i need some advice on shafts, any equipment gurus?

scottycoyote

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok so i broke down and bought one of the low deflection shafts. It does everything its supposed to do, definitely low deflection and i can get unbelieveable amounts of spin on the cueball with minimal effort and minimal english i might add. Heres the thing........I cant make a straight in shot with it!!!. My favorite shaft is 12.5 at the tip, its about 12.3 where the ferrule meets the shaft itsself, and its 12.3 thru about 12.7 for roughly 16 inches which is most of my stroke anyway. Ok the new shaft is an inch longer than standard at 30", and its 12.75 at the ferrule. I had told the guy making it i played with a skinnier shaft and he said this was about as small as he thought we should go with the length and taper he uses, so i went with his recommendation. Would that little bit more in size really throw my game off that much? I love everything about this shaft except the straight in part. I use Hals aiming method so i realise the bigger stick will throw off how i aim on cut shots, but straightin is a no brainer, and i might miss it to the left one time and the right the next. I dont know if i should retip the stick, send it back and get it cut down an inch and make it smaller in diameter, sell it and buy a z-shaft.......keep playing with it until I figure it out. Its weird. helppppppp
 
fugitive english

you answered your question in your first paragraph. You get unbelievable spin with no effort. In the past you probably, subconsiously shot a little left or right to make up for a small deflection. Now with a super sensitive shaft you will have to retrain yourself to shoot dead center with a good stroke on those elusive straight-ins. It will make you a better player in the long run. Stay with your equipment. Train yourself.

"This is not advise. I don't give advise. Shoot it the way you want."
 
The thicker shaft will make it "easier" to pocket straight in shots.
Gerda was here with Allison not too long ago...all she did was complain about the Z shaft. She had been trying it for a while, and was complaining about missing straight shots. For her, it was harder to hit center ball with the thinner shaft. She said just a "slight" mis-hit with aimming and she'd miss the shot. She has now returned to the 314.
KV
 
You need to straighten out your stroke and learn to hit the CB dead center. It appears as if your stroke is off and you are not hitting the CB where you intend to. I use to have the same problem.

I thought I had a good stroke until I took some lessons from a BCA instructor. The video and technique they teach will definitely help you. Joe Tucker's Third Eye trainer will help some but not as much as a lesson.
 
Scott has already done that last October when we had pool school here in Charlotte. That's why I suggested the Mother Drills...straight out of the workbook that Randy gave him at the class last year. And you are right...it's just a little problem with the stroke.
Steve
 
right steve i have the mother drills, and i also have that tucker 3rd eye device that fits on the cue. I havent tried it with this shaft but on my others i was hitting center of the cueball. Heres the thing though, it looks like if i wasnt hitting center ball.... i would shoot better with a shaft that is bigger around, and worse with the smaller shafts....but its the exact opposite. I put a shaft on thats 12.5 at the tip and 29" and Im not missing and running out from everywhere. The same week I put on the shaft thats 12.75 at the tip and 30" and i cant hit a straightin with it, it looks like it would be reversed.
 
Scott, it sounds like you may just be adjusting to the difference in length and maybe even the balance of the cue. Do the drills, and you will find it locking right in for you.
Have you signed up with Randy for the October class?
Steve
 
tjlmbklr said:
What are these "mother drills" people are talking about?
They are a set of drills designed by RandyG for Cue Tech students that are designed to address specific areas related to the different aspects taught in the class.
Steve
 
Is your tip properly shaped? It may be skewed and even though you are hitting dead center that tiny bit maybe throwing the ball off.
 
yeah thats what i was thinkin book......the tip is a little oddly shaped, it gets smaller as you go towards the end, and then it rounds, but it appears even.

yeah steve, randy told me he has me down for the october classes, i have 1 friend im sure is coming for the advanced class, another says he is but im not sure

tjlmbklr, the mother drills are a series of drills taught by the cue tech pool school to work your stroke out......very simple drills that you only need to do for a couple minutes, check out the school if you get a chance its well worth the money.
 
its definitely something to do with this shaft.....took my elephant ball to the pool room last night.......i was hitting dead center cueball, and out of 5 shots i missed 3 straight ins. Changed out shafts, same shot, 5 straight ins and made them all. weird
 
scottycoyote said:
its definitely something to do with this shaft.....took my elephant ball to the pool room last night.......i was hitting dead center cueball, and out of 5 shots i missed 3 straight ins. Changed out shafts, same shot, 5 straight ins and made them all. weird

I'd wager you're hitting just a tad off, your stroke may be slightly off, your eyes are fooling you, and all in all, you're getting just a bit of unwanted english on the cueball, which most likely is throwing the object ball enough for you to miss.

As mentioned above about Gerda, hitting just a tad away from where you'd like can produce very unwelcome results.
 
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