New cloth and tighter pockets

[gerford]

I asked this in the main forum and somebody suggested I post it here.
I was out at the WPBA in Ignacio, CO and was chatting with the Brunswick rep who helped set up the tables for the event. I loved the Simonis 860 cloth compared to the cloth on my Brunswick Ventura table I have at home so I ordered some new Simonis cloth. I asked him what other differences there are between my 9' Ventura table and the gold crown V tables they have at the tournament. He said they basically play the same except the corner pockets on the Ventura table are 5" and the GC V are 4 1/2". The side pockets on the Ventura are 5 1/2" and the GC V are 5. He said when I re-cloth the rails that you can add a little rubber spacer to shrink the pocket size. I asked the mechanic whose going to redo the table about shrinking the pockets and he said he's never done any, but he can easily if I want to.
Do I want to? I sure like the way the tables at the tournament played. What are the pros and cons?? Should I shrink the pockets or leave them as they are?
The table is in a beautiful pool room at my house and it's used mainly by experienced players. Its getting re-clothed October 2nd. There is a mechanic about an hour away who does installations and he has been Brunswick certified for a while. Would he be capable of shimming the pockets if I decide to do it or do you need to be pretty proficient at it.
I never thought about shrinking the pocket size, Anybody have an opinion?

Thanks
Jim

 

[OTLB]

5 inches or more are buckets, anything tighter is better but you could always just do the foot of the table. 80% of the play occurs there. Adding a shim or changing out for a thicker one shim (better way) is easy and they shouldn't have a problem doing that but they could.

 

[Crash]

gerford - I had tightened the corner pockets to 4 7/8 and 137º on my old 8 foot table thinking it would improve my playing. Instead of improving my skills it killed my mental performance and I would walk away thinking I would never get any better. That attitude stuck with me away from home. On my new 8 OS table I opened up to 5 1/4. Yeah, its easier but my confidence is up and I'm a lot more relaxed. This is just my experience, not a recommendation. I've only been shooting seriously the last three years so I'm still growing ... even at 58.

 

[speedi]

Pocket size

Because of the playing level that you and your buddies are at, I would suggest you make your pocket openings to conform to the specs of the
WPA (BCA). Then, when you show up at various tournaments in your area you won't be intimidated by 'tight pockets'.

WPA states that the corner pockets must be between 4.5 & 4.625 inches wide and the side pockets must be between 5 & 5.125 inches wide. They also state " The mouth of the side pockets are traditionally .500" wider than the mouth of the corner pockets".

I am currently in the process of making my own table and I am going to make my corner pockets 4.5" and the sides 5".

Best of luck!!

 

[bradsh98]

Back in March, I got a Gold Crown and immediately tightened the pockets to 4 3/8" by extending the subrails and putting new cushions on the table (info on this can be found by doing a search). I began having all kinds of trouble making balls and my confidence was very low. I've just started making balls consistently, after all this time... However, when I play on a Diamond or other table with tight pockets, I find it much easier to play on and have quite a bit of confidence in my shot making.