pro's origins and cues

[Solartje]

the post about what cues u have made me think.

in europe, most of the pro players use standard production cues.
predator, cuetecs, shonn's, and even alot cheap production cues compared to american players. everyone here seems to own at least one custom cue.

on the other hand, european have reached over the years a level that can be comparable in quality as the americans, maybe even better. the quantity ofcourse is alot smaller. there are only a handfull of top european players.

so this makes me think.

what do you think is behind this. why do european people dont use custom cues. for my own example, i dont think ive ever seen a belgium national top64 player play with a custom cue. how come? arent they interested? is it because there arent many european custom cue makers? (on the other hand with modern technology, it istn very hard to find and buy a custom cue on the internet.)

i dont get it. there seems to be no interest in them in europe, but still the level of play is there.

anyone got some idea's on why this is the case?

 

[ATH]

Well first of all, the make of the cue has nothing to do with how good a player is. A good player can wipe the table with a crooked bar cue so it makes no difference if they use a custom or a production cue.
In Europe there are maybe 10 or so custom cuemakers, in the US there are maybe a 1000 custom cuemakers plus the history of pool playing is much greater then in Europe. I live in Norway and all my cues come from the US, most of the players here use Meucci,McDermott and Predator. Because it is to difficult and expensive to get a custom, and no shops here sell customs.
But just wait a few years, the customs will come. As more people play more people want to stand out and feel it's ok to spend a few thousand on cues.

 

[Cameron Smith]

Probably the reason why I don't plan on buying a custom cue. They're far too expensive, and they won't improve my game. So there is no point.

 

[mjantti]

Not many custom cues available in Europe, haven't really seen any to try out and to get excited about. So, low availability equals low market. Haven't really seen many cueshops in Europe with custom cues available either. Players are much more willing to pay over 1k for a production cue which they can try out than a custom cue in the catalog/internet.

I ordered my Scruggs "blind", never tried one before placing order. Couldn't be more happy with the cue.

 

[Solartje]

well, i might be starting to make some in a few years, once im installed in a new house, and i got the space. right now, ill just be playing in a friends woodcrafting basement

guess ill just have to trust whats being said on this forum. i dont think u can be dissapointed with a scruggs either

honestly id prefere a nice custom over a predator ANYTIME. most cue's here look so awfull