Easiest answer I have is time, you have to give time time sometimes, could take little or more just gotta buckle down. But if you start to see improvements and perks to the new shaft vs. what you were playing with then it may not be worth it.
How Long To Adjust To A Different Shaft?
- Thread starter ChrisinNC
- Start date
If nothing else, switching to the new shaft with a tournament coming up soon has forced me to make the effort to put in a bunch of practice time to try to adjust to the shaft.
When I’m struggling, I tend to switch it up, but I know the main reason I’m struggling is just that I’m not putting in enough time playing and practicing as I need to - more so the older I get. I could get away with less table time when I was younger, but not anymore.
I played bugs a few times, I never noticed that, but it was quite a while ago.... ya, he played good
For trying new shafts, I try to use same diameter shafts as my normal playing shafts (12.4 to 12.5mm), this way any differences I'm experiencing i know are due to material construction (and/or tip) and not due to shaft diameter.
Also, by using same diameter shaft, I believe that it allows me to adjust to a new type of shaft much quicker.
Here is a note/thoughts on CF from a 40 year maple shaft player. When I hear Low deflection, I never realized it also means lower vibration. When I was experimenting with CF and shooting long shots with force and English, I quickly found these shots to be easier with more consistent results (because the shaft is not vibrating/flexing as much). I still shoot with a regular maple shaft though, because it's what I'm used to. But, I can certainly see why lots of people like CF. It is pretty amazing.
Best wishes on your journey!
Also, by using same diameter shaft, I believe that it allows me to adjust to a new type of shaft much quicker.
Here is a note/thoughts on CF from a 40 year maple shaft player. When I hear Low deflection, I never realized it also means lower vibration. When I was experimenting with CF and shooting long shots with force and English, I quickly found these shots to be easier with more consistent results (because the shaft is not vibrating/flexing as much). I still shoot with a regular maple shaft though, because it's what I'm used to. But, I can certainly see why lots of people like CF. It is pretty amazing.
Best wishes on your journey!
Hey Chris, as an older person I'm gonna share what I've found with myself recently, hopefully it will help you also (or at least give you something to try).
I'm right handed and cross eye dominant. I shoot with cue touching my chin (left side for center ball hit). I have my back elbow on the shot line. My back shoulder is outside of the shot line (because I have guy shoulders and am cross eye dominant lol).
Recently, I picked a spot on outside of my back shoulder, and tried to make sure this spot is in the same place (in relation to my head every time). This makes sure my shoulders aren't turned more, or tilted more than normal.
After doing this for a while, I'm getting a much different (and more accurate) view of some of my problem shots. I'm shooting some shots now, the exact same way I used to shoot them 25 years ago.
Regardless of eye dominance, pick a spot on outside of your back shoulder, spend an hour trying to make sure that spot is consistently the same in regards to your head and eyes when you are down on your shot. This might be a waste of an hour, or it might provide benefit to you like it has to me.
Good luck!
I'm right handed and cross eye dominant. I shoot with cue touching my chin (left side for center ball hit). I have my back elbow on the shot line. My back shoulder is outside of the shot line (because I have guy shoulders and am cross eye dominant lol).
Recently, I picked a spot on outside of my back shoulder, and tried to make sure this spot is in the same place (in relation to my head every time). This makes sure my shoulders aren't turned more, or tilted more than normal.
After doing this for a while, I'm getting a much different (and more accurate) view of some of my problem shots. I'm shooting some shots now, the exact same way I used to shoot them 25 years ago.
Regardless of eye dominance, pick a spot on outside of your back shoulder, spend an hour trying to make sure that spot is consistently the same in regards to your head and eyes when you are down on your shot. This might be a waste of an hour, or it might provide benefit to you like it has to me.
Good luck!
Thanks, I appreciate any advice that has been helpful to someone else. I feel comfortable with my alignment and my vision center and have no problem seeing where I need to hit the ball. The problem more for me is delivering a straight back and straight through stroke consistently, and contacting the cue ball exactly where I plan to.
With this thinner shaft, it may sound strange but I’m at the point where I’m not comfortable hitting center ball anymore, because if I’m just the slightest amount off from center which is sometimes the case, the minute deflection won’t get me but the spin/throw certainly will.
For me, if I turn or tilt my shoulders slightly, it changes my perception of where center ball is, even though my head is stationary. Ya I know, sounds weird, but eyes are screwy!
Coos Cues
Coos Cues
I usually shoot my way out of slumps with center ball. KISS works like a charm. With this your shaft's deflection doesn't matter.
If you are having trouble hitting center ball back up and examine your stroke maybe with filming from a couple angles. I'm 63 and been playing as long as you have. Got to get back to the indian before you start fiddling with the arrow.
Coos Cues
Coos Cues
Dr. Dave has a video somewhere about how squirt and deflection cancel each other out depending on your shaft. It's the sweet spot of bridge length, speed and of course shaft deflection. He runs a test where you shoot a ball straight in with a bunch of side and when you hit that sweet spot your cue ball although spinning like crazy will do so in place as the ball you shot straight in will go straight in. The purpose of his exercise is of course concerning how to aim shots using english naturally having the deflection and squirt cancel each other and how to find that sweet spot on your own shaft whatever it happens to be.
After analyzing this it occurred to me that engineering backward from the result a person having trouble striking center ball could map this flaw out of the equation by striking the proper speed and bridge length that is natural for his own shaft. Find this spot and try as much as possible to use this bridge length and speed on most of your shots only varying high and low for shape. High, low and speed can get you pretty much anywhere you want to on the table, you don't need english necessarily. In this way if you hit just a little off center with variables designed to account for a lot off center you will not miss. You won't even notice in fact.
This may not be the ultimate fix to your stroke issues but your problems may be so deeply ingrained you just can't fix it at this point without more effort than you have left to give. I can relate totally. So if any of what I said makes sense the bottom line isn't to equipment your way out of your slump but to think about the root of the problem a bit differently. BTW Dave's exercise is solid gold for finding your stroke length and speed for your shaft to zero out deflection and squirt to each other.
I found the video I was referring to it's from 2007
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Woodshaft
Do what works for YOU!
Sometimes you DON'T adjust to a different shaft.
Not every shaft is an upgrade.
The thinner you go in shaft diameter, the tuffer the longer shots are gonna be (unless you have Josh Filler's stroke).
If I had a dollar for every amateur player that "thought" they played better with a thin shaft...
"But I get more spin"!
Look, if you weren't getting enough English with a thicker shaft, then your stroke is bad and moving to a smaller shaft is just gonna make your overall game worse.
Good strokers can get good English with 13mm-ish shafts (Ko brothers, Carlo Biado, most top Asian women players, etc).
Amateurs who "like more spin" aren't playing the game right-- overuse of English is a sign of poor, inconsistent play.
Go watch youtube videos of Ko Pin Yi or Carlo Biado, or Siming Chen, and learn to simplify your game.
Anyways, back to your question:
Just because it's new doesn't mean it's better.
Some shafts are like Windows Vista.
Not every shaft is an upgrade.
The thinner you go in shaft diameter, the tuffer the longer shots are gonna be (unless you have Josh Filler's stroke).
If I had a dollar for every amateur player that "thought" they played better with a thin shaft...
"But I get more spin"!
Look, if you weren't getting enough English with a thicker shaft, then your stroke is bad and moving to a smaller shaft is just gonna make your overall game worse.
Good strokers can get good English with 13mm-ish shafts (Ko brothers, Carlo Biado, most top Asian women players, etc).
Amateurs who "like more spin" aren't playing the game right-- overuse of English is a sign of poor, inconsistent play.
Go watch youtube videos of Ko Pin Yi or Carlo Biado, or Siming Chen, and learn to simplify your game.
Anyways, back to your question:
Just because it's new doesn't mean it's better.
Some shafts are like Windows Vista.