Differences in equipment on mens "tour" vs womens tour

[maxeypad2007]

This was sparked from another thread and playing on a 9' gold crown last night with supposedly pro cut pockets. This is quite a bit different than the 9' diamond tables with the tough pro cut and pocket shelf that I'm used to playing on.

I noted the womens tour always seems to show Brunswick or Olhausen tables that appear to have closer to 5" pockets. The same seems to go for a lot of the mens pool seen on ESPN to be fair, its just the tables being used by the sponsors. Plus these tables don't have a significant pocket shelf that I think adds a whole extra degree of toughness.

So to ask this then, a lot of the major open/mens tournaments like the DCC are played on 9' Diamond tables with pro cut pockets (4.25" and a significant pocket shelf). The womens tournaments are not played on these tables typically especially the pool I see on TV.

With that said, how would the women fare on the same conditions the men are playing on if in fact there is a major difference, which there clearly is in difficulty between even the tightest brunswick tables I'e played on and an average 9' diamond with procut.

So am I imagining this or are the women actually playing on less tough equipment...this very well may be due to sponsorship from vendors, but are they playing on different equipment and how does this change things?

 

[BVal]

I thought Diamond Pro cuts were 4.5 inches.

The pockets on the Women's tour are not 5 inches. I believe they are 4.5 as well but I could be wrong.

BVal

 

[TXsouthpaw]

I thought Diamond Pro cuts were 4.5 inches.

The pockets on the Women's tour are not 5 inches. I believe they are 4.5 as well but I could be wrong.

BVal

your right theyre both 4.5. the world pool championships and the mosconi cup as well as some ESPN mens and womens matches ive seen are played on the brusnwick metro tournament edition. so the women, at least some times are playing on the exact same table as the men. And ive seen some of the newer tournaments played on the new GC5 tournament edition which is 4.5 also.\


dont know about the shelf but the metro plays tight. ive got one and it plays tighter than some other 4.5 tables ive played on

 

[Bob Jewett]

I thought Diamond Pro cuts were 4.5 inches.

The pockets on the Women's tour are not 5 inches. I believe they are 4.5 as well but I could be wrong.

BVal

The standard Diamond pocket allows two balls to be touching the jaw facings but does not permit them to drop together. This means that the points are slightly wider than 4.5 inches and the facings are less than 4.5 inches apart before the drop. The Diamonds I've seen at DCC have been very consistent in corner pocket size.

 

[corvette1340]

If you don't know the differences in equipment on the men's tour and the women's tour by now then I'm afraid it might be too late.

 

[BVal]

The standard Diamond pocket allows two balls to be touching the jaw facings but does not permit them to drop together. This means that the points are slightly wider than 4.5 inches and the facings are less than 4.5 inches apart before the drop. The Diamonds I've seen at DCC have been very consistent in corner pocket size.

So where do you measure from the points or right before the drop?

BVal

 

[Bob Jewett]

So where do you measure from the points or right before the drop?

BVal

Personally, I put two balls in the pocket (or try to) and see what they do.

The official WPA table specifications are available on the WPA website. They say in part:

The pocket openings for pool tables are measured between opposing cushion noses where the direction changes into the pocket (from pointed lip to pointed lip). This is called mouth.

Corner Pocket Mouth: between 4.5 [11.43 cm] and 4.625 inches [11.75 cm]
Side Pocket Mouth: between 5 [12.7 cm] and 5.125 inches [13.0175 cm]
*The mouth of the side pocket is traditionally 1/2 inch [1.27 cm] wider than
the mouth of the corner pocket.​

 

[TXsouthpaw]

The standard Diamond pocket allows two balls to be touching the jaw facings but does not permit them to drop together. This means that the points are slightly wider than 4.5 inches and the facings are less than 4.5 inches apart before the drop. The Diamonds I've seen at DCC have been very consistent in corner pocket size.

Same with my metro. I can put two balls side by side in between the edges but i cant pull either one in to the pocket. theres no room between them when theyre in between the nipples.