I understand your logic, but it doesn't account for the masses of players (me included) who find certain cues spin the ball easier, while some cues have almost no life at all. Next time I come across a truly dead cue, would you be open to testing it?
Does a 'good' hit actually matter or is it all hype?
- Thread starter zpele
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I understand your logic, but it doesn't account for the masses of players (me included) who find certain cues spin the ball easier, while some cues have almost no life at all. Next time I come across a truly dead cue, would you be open to testing it?
If a good hit is defined as a particular feel upon impact of the cue or a good sound upon the impact of the cue, then NO it doesn't matter (except to those who thinks it matters). However, it is not all hype. For the most part, a "good hit" is just a personal thing.
I have purposefully tried to train myself to ignore subjective things when evaluating a cue. I ignore all of the looks, even though I have owned some beautiful cues. My current playing cue is void of inlays and other fancy decorations as they add nothing to the value of the performance of the cue and at this point in my journey, that is all that matters.
Looks or beauty has nothing to do with performance and beauty is after all, in the eye of the beholder.
Still, I have difficulty playing well with a cue which has too large of a butt (for me) even though my hands can't be considered small. If a cue butt is too large, I just can't stand playing with it. If a cue is balanced too far back, I don't like that either. Just consider me weak.
JoeyA
I have purposefully tried to train myself to ignore subjective things when evaluating a cue. I ignore all of the looks, even though I have owned some beautiful cues. My current playing cue is void of inlays and other fancy decorations as they add nothing to the value of the performance of the cue and at this point in my journey, that is all that matters.
Looks or beauty has nothing to do with performance and beauty is after all, in the eye of the beholder.
Still, I have difficulty playing well with a cue which has too large of a butt (for me) even though my hands can't be considered small. If a cue butt is too large, I just can't stand playing with it. If a cue is balanced too far back, I don't like that either. Just consider me weak.
JoeyA
It is in his head! If your not happy with your cue, it's in your head! You won't play as good because your head isn't in the game, it's on the pool cue that feels like garbage to you!
Dennis is obviously an,,,,, "ok" player
but still, at the end of the day, it's in our heads!As far as the op,,,, play with what you like and don't listen to anyone else
quick example, I've been playing with predator for over 6 YRS now! Last yr I got another 314-2 shaft but I got the 30" version, it plays really really nice for me, I wore the tip out,(and dropped it) and decided to buy a new one. I got it last week, I took a few shots with it and,,,,,,,,, OMG!!!! I have never played better and I've never been so happy with the hit! All I have is a sneaky Pete predator! I think New there like 400 bucks! As of right now,,, you can't offer me 2k for this cue! That's how unbelievable it hits! (FOR ME)!Play with what makes YOU happy! Not anybody else!
If you come across a cue that you are convinced cannot produce as much spin as other cues (for the same amount of tip offset), and if you are willing to send it to me (and not expect it back), I would be happy to test it.
Regards,
Dave
And this is why there is really no answer to the question..... What is a good cue......a $99 Schmelke or a southwest......to some, the hit of one will be good and the other not, and to some, they won't know the difference.....cause if the balls go in, and the cue ball goes where u want it, I don't care if the cue sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard, it works for me......
If you're actually interested and willing, I can put together two cues that will represent what I feel are opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of playability. Same dimensions, ferrule, tip, weight, and same balance. If you can think of any relevant specifications I haven't considered, then by all means mention them and I will make it happen.
I browsed through the answers quickly, i do not believe that no one asked you how you hold the butt of the cue, hard, soft, or loose?? it makes a huge difference to the feel. IMO the only way to know the pure feel of the wood is to have the wood only not your muscles in action, in another words very loose wrist and arm, like Efren, and Busty, and couple more..If you hold it tight or tighten the grip before completing the shot forget it..all cues will feel the same
Eric, I think this is a worthy project, to reverse-engineer a shitty hitting cue and get some solid data on the matter once and for all.
I'm more interested in the claims of energy-transfer, because this is something I've heard repeated by many people, some of whom I respect. A Taiwanese billiards coach/commentator have claimed that certain cues simply draw the cueball more efficiently, and he attributed that to superior energy transfer...and I'm inclined to think that's a highly likely scenario.
Less so a softly hit shot with side english.
That's exactly why I want to take up the Doc on an opportunity to get legitimate data. Maybe with an unbiased test, we can settle this topic once and for all. Of course the cues I will provide will be extreme ends of the spectrum.
One area I predict will be least dramatic is side spin. That's because side spin twirls the ball on its point of contact to the table. The real test will be follow and draw, which require you to overcome the friction of the ball spinning against the cloth. With 50+ inches of cue between your grip and the cue ball, there's quite a bit of material to affect the hit. You have the dynamics of flex, vibration dampening, etc. going on and it's all relative to the materials used and quality of construction. One of the cues will be an energy absorber while the other is a conduit. The results should be interesting.
This is the kind of thing I am looking for and what makes this forum great. It will be interesting and the results will probably piss off a good number of people (whatever they are) so I think we should document exactly how it will be tested. One of the things mentioned by Naji is whether a light grip or tight grip effect the hit. I am inclined to think that they effect the feedback but I'm not convinced they effect the actual energy transfer.
In answer to Naji- I grip my cue lightly on most shots.
I would also be interested if we could expand the experiment to include a low deflection shaft because I am interested if the 'dead' hit they produce actually changes the energy transfer.
The experiment would have to have exactly the same tip and shape of the tip to be accurate as well.
Qbilder can you tell me what makes a cue hit badly? You said extreme ends of the spectrum... Are we talking balsa wood extremes here? What particular woods would you use that would maintain the same balance points and weight (as long as that doesn't reveal secrets you don't want to put on a public forum).
I think so too.
A related benefit from this project could be a potential test for cues, assuming that efficiency in energy transfer is actually a thing. It might not have to involve a cue striking balls, but rather some function of vibration/harmonics that reflects efficiency. It'll take a lot of cue woo-woo out of the equation when describing how a cue plays ("hits a ton" "really moves whitey" and other such meaningless phrases).
I'm no physicist or cuemaker, but as someone who buys cues...any data along those lines would be greatly appreciated.
I am definitely interested and willing.
Having the same weight and tip would be the most useful in the comparison, but having the other things the same would also be helpful.
I would also not be interested in testing a "tricked out" cue ... for example, one with weight purposely added close to the tip to create a ridiculous amount of cue ball deflection (squirt). A cue like that would definitely be limiting concerning how much english could be imparted.
Regards,
Dave
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Dave, any thoughts on what type of experiments you have in mind?
I would probably hit the same sidespin shot with each cue with the same tip offset from center (checking the chalk mark on the CB after each shot), with the same cue elevation, and with the same CB speed (checking the CB travel distance after each shot). I would do many attempts and only consider the shots that have the desired tip offset and CB speed. For these shots I would measure the ball spin rate from the video and/or measure the angle change off a cushion to determine if there is any difference in the spin-generating capabilities of the cues. I would probably compensate for squirt (CB deflection), probably using BHE at the natural pivot length of each cue, when aiming each shot to make sure the CB heads in the same initial direction with each shot.
Regards,
Dave
A good hit is when you feel totally comfortable with the cue. However as you get better your sensitivity changes. Thus what a good hit means to an APA2 and a pro are different.
And yes, it can affect your game because when you don't feel right with a cue it's harder to use it to get the cue ball to do what you want consistently.
I will see about adding a third shaft just for that purpose.
I don't think you'll note a major difference in side spin. If you could test draw and follow, that would be actually determining which cue hits better, as in spin easier, move the ball more powerfully with less stroke, etc. There's very little resistance preventing the ball from spinning sideways as compared to being spun forward or backward. The follow and draw shots create a lot of friction that has to be overcome in order to execute. That's where the quality of a cue makes a difference. It would be nice if you could test those, as well.