Does anyone use phenolic or white diamond ?

8

8up

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Does anyone use a phenolic or white diamond tip on their playing cue? I know most would say NO. But the reason I ask is I just shot the whole night with a J & J jump break cue. I shot as good as I normally do (not saying much).

Why would anyone do it ? Because I play APA and cannot use a jump cue. APA rules state I can jump with my playing cue. I can use the full J&J cue and jump if I have 1 diamond between me and the obstacle. This was with 20 minutes practice. I have no other jump experience.

So my thinking is with some practice I might be able to jump better. I would be giving up some ball control when using english but english gets me in trouble quite often anyway.

So has anyone tried this?
 
There is a local pro here in Charleston that uses a samsara j/b tip on his player. He said if it didnt sound so bad he would use a phenolic. There is a lot of forward motion lost with a med or soft tip. He believes that softer tips deflect more because it is in contact with the cue ball a few tenths of a millisecond longer so it pushes the cue ball right or left a fraction more.
 
A friend of mine used to use my break cue to play against me. It was a one piece purpleheart cue with a purpleheart shaft and a Samsara break tip. He would beat me every time :embarrassed2: :(
 
I lost a hundred betting against some guy at VF who used a phenolic tip. Man I was sure he was a clown...who can play with a rock at the end of their shaft...well this guy could. Lesson learned.
 
I used both of those tips as my playing tip for a long time and the sound would drive my opponents nuts. My banking was a lot better and it kept me hitting center ball which was a good thing. From time to time I go back to using a J/B cue which keeps me grounded. The fact is that if your a good player you can shoot with anything. I cashed in a tournament using a White Diamond tip and it holds chalk better than most J/B tips.
 
the elegant solution . . .

If you REALLY need that jumper that bad in APA , here's a tip. (I'm a punny guy ! )
Try an Icebreaker jump/break tip - it's got phenolic around the outside for jumping , with softer material (leather?) in the middle for breaking. As long as you can limit your needs for english to 1/2 tip off center , it may work for you , and you can put it on a standard , very light cue (16oz?) as a compromise between player & jumper.
My personal opinion , though , is that a premium playing cue , and the knowledge of how to get 'out of jail' without jumping may be more valuable to you - but to each his own . . .

some like vanilla , some like chocolate , maybe you gotta have Tutti-Fruitti . . . :grin:
 
Thanks for the replies. Last night in about 15 games I think I jumped twice. One of those was a game winner.

Thanks for the tip on the Icebreaker. The phenolic is what I was using last night and the cue weight was 20 oz.

I think the cue had me playing better because it was hiding some of my faults. It limited my english intended and unintended. It hid some a slaw in my fundamentals.

I want very badly to take lessons with Mr Shuffet. One of the reasons is to learn fundamentals from someone who can see what I am doing and can show me how to correct it, so I can quit guessing.

As for learning to get "out of jail" I printed out " Kicking academy" last night.
 
Only in the APA

You can't use a jump cue in the APA but you CAN jump with your full length break cue which means if you are breaking with the J & J you can't break it down but can jump with it. My question is why in the world would anyone think of playing with a phenolic tip when all they have to do is grab the break cue to jump with. Only in the APA. :rolleyes:
 
bboxgrinder said:
You can't use a jump cue in the APA but you CAN jump with your full length break cue which means if you are breaking with the J & J you can't break it down but can jump with it. My question is why in the world would anyone think of playing with a phenolic tip when all they have to do is grab the break cue to jump with. Only in the APA. :rolleyes:
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According to our APA rep you cannot use your break cue to jump with. You have to use the stick you shot the previous shot with if you are going to jump. If this is incorrect I would love to get a clarification.
 
I believe you can use a break cue/separate cue on the break and then whatever cue you begin playing with is the cue you have to continue using throughout the whole game. You aren't allowed to switch back to your break cue in the middle of a game. But you could break with a break cue and use it for the whole game like the original OP is planning on doing/has done.
 
8up said:
According to our APA rep you cannot use your break cue to jump with. You have to use the stick you shot the previous shot with if you are going to jump. If this is incorrect I would love to get a clarification.
Click to expand...

I can certainly be wrong with my post as each APA division / LO has it's own bylaws. I do however know for a FACT you can use your full length break cue in Vegas & could when I played APA locally here. You can change shafts during a match, change cues to shoot with, & to break with so why couldn't you jump with a full cue you break with. I don't recall ever seeing anything about using the cue from a previous shot to jump with. What if your tip has come off, then what shoot with the ferrule. lol.. who knows with the APA, anything is possible.
 
I have been playing with soft tip for a year now.I bought a super pro to try on a breaker then started to play with it and love am now getting more action on the cue ball then before.I played for about an hour with a g 10 on and made a full table draw shot.
 
I'm very happy with my white diamond tips. Very good control and power. However, they are on my JBs.
 
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I don't know that I would suggest using a Phenolic type tip. I have shot a while with them and have found that as long as you keep it chalked it plays fine. I use hard tips. I never have liked soft tips and believe they do add deflection to some shots. I get about as far outside center on shots and rarely miscue with harder tips. I've gotten to the point to where if the phenolic tip doesn't have a pad under it (Mezz, Predator), I don't even care for breaking with it. It is much easier to jump with however. Learn to kick better. Learn what balls you are capable of jumping with a full cue, and play within those limits when you are playing league. Or just play BCA and play with (almost) whatever you brought.
 
This is from the APA Manual

"Massé and jump shots are legal, when executed properly (see MASSÉ
SHOTS and JUMP SHOTS described in Definitions), but such shots
must be attempted using your regular shooting cue (see REGULAR
SHOOTING CUE described in Definitions). Players are not allowed to
break down their cues or switch to specialty cues (such as cues designed
for jumping and/or breaking) to attempt massé or jump shots."

Masters division
Jump Cues – The use of jump cues is allowed in Masters Division play.
Be aware that even though Masters’ rules allow for the use of jump cues,
Local League Bylaws or Host Location “house rules” may choose to
limit or strictly prohibit their use.
 
8up said:
Does anyone use a phenolic or white diamond tip on their playing cue? I know most would say NO. But the reason I ask is I just shot the whole night with a J & J jump break cue. I shot as good as I normally do (not saying much).

Why would anyone do it ? Because I play APA and cannot use a jump cue. APA rules state I can jump with my playing cue. I can use the full J&J cue and jump if I have 1 diamond between me and the obstacle. This was with 20 minutes practice. I have no other jump experience.

So my thinking is with some practice I might be able to jump better. I would be giving up some ball control when using english but english gets me in trouble quite often anyway.

So has anyone tried this?
Click to expand...


Up here in Tacoma Washington, we have a guy who plays with a Phenolic Tip all the time. He has been doing it for 5 or 6 years and he plays very very well, in fact i would say he plays Short Stop speed. He can draw the ball the length of table, and he can use any kind of spin when shooting.

I work on his cues and I put the tips on, one thing I will say is that keeping the tips a little flatter than Nickle is the way he like his shaped.
 
manwon said:
Up here in Tacoma Washington, we have a guy who plays with a Phenolic Tip all the time. He has been doing it for 5 or 6 years and he plays very very well, in fact i would say he plays Short Stop speed. He can draw the ball the length of table, and he can use any kind of spin when shooting.

I work on his cues and I put the tips on, one thing I will say is that keeping the tips a little flatter than Nickle is the way he like his shaped.
Click to expand...

I would need a flight of stairs and and extension ladder to see a short stop skill level But I did win my 8 ball & 9 ball matches tonight.
 
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