here is a pet peave i have with pool players. everyone wants to know, "hey,what cue do you use?" well,the hell with that, it ain't important, the question should be "what tip do you use and why?" the tip is much more important than any cue.
Forget The Cue,talk About The Tip
- Thread starter 8-ball bernie
- Start date
8-ball bernie said:
Okay, Einstein. I'll go down to KMart and buy one of those log pokers and slap whatever tip you want on it -free of charge. You shoot with that, and I'll shoot with my cue. At the end of the night I will undoubtedly prove to you that it ain't the bow, it ain't the arrows, its the Indian.
Good night, Bernie.
Nick B said:
For Bernie perhaps it means:
Important
Pool
Tip
Bernie did Earl the Pearl and his notched out( X in) the ferrule with the black wafer pad have that much influence on you already?
You really don't believe he is using a normal Cuetech shaft now,do you?
RJ
We must all be idiots!!! But of course a shaft makes no difference what's so ever in anyones pool game. It's all about the tip!!! So that's the secret huh? I guess shafts with less deflection or more squirt have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with consistency. My god what have all of us must have been thinking!?!? I take it that a soft hitting ivory ferrules are absoutely ridiculous. We should all change our ferrules to cheap PVC ferrules; where not only do they mushroom and split, but they must be good because it's "ALL IN THE TIP". And let us all just forget the fact that spliced cues just feel more solid and deliver a solid hit cuz' it's "ALL IN THE TIP". Just think of all the money we could save and just go to KMART and purchase a $19 cue and put on a different tip. Wow... i have just seen the light.8-ball bernie said:
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come on he has a point though - what he's saying is many people neglect the tip. nobody's saying the whole cue ain't important but at the end of the day the only part of the cue that actually touches the ball is the tip. it's arguably the most important element of the whole cue...
Blackjack said:
You have a point, although I wish people would stop using archery references, because I grew up with bows and arrows. My paternal grandfather made both by hand. I got a 35 lb pull bow out of lemonwood
when I was 7, and my brother got a 55lb pull bow out of oak.
I didn't pursue later on as much as my brother, who won many state indoor and outdoor championships in his prime, and took 11th in the world in Australia 8 years past his prime.
But, I am here to tell you, there is a big difference between my lemonwood bow of old as compared to a $2,000-3,000 compound bow
with sight scope and a trigger release .... lol
I was with my brother 1 time at the outdoor range here, and on the bear
target which is an 80 yard target, he put 5 arrows in the small bullseye
(about the size of a half dollar).
Cues do make a difference, as I have seen players grab one off the wall, and then complain later, the cue was slipping, or they couldn't draw, or if they had their cue they could have made that shot.
Most of it is the Indian, but the equipment also plays a part because that what we use to perform.
Come on, guys. Bernie has said some outrageous things on this forum, but his point here is somewhat valid. We've all heard the story of Efren and his "cheap" cue with the milk soaked elk master tips. I would rather have a $100 cue with a good tip than a $5000 cue with a crappy tip.
I am solidly in the camp of those who believe that the ultimate success at pool comes from the skill and knowledge of the player, much more than the equipment. A "decent" cue with a good tip in the hands of the right player can be deadly.
Steve
I am solidly in the camp of those who believe that the ultimate success at pool comes from the skill and knowledge of the player, much more than the equipment. A "decent" cue with a good tip in the hands of the right player can be deadly.
Steve
Did he really have a good point Steve? Did he say that people should take care of their tips? Is that debatable? Or did he say that there were certain tips that were better than other? He said that people should be asking "what tip do you use and why?" That's a crazy point. Who cares what kind of tip anyone uses? It's a personal preference.pooltchr said:
IMNSHO, if a tip is good, doesn't fall apart or mush, and can hold chalk, you can get your best game out of it. It doesn't have to have a fiber backing. It doesn't have to be made from water buffalo. It doesn't have to soft. It doesn't have to be hard. You can name a dozen different tips (non-layered included) that will feel great to people across the hardness range, and will allow people to play their best game. So no, I don't think "what tip do you use and why?" is a question of much worth for playing's sake.
I don't subscribe to tip brand, but rather tip feel. That's why I can play with a good Triangle on one shaft, and a medium Moori on another. If the shafts are the same, I certainly can't tell any difference in performance just by the tips. But, I can still play my best game with a very hard tip, or a soft tip. I can't say the same if I switch cues.
Fred
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Scott,
I didn't think I was making a referencing to archery, that quote has been around pool longer than we have. My point is that it depends on the player.
I have two sons, one is a musician and the other is a football player. Neither play pool. I can't do what they do (no matter what equipment you give me) and they can't do what I do no matter what equipment you give them. It comes down to applying the knowledge that you have despite the equipment. Does anybody realize that Danny Harriman was having cue work done on his playing cue and in his match against Dennis Hatch n Reno he played with his predator break cue? That's what I am talking about. Its the Indian.
I didn't think I was making a referencing to archery, that quote has been around pool longer than we have. My point is that it depends on the player.
I have two sons, one is a musician and the other is a football player. Neither play pool. I can't do what they do (no matter what equipment you give me) and they can't do what I do no matter what equipment you give them. It comes down to applying the knowledge that you have despite the equipment. Does anybody realize that Danny Harriman was having cue work done on his playing cue and in his match against Dennis Hatch n Reno he played with his predator break cue? That's what I am talking about. Its the Indian.
Ok... According to Bernie, it's the tip that makes or breaks a player. He claims and i quote(again),"the tip is much more important than the cue." IMO although the tip is important, I don't think it's the most important thing. I personally can play with anything and have even run out racks of 9 ball with my J/B cue which has a phenolic tip. If you ask me the question everyone should be asking isn't, "what cue do you use" or "what tip do you use" but rather "what do drills or practice routines do you do?" Although I don't need a good cue with a good tip, it just feels better to use one.8-ball bernie said:
8-ball bernie said:
Don't leave us hanging here Bernie.What is the best tip and why?
RJ
Would you rather shoot with a crappy cue and good tip or good cue and crappy tip?
The tip IS more important.
The tip IS more important.
My take on this is that you don't need to spend $50 for a tip and you don't need to spend $1000 for a cue.
Forgeting about life spans, warp resistance and reduced deflection, all you need is a well shaped tip and straight well balanced cue.
I have only ever shot $2 tips and they have worked fine. However I'm going to try a $30 tip to see if I feel a difference. I hope it doesn't improve anything though.
Forgeting about life spans, warp resistance and reduced deflection, all you need is a well shaped tip and straight well balanced cue.
I have only ever shot $2 tips and they have worked fine. However I'm going to try a $30 tip to see if I feel a difference. I hope it doesn't improve anything though.
A cue can be warped and still shoot straight, as a matter of fact all
cues are essentially warped, none are perfectly straight, the better cues are simply warped "less" than others.
cues are essentially warped, none are perfectly straight, the better cues are simply warped "less" than others.