Irish linen

i do on most of my cues. been using it for decades.

the wrap is personal it doesnt do a hill of beans worth of shit for your playing.
 
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maha said:
the wrap is personal it doesnt do a hill of beans worth of shit for your playing.
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The wrap is personal, as you say, but I think it does make a difference in one's game. I can't imagine shooting with a feel I am not comfortable with, as opposed to a feel that is comfortable. I'm a no wrap individual, as I grip right at the butt end of the stick.
 
that is what personal means.
but if a person can play at all they will shoot just fine with any wrap or no wrap. that isnt a hindrance .

when you get better you will understand this as after a very short time you adjust to the cue in your hands and play fine with it.
you really dont even feel the "specific" cue in your hands or think about it. and shouldnt.

when you are just walking you don't think about your shoes or even your legs or steps.
 
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maha said:
that is what personal means.
but if a person can play at all they will shoot just fine with any wrap or no wrap. that isnt a hindrance .

when you get better you will understand this as after a very short time you adjust to the cue in your hands and play fine with it.
you really dont even feel the "specific" cue in your hands or think about it. and shouldnt.

when you are just walking you don't think about your shoes or even your legs or steps.
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If my shoes don't fit or are uncomfortable or inappropriate for what I'm doing I think about every step I take, lol.

The wrap, if you have one, is your connection with the cue, just like the wood if you don't have one. Of course, it's peronsal but the preference isn't irrelevant. SVB could beat most people with a grip end made of just about anything but he wouldn't choose to.

To the question - yes, I've got a cue with a linen wrap - just got it recently and my first. I love the feel and was pleasantly surprised. For sure, I can play (just as average, lol) with my non-wrapped cues and my leather wrapped one, and don't get too "wrapped up" in it, haha, but . . . at the moment I'd put the feel of the linen wrap just a hair above the feel of a nice, slick non-wrapped (not all my non-wrapped cues feel the same) and both a hair above the leather for feel. Tiger Woods could probably play with any gip on his putter or 8 iron and beat most people, but guarantee he has a preference for each and believes and likely does perform better with what he prefers, for whatever the reasons are, or .... he'd be using something else.
 
maha said:
but if a person can play at all they will shoot just fine with any wrap or no wrap. that isnt a hindrance .
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I don't agree. To me irish linen is slippery. I get that some people like it like that but I like tacky. For someone that prefers and built their game on a tacky grip, having a slippery grip is a hindrance. Probably works the other way around too.

I'd guess there are also people it just doesn't matter too but with some people it's far more than a hill of beans.
 
maha said:
that is what personal means.
but if a person can play at all they will shoot just fine with any wrap or no wrap. that isnt a hindrance .

when you get better you will understand this as after a very short time you adjust to the cue in your hands and play fine with it.
you really dont even feel the "specific" cue in your hands or think about it. and shouldnt.

when you are just walking you don't think about your shoes or even your legs or steps.
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Then why do you consistently play with a wrap, "for decades", if it doesn't make any difference? Aesthetically, wraps can look sharp, but so can beautiful wood grains. If it's something just for looks, I think wood grains and inlays look much nicer. Something is holding you to playing with wrap for decades. The answer is it does make a difference!
 
dendweller said:
I don't agree. To me irish linen is slippery. I get that some people like it like that but I like tacky. For someone that prefers and built their game on a tacky grip, having a slippery grip is a hindrance. Probably works the other way around too.

I'd guess there are also people it just doesn't matter too but with some people it's far more than a hill of beans.
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I think it depends on often you play with one cue or style of cue.

I make cues, so I am constantly playing with new cues I make. I don't just pick it up, test whack a few balls and say it's good. I take my new cues to league and put em through matches. I have no trouble winning with a wrapless, leather wrap, or any of the flavor of linen wraps (double press, starched, waxed, scotch guard, sanded, roughed).

I chalk this up to never using the same cue more than a match or two in a row. I always have a new cue in my hands with a different length, weight, grip, taper. After doing this for a while, you could hand me a mop handle I probably wouldn't notice it isn't a pool cue.

Then there's my old timer buddies who have been using the same cue for the last 40 years, and it doesn't matter what cue I hand them, how much money it costed, or what materials it has, they cannot play even a single rack with it. Creatures of habit and comfort.
 
RidgeRaider said:
I think it depends on often you play with one cue or style of cue.

I make cues, so I am constantly playing with new cues I make. I don't just pick it up, test whack a few balls and say it's good. I take my new cues to league and put em through matches. I have no trouble winning with a wrapless, leather wrap, or any of the flavor of linen wraps (double press, starched, waxed, scotch guard, sanded, roughed).

I chalk this up to never using the same cue more than a match or two in a row. I always have a new cue in my hands with a different length, weight, grip, taper. After doing this for a while, you could hand me a mop handle I probably wouldn't notice it isn't a pool cue.

Then there's my old timer buddies who have been using the same cue for the last 40 years, and it doesn't matter what cue I hand them, how much money it costed, or what materials it has, they cannot play even a single rack with it. Creatures of habit and comfort.
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I think maybe it has to do with the players skin. Some people's skin is really dry, some more oily. I have dry skin, depending on how dry my hands are that day I can't hold on to irish linen well enough to make me feel in control.
I had one cue in my life with linen around 40 years ago, a DPK. Only high end cue I ever owned. I took it out on my parents porch and hit the wrap with laquer from a spray can. First time I knew it just wasn't for me. .
 
maha said:
hey guys all that is what i said. personal preference.
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Understood. Although, there is a tangible reason for one's preference. For me, I grip between the butt cap and the wrap, so a wrap is basically useless for me. I prefer a wrapless to get a beautiful wood grain appearance as well.
 
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