I'm disappointed with my new cue

Steve Stough

Steve Stough

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I recently went to valley forge and picked up a Tim Scruggs titlist cue, when I first saw the cue I was hooked on buying it and I did, when I played 6 hours with it in 2 nites my opinion of the cue was complete the opposite, the first shaft the first nite was nothing but missed shots, missed kicks, I could not run out from the 7 ball(complete nitemare) the second nite with the second shaft was the same, constant pain of watching my decent game playing with a cuetec go right down the toilet, here I invested money in a custom cue that I felt has no playabilty what so ever, I keep telling myself what happened? I do not know what to do, put the cue away in the closet(plan for investment on the cue) trade up or down next year at valley forge or keeping frustrating my self with this cue, do I put 20 different tips on this cue, spend a year on reaiming with this cue, this just does not seem right, do I slap a predator shaft on it...my opinion of the cue is, it has to much whip to it, some deflection, and no consistency to it, I played both nites with making adjustment after adjustment...


From all the reply's --Thank you-I will make the effort and play with the scruggs for a while(no pain no gain)- From the one reply-it looks like a ivory joint(it's white-with small yellow grains)

Hey spider web cam-send me a pm(what's your name)
 
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well, my thought is that going from a cuetec to a scruggs is a big change and i would recommend that you stick with the scruggs for a while. i think in the end you will see that the scruggs is a better cue, but you have to give it some time. there is always an adjustment period when switching cues. just my thoughts.

guy
 
did you hit any balls with it before buying?....or one like it?

also, you made a huge jump in styles of cue. If you like the cue, keep playing with it, get used to it. If not, blow it out for another. Been there a few times myself...

Gerry
 
I don't think the problem is the cue at all but that you are not used to it, any time you get into a consistensy with one cue switching any part of it is gonna throw off your game, so a whole new cue after getting so used to your cuetech is gonna have a huge difference.

What's frustrating is that getting used to it is very difficult becuase you want to play like you did before and your mind is telling you it's just not possible, keep playing with it though and I think you will adjust and be happier with it than your cuetec.
 
slow down some

Steve Stough said:
I played both nites with making adjustment after adjustment...
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You have to settle down to playing with the new cue. All those adjustments are killing your play. Every time I have swapped cues I cursed the new one mightily. Danged POS didn't play like my old one. Since I played off the wall all the time too, I sometimes threw down my hinged stick in midgame and went and snatched one off the wall much to the dismay of someone who had it easy until that point.

It took me several months to adapt to some cues. When you say this one is too whippy I suspect that you will absolutely love it once you get used to it. If not, contact me, I'll buy. At a deeply discounted price of course since you know the cue is a POS. :D :D :D

Hu
 
Steve Stough said:
I recently went to valley forge and picked up a Tim Scruggs titlist cue, when I first saw the cue I was hooked on buying it and I did, when I played 6 hours with it in 2 nites my opinion of the cue was complete the opposite, the first shaft the first nite was nothing but missed shots, missed kicks, I could not run out from the 7 ball(complete nitemare) the second nite with the second shaft was the same, constant pain of watching my decent game playing with a cuetec go right down the toilet, here I invested money in a custom cue that I felt has no playabilty what so ever, I keep telling myself what happened? I do not know what to do, put the cue away in the closet(plan for investment on the cue) trade up or down next year at valley forge or keeping frustrating my self with this cue, do I put 20 different tips on this cue, spend a year on reaiming with this cue, this just does not seem right, do I slap a predator shaft on it...my opinion of the cue is, it has to much whip to it, some deflection, and no consistency to it, I played both nites with making adjustment after adjustment...
Click to expand...

I'd stick with it. I've played with a lot of Scruggs cues and never once did I think a Cuetec hit/performed better. Start simple and let your mind get used to the adjustments. Call Kevin Shaffer and ask him his thoughts :)
 
i have played 10 years straight full time and once in a while for the next 12 years, during that period of time i had 6 cues that were my main weapon of choice and a coupe of back-ups. I have owned 100's of cues(i flipped them for pocket change). What I have learned over the years if a cue is going to "work" for me I know right away, now it might take 2-3 weeks to get there but I know ahead of time,

I bought a Bill Stroud once from Bobby hunter for $1500 before bobby was building cues, i loved it it was the most expensive and first non-production cue I ever had. I had the same problem your having 2 months later I still couldnt make a ball with it....I was sad and sold it. perhaps thats why bobby sold it to me who knows, i ended up real sweet on a trade.


I just started back playing serious a month ago first time in years, and fell into a G.szam, game over i knew in 5 minutes it was perfect for me, I have a fanct Southwest i want to retire its too expensive etc to take to a pool room, the Szam is low key, but it plays better than any cue i have ever owned, Tad's are close as are South Wests, I cant stand TS cues, they look great and i have been beaten with them so they work for some and not for others, sell it now in like new condition and move on, it might just be a bad cue it happens, but you should be able to tell if you can adjust in a day or two to a cue, BTW the Tad and Szam are the only 2 cues I ever owned where i didnt need an adjustment period.
 
I trade you 5 cuetec's for your Tim Scruggs cue;) :D :D .... That will fix your game what colors ya want.
 
Steve Stough said:
I recently went to valley forge and picked up a Tim Scruggs titlist cue, when I first saw the cue I was hooked on buying it and I did, when I played 6 hours with it in 2 nites my opinion of the cue was complete the opposite, the first shaft the first nite was nothing but missed shots, missed kicks, I could not run out from the 7 ball(complete nitemare) the second nite with the second shaft was the same, constant pain of watching my decent game playing with a cuetec go right down the toilet, here I invested money in a custom cue that I felt has no playabilty what so ever, I keep telling myself what happened? I do not know what to do, put the cue away in the closet(plan for investment on the cue) trade up or down next year at valley forge or keeping frustrating my self with this cue, do I put 20 different tips on this cue, spend a year on reaiming with this cue, this just does not seem right, do I slap a predator shaft on it...my opinion of the cue is, it has to much whip to it, some deflection, and no consistency to it, I played both nites with making adjustment after adjustment...
Click to expand...
It sounds like your trouble is in the shafts and not the cue itself. Your Cuetec shafts and the Scruggs shafts are much different and I would either get a predator shaft for the Scruggs or pick one of the 2 shafts that came with the Scruggs cue and stick with it until you adjust to the deflection and different aiming characteristics of the cue. You can't usually adjust to a new cue in 2 nights unless the cue is very close to what you've been playing with and it sounds like this cue is much different than your Cuetec.

I play with predator shafts and I have 3 cues and I can use the same shaft on any of the cues I own so I don't have to worry about different aiming characteristics and it's easy for me to play with any one of my cues.
 
Now now now dont go and blame the stick :P:P Goin from plastic to the real deal is gona be a change.........but be advised its bout the best decision to will ever make!!!!!!
 
Steve Stough said:
I recently went to valley forge and picked up a Tim Scruggs titlist cue, when I first saw the cue I was hooked on buying it and I did, when I played 6 hours with it in 2 nites my opinion of the cue was complete the opposite, the first shaft the first nite was nothing but missed shots, missed kicks, I could not run out from the 7 ball(complete nitemare) the second nite with the second shaft was the same, constant pain of watching my decent game playing with a cuetec go right down the toilet, here I invested money in a custom cue that I felt has no playabilty what so ever, I keep telling myself what happened? I do not know what to do, put the cue away in the closet(plan for investment on the cue) trade up or down next year at valley forge or keeping frustrating my self with this cue, do I put 20 different tips on this cue, spend a year on reaiming with this cue, this just does not seem right, do I slap a predator shaft on it...my opinion of the cue is, it has to much whip to it, some deflection, and no consistency to it, I played both nites with making adjustment after adjustment...
Click to expand...





If you cant adjust to the TS shaft I would have a 3142 fitted to the butt.

Have any pic's ?



SPINDOKTOR
 
SPINDOKTOR said:
If you cant adjust to the TS shaft I would have a 3142 fitted to the butt.

Have any pic's ?



SPINDOKTOR
Click to expand...

Nah! Have an SST shaft fitted to it. :eek: :eek:
 
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Ahh the search for the holy grail........
What I think has happened is you jumped out of your Vega and into a Rolls !!
You most likley got tuned into the flat hit on your old cue and are now using a livley tuned cue and the cue ball is doing stuff that you just can't understand why !!
Welcome to the next level in pool .
The "Holy Grail" cue is the one you've had 5 to 50 years and you just can't find another to hit just like it .
Learn your new cue. Don't jump out and try to beat other people with it till you find out what it can do !
Put some time in learning where your deflection curves are where and what spin it will hold .
I'll bet dimes to dollars it's not the cue it's you !!
If all else fails sell me the cue I would be happy to have it in my stable ;)
Later Bill
 
Scruggs cues is without doubt one of the best playing cues made. When going from a Ford to a Ferrari you must expect some big changes. You need to practice with the cue. Shoot long straight in shots 15 center, 15 follow, and 15 draw. Then use left or right english for 15 shots. Notice how the deflection is different than a Cuetec (and any other cue for that matter).

Once you get use to the Scruggs you will see that it plays better and is more consistent. You have a Ferrari in you hands GET USE TO DRIVING IT!
 
What makes you think you will like a predator shaft any better? If you were playing with a cuetec before, a Predator shaft may take more adjustment than the Scruggs shaft.

I'd say you should stick with it for a while. Have you practiced with it, rather than just trying to play games? That sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Set up some spin shots and see what the difference really is. It sounds to me like you're almost in a panic right now. You've invested a good bit of money, now you need to invest some time too.
 
Different cues play differently!

Different shafts play differently!

Different brands (hardness) of tips play differently!

Different tip shapes (nickel/dime) play differently!

With all the differences in tables, cloth, rails, condition of balls, etc. Why add more differences to the game?

Different weights of cues can mess up speed control, your ability to shoot at a certain speed and leave the cue ball where you want. Different shafts will have different "cue ball deflection" or "squirt" with english shots (hitting left/right side of cue ball). Different tip materials (brands of tips) and hardness of tips will "grip" the cue ball better or worse. And the shape of the tip (nickel/dime) can change things when shooting the cue ball off center.

I would advise you to experiment with different weight cues, different shafts, different tip brands, different hardness of tips, and different tip shapes.

Decide what you like best, then stick with those specifications *forever*!

Then you can order a new cue which is "fancy", BUT you can order it to YOUR specifications and put YOUR tip on it. It will play the same as other cues with the same specs.

I have 3 cues which all play *exactly* the same. Same weight (measured on my accurate scale - don't trust the listed weight) , same deflection shaft (Predator 314), same shaft size at tip, same shaft taper (pro taper), same exact brand/hardness/shape tip.

I have been playing with this cue for several years. I get better and better as I learn to play with this cue. (It took me quite awhile to adjust when I first switched to this cue BTW.)
 
arsenius said:
What makes you think you will like a predator shaft any better? If you were playing with a cuetec before, a Predator shaft may take more adjustment than the Scruggs shaft.

I'd say you should stick with it for a while. Have you practiced with it, rather than just trying to play games? That sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Set up some spin shots and see what the difference really is. It sounds to me like you're almost in a panic right now. You've invested a good bit of money, now you need to invest some time too.
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I agree, only change the shaft as a last resort.

Really if youve played with the cue for a week and cant pocket balls at least as well as you did with the cue tec your going to need to make a change.

Some cue's you can hammer the balls and still pocket and play position, while others may play best shooting at slower speeds. so I suggest if you shoot hard to firm let up a lil on the power and see what happens. If your not shooting hard and the shaft is like a tuning fork, I wouldnt use the shaft.


SPINDOKTOR
 
It's a well known fact that most cues are manufactured with 3000 misses in them. Rarely one will be produced with up to 400,000 misses built in. You apparently have gotten one of those cues. There is really not much that can be done-I have owned several of these.

I'd just suggest that you drop the price substantially and try to unload that cue out of the country somewhere.:) Good luck!
 
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i had a similar problem when i bought my fabulous Varney cue. i was playing with a cuetec, and while it wasn't the most enjoyable experience, i could do what i needed to do with it. with my new varney i was struggling to draw the ball at all, and sidespin was a no no. the 'trouble' was the thing hit so damn nice and felt good i stuck with it, and it's paid off. i got used to it and feel really comfortable with it now and everything i could do with my cuetec before i can do better now with my varney, plus the thing feels like an orgasm to my hand and ears when i hit a nice firm shot with it. :D

switching cues in general takes adjustment time, but switching from a cuetec takes even more time. they're not normal cues. i'm not saying the scruggs cue is definitely for you, but you need to put the effort in to give it a chance. two for pool had it spot on, knuckle down and do some solid drills with it. adopt the attitude that the cue is better, and it's worth putting a bit of effort in to learn how to handle it.

i sound all level headed now mind, but before i wasnt. i was pissed off i coudln't be at my previous level of play with my new cue the first time i screwed it together!

good luck.
 
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