Darren Appleton's view on Tips - agree or disagree???

Cardigan Kid

Cardigan Kid

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
From Darren's Facebook page....





When a player of Darren's calibre speaks in absolutes, I always listen and try to learn, but this little exchange threw me for a loop.


"Unless u blessed with big stroke and lot of cue power everyone should be playing with a soft tip or super soft"


Now I always thought a soft tip took something off your stroke, and the harder the tip, the more power is transferred to the cue ball, but here it appears Darren disagrees.

What do you think of Darren's absolute view on tips?
And do you follow his advice?
 
I really think pro's opinion's don't carry any more weight than our opinions.

The reason I say this, is across the various pro's, they play with everything under the sun (especially before they were sponsored). From house cues, to Ginacues, to everything in between. Soft tips to hard tips.

With all those equipment differences, they can all do the same shots.
 
Disagree. One man's meat is another man's poison. Tip choice is highly personal.
Just because a pro makes a statement about something doesn't mean it should be etched in stone. :smile:
 
peter_gunn said:
Disagree. Harder tip - more cue power

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This is the crux of the matter.
The basic concept of the harder the tip, the more power. I found it interesting that Darren was suggesting the opposite.
 
Cardigan Kid said:
This is the crux of the matter.
The basic concept of the harder the tip, the more power. I found it interesting that Darren was suggesting the opposite.
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SVB used to play with a Kamui Tan Medium. IDK what he plays with today but I doubt if it is a soft tip.

JoeyA
 
Tramp Steamer said:
Disagree. One man's meat is another man's poison. Tip choice is highly personal.
Just because a pro makes a statement about something doesn't mean it should be etched in stone.
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+ 1

Something else I heard that sounded logical to me was,.. that pros generally play with a harder tip. Reason: Harder Tips play more consistant and require less maintenance.



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If most or all pros agreed on cue makeup (weight & design) and tips, we would probably follow them! But most pros suggest that you find what works best for you. I enjoyed looking through the YouTube videos 'what's in your case' and the wide variety of equipment used! I have a medium tip on my main player and a soft tip on my backup cue. So, could say I'm covered either way.

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I think his general point is that you would get more grip and spin with a soft tip therefore generally requiring less ofca stroke to get more or tge same cue ball action. That may or may not be true, but if if it was there would be other tradeoffs like feel, the speed at which the ball comes off the tip, consistency, maintenance, etc. That's why it really comes down to a personal choice. I guess I'm saying I see where Darren is coming from, but I don't think it's clear cut that any tip would be more forgiving or helpful to amatuers.

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JoeyA said:
SVB used to play with a Kamui Tan Medium. IDK what he plays with today but I doubt if it is a soft tip.

JoeyA
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Does anyone know what TIP uses now? What do most of the pros like most (I know many will say the brand name that sponsors them - mostly I am trying to get a good idea what is most used by the pros today) Thanks any input is appreciated... :-)
 
I don't know. When an elite pro makes a suggestion, which does not put money in his pocket, we should probably listen.:thumbup:
 
Prey said:
I don't know. When an elite pro makes a suggestion, which does not put money in his pocket, we should probably listen.:thumbup:
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Seemingly, yes, but they're no different than the rest of us when it comes to cue tip preference. They use whatever they have become accustomed to.
I know one pro who uses whatever he can get for free, and that includes cues. :smile:
 
Efren plays with an Elkmaster tip and will show you how well it plays if you'll wager some money in a game with him.
 
^ His elks are pressed to be fairly hard, he said that in the SVB&Efren TAR video.

Ontopic; I can see Darrens point of view but still I feel that everyone should play with a tip that feels right to them. I strongly prefer medium hardness tips and I have tried almost everything available on my cues ;) I dont care for the lack of feel of soft tips, they lack the snap that I like when striking a ball.
Many greats of the game play with super soft tips, Daz, Souquet for example. There are just as many pros playing with medium/hard tips. SVB, Shaw and Efren with his pressed elks come to mind.

Play with what you like, despite what the other guy says about it ;)
 
Prey said:
I don't know. When an elite pro makes a suggestion, which does not put money in his pocket, we should probably listen.:thumbup:
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For over 100 years golf pros proclaimed a set of ball flight laws that turned out to be completely wrong.

Being able to play very well does not necessarily translate into being very knowledgeable.
 
I prefer Everest Tigers. From what I understand they are a medium tip but get hard with use, probably more so with mine because I frequently break with my playing cue. On 7' tables I break with my player, on my 9' at home I use a break cue unless I am cut breaking, then I use my player. I have tried Kamui softs and mediums but they both seem very much softer than my Everest Tiger. FWIW I am definitely not blessed with a big stroke.
 
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