Opinions on using Aramith Pro Cup Measle Cue Balls with Brunswick Centennial Balls

C

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
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Although we use sets of Aramith Super Pro balls in here, including for our weekly Monday night 9-ball tournaments, I'm planning to use sets of Brunswick Centennial balls for our bigger once a month 9-ball tournaments, and not otherwise, to try to keep them in nearly new condition for our bigger tournaments, for as long as possible.

As our players, and myself, prefer the Aramith Pro Cup Measle cue ball, and the fact that the Brunswick Blue Cirlcle is far harder to keep cleaner / newer looking than the Measle ball, I'm planning to use the Pro Cup cue balls with the Centennials.

Seems like in the past, more than one member on here has commented that only the blue circle cue ball, which I assume is the exact same weight as the Centennial object balls, should be used with the Centennial balls. Is there any valid reason why not to use the Pro Cup cue ball with the Centennial balls for 9-ball? I can maybe understand that argument for traditional 14.1 play, but we're talking about 9-ball here. Thanks for any feedback.
 
My opinion is yes, as long as you're sure they're recent manufacture.

Brunswick Centennials were previously made by Hyatt/Albany Ball. After they went out of business, Saluc ended up with the Brunswick contract. Talking with various folks, Centennials are made with the same 5th generation phenolic as Super Pros. I don't have enough information about mixing with Duramith, as that is a 6th generation resin.

I weighed both sets, and they came in around 168 grams, or 5.9. Lower tier Aramith including Jim Rempe and red circle come in at 5.6 oz, so I wouldn't mix those.
 
There's no problem with using the measle ball with centennials, as the measle ball and the blue circle balls are made from the same resin. See the info below. They are both the Super Aramith Pro resin. By, the way, that's different than red circle cue balls, but the same as the Super Aramith cue ball, with the Aramith logo.

And, as such, the blue circles shouldn't be harder to clean than the measle, unless they are simple more old, worn, and take on chalk and dirt more easily. Hope this helps.

All the best,
WW
 

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I find that the Aramith cueballs are a bit more lively off the rebound than the cueball with the Centennials, expect for the one in the Tournament set. Aside from that, I have used a mixed set of the Pro Cup measles ball with Centennials and it played well, a lot better than using one of the cheaper cue balls with it.

I think if you tried this, you will find the better players that can tell the difference tell you that the cueball is easier to move around with the measels ball than with the Centennial cueball but a bit. Part of that may be due to the newness of the ball.
 
Anyone that has used blue circle cue balls for any length of time as well as pro cup measle cue balls will confirm there is a huge difference in how much easier it is to rub chalk marks off the measle cue ball as opposed to the blue circle cue ball. To clarify, I am talking about both being brand new balls.
 
ChrisinNC said:
Anyone that has used blue circle cue balls for any length of time as well as pro cup measle balls will confirm there is a huge difference in how much easier it is to rub chalk marks off the measle cue ball as opposed to the blue circle cue ball. To clarify, I am talking about both being brand new balls.
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How would you explain that, since it's the same resin used by Aramith?

All the best,
WW
 
I play with a set like that, everyday, probably since I bought my first Measle Ball.
 
WildWing said:
How would you explain that, since it's the same resin used by Aramith?

All the best,
WW
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I can't explain why, but my experience has been confirmed by many others on here as well in previous threads regarding comparison of cue balls.

I'm just simply stating the facts as someone who has played extensively with both cue balls for many years, as well as someone who (as the owner/manager of a poolroom for the past 23 years) has spent far too many hours of my life cleaning cue balls.

I'll try out a few brand new blue circles just received with the new Centennial sets, and if I detect anything different from what I've claimed here and what I've experienced over the years pertaining to the blue circle cue balls holding their chalk marks far more stubbornly than the measle cue ball does, I'll certainly follow up with that info.
 
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ChrisinNC said:
if I detect anything different from what I've claimed here and what I've experienced over the years pertaining to the blue circle cue balls holding their chalk marks far more so than the measle cue ball does, I'll certainly follow up with that info.
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I don't think that's the assumption, or assertion. The two should be about the same, given that they're the same resin.

All the best,
WW
 
I play 9b with measel ball and Cents quite a lot and it's a pleasure; zero issues.

I have also used the measel with Duramith Tourney balls and Super Pros, all with the same great result.

Big key: Make sure you are getting genuine Aramith measel balls - there are a whole lotta counterfeits out there. :mad:

best,
brian kc
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I play 9b with measel ball and Cents quite a lot and it's a pleasure; zero issues.

I have also used the measel with Duramith Tourney balls and Super Pros, all with the same great result.

Big key: Make sure you are getting genuine Aramith measel balls - there are a whole lotta counterfeits out there. :mad:

best,
brian kc
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I always order our Pro Cup cue balls from my longtime account rep at Seyberts. You know they are the real thing if they come in the single ball 5"x 9" hard plastic packaging, even if you order a larger quantity of them.
 
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Blue Circles don't get different polishing techniques from measle balls.

All the best,
WW
 
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The most important factor is that the weight of the cue ball matches the weight of the object balls ( which should all match as well) and the weight factor is most critical for draw shots it really will make a difference to better players who play spot position if the cue weights vary by more than .2 ounces.
 
I think I will offer a dissenting opinion from the rest.... If you want a nice set of balls to use only once per month for a special tournament, then why use an old CB with that nice set? Keep the blue circle with the centennials.

CB's are the biggest drama in pool. The room I grew up in always had nice centennials, with the blue circle they came with. Occasionally players would bring in a measles ball. Most refused to play with it. (and these were very good condition centennials, just a couple of years old).

I personally think all the CB drama is much ado about nothing.
 
iusedtoberich said:
- snip -

I personally think all the CB drama is much ado about nothing.
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If the cueball is matched to the set (or at least reacts normally) then it would not matter much what is used. I'm sure we all have played with too light or too heavy of a ball that caused issues. I like the physics of pool to at least be normal without having to think about what the cueball will do.

This is why I avoided playing on bar tables and outside of places with good equipment for many years, before my son and I started playing in leagues together. Who needs the frustration?

At a Joss event in Snookers RI, they brought in their own cueball, which played heavy. I'd play position and end up hooked or would scratch because the ball did not react properly. Even a few things like that in a match against good players will cost you a set, which it did.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I think I will offer a dissenting opinion from the rest.... If you want a nice set of balls to use only once per month for a special tournament, then why use an old CB with that nice set? Keep the blue circle with the centennials.

CB's are the biggest drama in pool. The room I grew up in always had nice centennials, with the blue circle they came with. Occasionally players would bring in a measles ball. Most refused to play with it. (and these were very good condition centennials, just a couple of years old).

I personally think all the CB drama is much ado about nothing.
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I would use the new blue circles, but due to the phenolic break tips some players use which scar up the cue ball and the number of our players that hit jump shots every chance they get, some that don't even know how to, I'd rather save the new blue circles to remain in excellent condition, to use when we have a 14.1 tournament or 14.1 league play.
 
Both pool rooms I visit in Raleigh use spotted cue balls,one room has Aramith
ball sets,the other has Brunswick centennial ball sets.
 
ctyhntr said:
My opinion is yes, as long as you're sure they're recent manufacture.

Brunswick Centennials were previously made by Hyatt/Albany Ball. After they went out of business, Saluc ended up with the Brunswick contract. Talking with various folks, Centennials are made with the same 5th generation phenolic as Super Pros. I don't have enough information about mixing with Duramith, as that is a 6th generation resin.

I weighed both sets, and they came in around 168 grams, or 5.9. Lower tier Aramith including Jim Rempe and red circle come in at 5.6 oz, so I wouldn't mix those.
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My weighing of a brand new super aramith pro value set (that came with the Rempe cue ball), plus one standalone Rempe cue ball I bought a few years prior to buying the whole set, corresponds with your data. Both of my Rempes were 161 grams, while the rest of the set was about 169 grams, plus or minus about 2grams for all 15 balls.
 
hang-the-9 said:
If the cueball is matched to the set (or at least reacts normally) then it would not matter much what is used. I'm sure we all have played with too light or too heavy of a ball that caused issues. I like the physics of pool to at least be normal without having to think about what the cueball will do.

This is why I avoided playing on bar tables and outside of places with good equipment for many years, before my son and I started playing in leagues together. Who needs the frustration?

At a Joss event in Snookers RI, they brought in their own cueball, which played heavy. I'd play position and end up hooked or would scratch because the ball did not react properly. Even a few things like that in a match against good players will cost you a set, which it did.
Click to expand...

Agree. I went to a buddies house that had garbage balls. Nothing was right. He didn't know better, but I knew something was up. I took his set to my house to polish them for him, and weighed the balls. The CB was 10 grams heavier. It must have been a barbox CB, IDK. Anyway, those 10 grams made a world of difference.

The same day, I remembered that my Rempe ball was about 6 grams lighter than the Super Aramith Pro set it came with. So I played around with it for an hour or so, and again, the 6 grams lighter was very, very, noticeable.

In conclusion, I agree with most others, in that as long as the CB and OB's are within about 2-3 grams of each other, then all is good. But any further apart, and I think a high C to low B player can notice the difference in position play. That said, I wonder if a pro could notice the difference if they were only 2 grams apart. I was personally shocked how much of a difference 6 grams made.

And I was also mad at Saluc for making the Rempe ball 6-7 grams lighter. Its whole purpose is to practice stop shots and such. The mismatch makes it impossible.
 
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