by using a drag-draw stroke with a TON of running english I could aim at the second diamond and stretch it out enough to get close to the corner.
My question is, what could be wrong/different about these tables (they are apparently all like that) that would make them play this way? Like I said, they have 860 on them, and the only thing that's a little out of the ordinary (at least for the tables in my area) is that the felt is stretched extremely tight, and there have been some questions raised about the method that was used to stretch the felt, which, as I understand it, was by use of a pair of modified pliers. Other than that they seem pretty normal, no major rolloffs, etc. The rails seem to be pretty lively, but not outside the realm of what I consider normal. Is this most likely a setup issue, or something that happened, or didn't happen, at the factory?
Those of you who play in my area will know the place I'm talking about, but I'd rather not mention any names. I'm not trying to bash anyone; I'm just curious about the problem because I am considering having my table re-covered by the table mechanic in question, but I am concerned about the whole felt-stretching thing. I just don't see how it is possible to stretch the felt in a consistent manner using that method, and at least one other person has voiced the same concern.
Thanks for your help,
Aaron
Every table I recall playing on has been pretty close to this; maybe not exact, but close. I have a GC II in my house, and the shot works fine on that table. If you aim at the second diamond on these GC IV's, however, you will fall well short (about point A) of the target pocket. You have to aim WAY long to get a 3-railer anywhere near the corner pocket, but I did find that by using a drag-draw stroke with a TON of running english I could aim at the second diamond and stretch it out enough to get close to the corner.
My question is, what could be wrong/different about these tables (they are apparently all like that) that would make them play this way? Like I said, they have 860 on them, and the only thing that's a little out of the ordinary (at least for the tables in my area) is that the felt is stretched extremely tight, and there have been some questions raised about the method that was used to stretch the felt, which, as I understand it, was by use of a pair of modified pliers. Other than that they seem pretty normal, no major rolloffs, etc. The rails seem to be pretty lively, but not outside the realm of what I consider normal. Is this most likely a setup issue, or something that happened, or didn't happen, at the factory?
Those of you who play in my area will know the place I'm talking about, but I'd rather not mention any names. I'm not trying to bash anyone; I'm just curious about the problem because I am considering having my table re-covered by the table mechanic in question, but I am concerned about the whole felt-stretching thing. I just don't see how it is possible to stretch the felt in a consistent manner using that method, and at least one other person has voiced the same concern.
Thanks for your help,
Aaron
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