Here's a slightly different perspective on changing. Several years ago I was shooting with a lower end Meucci whose hit and action I really liked. I was comfortable with it and could move the cue ball around easily. Maybe the whippier shaft limited me a bit when a power shot was called for, but overall I was really happy with it.
Then I ran across a higher end Pechauer whose looks really captured me so I bought it on impulse. When I got it to the pool hall and onto a table I immediately hated it. It had a really stiff hit that I found hard to get any action out of. I changed the tip (unknown non-laminated) to a Triangle which is the tip I have used for 40+ years, but no improvement. I played with it for a couple weeks and felt that my game was off significantly - maybe 25-30%. I thought seriously about throwing it in a closet and going back to the Meucci.
Then I had a different thought. I would make myself play with it for a full year, training myself to get as much out of the cue as I could. Or maybe I should say training to get as much out of myself with that cue as I could. Anyway, that's what I did. After the year was up, I still didn't like the feel of that stick but I was shooting a lot better with it than when I started. Maybe almost as good as I had with the Meucci, but then again, maybe not quite.
I set the Pechauer aside and took out my old Meucci. It still fit and felt like old broken in boots to me. It took very little time to get reacclimated to the flexible shaft and its very different brand of feedback, and once I did I found that I was shooting WAY better with it that I ever had before. It seems the year of hard work and fighting with the Pechauer had indeed improved my stroke. That never would have happened if I hadn't made that long term but temporary switch. The characteristics of the Meucci that had made the game feel easier to me had also been holding me back in my development.
I sold the Pechauer shortly after going back to the Meucci, but more than once since then I've wished I still had it when my habits start getting lax and my stroke suffers. I'm sure that picking it up for a couple months would work me back into shape again. Hell, just thinking about having to use that stubborn hunk of lumber again would probably be enough to keep me from nonchalanting on the table. (Sailor reference for those of you who know.)
Then I ran across a higher end Pechauer whose looks really captured me so I bought it on impulse. When I got it to the pool hall and onto a table I immediately hated it. It had a really stiff hit that I found hard to get any action out of. I changed the tip (unknown non-laminated) to a Triangle which is the tip I have used for 40+ years, but no improvement. I played with it for a couple weeks and felt that my game was off significantly - maybe 25-30%. I thought seriously about throwing it in a closet and going back to the Meucci.
Then I had a different thought. I would make myself play with it for a full year, training myself to get as much out of the cue as I could. Or maybe I should say training to get as much out of myself with that cue as I could. Anyway, that's what I did. After the year was up, I still didn't like the feel of that stick but I was shooting a lot better with it than when I started. Maybe almost as good as I had with the Meucci, but then again, maybe not quite.
I set the Pechauer aside and took out my old Meucci. It still fit and felt like old broken in boots to me. It took very little time to get reacclimated to the flexible shaft and its very different brand of feedback, and once I did I found that I was shooting WAY better with it that I ever had before. It seems the year of hard work and fighting with the Pechauer had indeed improved my stroke. That never would have happened if I hadn't made that long term but temporary switch. The characteristics of the Meucci that had made the game feel easier to me had also been holding me back in my development.
I sold the Pechauer shortly after going back to the Meucci, but more than once since then I've wished I still had it when my habits start getting lax and my stroke suffers. I'm sure that picking it up for a couple months would work me back into shape again. Hell, just thinking about having to use that stubborn hunk of lumber again would probably be enough to keep me from nonchalanting on the table. (Sailor reference for those of you who know.)
