LD Shafts as a training tool.

[steev]

Hi.

I've been thinking about something for the last couple of days. I'll put it up here for your thoughts.

I'm a B player. Ok, so I got an OB-1 a couple of months ago, and have been diligently working on playing with it. What I noticed most was that it revealed when my stroke was off, usually by missing badly or even miscueing . Over the next couple of months, my stroke became more disciplined, to where this wasn't happening (much).

So after a couple of months of OB-1, I can play well with it, but it still feels...wrong. Too light in the front, and it altered the cue's balance backward, a bad thing for an open-bridge player. Not the end of the world, but far from perfect.

Yesterday, I decided to play with my DPK shaft for the first time in months, to see how it felt. The improvements in my stroke (from the OB-1) were still there, and I got all my wonderful feel back. I didn't have any deflection problems and it felt great. I will revert to this shaft for all serious play, immediately! :thumbup:


ok, a lot of rambling but here's my point:

for most 'B' and above players, an LD shaft makes a great training tool, and not much else

discuss.

-s

 

[Patrick Johnson]

... [a low-squirt shaft) revealed when my stroke was off, usually by missing badly or even miscueing . Over the next couple of months, my stroke became more disciplined, to where this wasn't happening (much).

This isn't caused by the low-squirt shaft. You must have been lining up or stroking differently with it.

So after a couple of months of OB-1, I can play well with it, but it still feels...wrong. Too light in the front, and it altered the cue's balance backward, a bad thing for an open-bridge player. Not the end of the world, but far from perfect.

The balance difference is too slight to make any physical difference to an open-bridge player. You must just be distracted by the new feel.

... here's my point:

for most 'B' and above players, an LD shaft makes a great training tool, and not much else

Simply not true.

pj
chgo

 

[CreeDo]

haha, I dunno that I'd go too far and say "most" when it happened to exactly 1 guy (that we know of). It's a pretty unique situation.. a guy trying the OB-1, going back to his old shaft, and then shooting better.

Here's where you gotta test more to make your point:

-You should try an OB2 or predator. All of these shafts feel different and are made differently, and many strong players have a definite preference. It's not like any LD shaft is as good as another.

-You should poll a few players other than the guy sitting in your chair. I can tell you the top pro in our state (one of the strongest young players in the country) says he's lost without his Predator shaft. He has tried the OB's and still prefers his predator. I think he said that when he goes back to a regular shaft he's like a kid who's never hit a ball, lol.

- You should be 100% sure this improvement isn't imagined, or that you simply failed to adjust to the LD shaft. If you never quite learned how to re-aim, you will miss balls you normally make. A few months should be enough to adjust but maybe for some stubborn guys it's not. In any case it'll feel like your overall game has gone down when you miss those occasional balls. Of course when you go back to making them it 'feels' like your game has gone up, when really it's about the same it was before the new shaft.

- While it seems like any butt will do when attached to the LD shaft, maybe you're very sensitive about balance and you need a different butt to be able to play the cue without having a bad 'feel'.

 

[steev]

This isn't caused by the low-squirt shaft. You must have been lining up or stroking differently with it.

Thanks for your opinions, despite your attempt to state them as facts.

No, I was stroking the same as I always do, which is to say, not that well. The LD shaft revealed this to me. Over the next few weeks, my stroke improved quite a bit using the OB-1 due to this 'feedback'.

So I was in fact complimenting the OB-1 for helping my practice.

-s

//does it give you headaches, being right all the time?

 

[steev]

Here's where you gotta test more to make your point:

-You should try an OB2 or predator. All of these shafts feel different and are made differently, and many strong players have a definite preference. It's not like any LD shaft is as good as another.

-You should poll a few players other than the guy sitting in your chair. I can tell you the top pro in our state (one of the strongest young players in the country) says he's lost without his Predator shaft. He has tried the OB's and still prefers his predator. I think he said that when he goes back to a regular shaft he's like a kid who's never hit a ball, lol.

- You should be 100% sure this improvement isn't imagined, or that you simply failed to adjust to the LD shaft. If you never quite learned how to re-aim, you will miss balls you normally make. A few months should be enough to adjust but maybe for some stubborn guys it's not. In any case it'll feel like your overall game has gone down when you miss those occasional balls. Of course when you go back to making them it 'feels' like your game has gone up, when really it's about the same it was before the new shaft.

- While it seems like any butt will do when attached to the LD shaft, maybe you're very sensitive about balance and you need a different butt to be able to play the cue without having a bad 'feel'.

You make some good points. I would address a few of them but I don't want to spark further argument, most of which we've all read ten times at least. I've made the right decision for me, and thanks for your input.

Maybe if I were a big table player instead of a bar table hack I could properly appreciate all that LD has to offer. As it is, I plan to use it when I play 9' tables (what, 4 times a year?), and when I practice.

-s

 

[dr9ball]

For what it's worth, and just my 2 cents on the subject of Low Deflection Shafts. I hate them with a passion.

It's the stroke and not the shaft that will help your game. If you have a good stroke, you can learn to play the game quite well. If you have no stroke, no shaft is going to get you as far. Marketing is marketing, a good stroke is priceless.

 

[paksat]

LD shafts are like a complete upgrade to me. I can simply pot better with them and achieve better draw etc.

maybe it's because you're not playing on a 9 footer like you say.

 

[PetToilet]

well, a study from someone (dr dave?) said the miscue limit is worse with less end mass.

anyways, low squirt for me reveals when my stroke is off because my bridge point is closer to the ball then the ideal pivot point for the LD shaft, so there is not enough deflection to cancel out the squirt and if my stroke is off, it goes in the direction I accidently pointed the cue slightly.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Originally Posted by steev
... [a low-squirt shaft) revealed when my stroke was off, usually by missing badly or even miscueing . Over the next couple of months, my stroke became more disciplined, to where this wasn't happening (much).

This isn't caused by the low-squirt shaft. You must have been lining up or stroking differently with it.

So after a couple of months of OB-1, I can play well with it, but it still feels...wrong. Too light in the front, and it altered the cue's balance backward, a bad thing for an open-bridge player. Not the end of the world, but far from perfect.

The balance difference is too slight to make any physical difference to an open-bridge player. You must just be distracted by the new feel.

... here's my point:
for most 'B' and above players, an LD shaft makes a great training tool, and not much else

Simply not true.

Thanks for your opinions, despite your attempt to state them as facts.

Isn't that exactly what you did?

But actually, one of my facts is wrong. It actually is true that higher squirt cues are more forgiving of stroke errors. I misspoke.

But low-squirt cues don't miscue more often and they're not only useful as training tools for better players. You stated these things as facts without giving any reason to believe them.

...does it give you headaches, being right all the time?

It seems to give some people headaches.

pj
chgo