So, are the old Gandy Big G tables really all that bad?

[ShortBusRuss]

It's funny that you never hear these complaints about the Diamond tables from the players at the DCC, US Open 9 ball, the international 9 ball open, the APA nationals! But I guess that's just the difference between those players and you, they can actually play pool!

Glenn,

He is talking specifically about the Red Labels, from a specific time period. And he's absolutely right. They played terribly. And players at DCC very much did complain about them banking extremely short. Remember.. My Red Label Diamond banked a full diamond short from middle pocket to corner.

I can very much see anyone who has has a bad experience on Red Label Diamonds swearing off the brand, if they don't actively compete much outside of their pool hall.

 

[skip100]

I am an American living in Germany, and because the base table is older Gold Crown 2's and such, I have some experience with tables regularly "rattling". All the club tables are tightened up using hard pocket facings, because otherwise they would be buckets. And Diamonds only "rattle" when balls are terribly struck. The tables at the club reject well struck balls all the time, simply depending on angle/speed you strike the pocket facing. I assume the Olhausens are the same. I have never in my life seen a Diamond reject a well struck ball. Too many players are simply accustomed to "sliding" balls in off the rail, and will complain about any table that does not allow this.

How do you define a “well struck ball”?

 

[ShortBusRuss]

How do you define a “well struck ball”?

A ball that is not scraped in off the rail with excessive speed, for the most part.

For reference.. My Diamond Pro/Am has 4 1/8" pockets, and every ball that has ever hung up on me, is because I brushed the rail coming in to the pocket, such that the OB is approaching the pocket facing from a head-on angle. Or struck 2x as hard as needed. Or both.

Germans play on these goofy *ss hard pocket facing Gold Crowns, and you still see a lot of 50+ ball runs, and 2-3 packs in weekly league play. The simple truth of it is.. As a collective group, Americans just don't have strokes up to the task. My podunk little club here in Barmfark, Germany, has multiple players 675+ Fargorate, and we have multiple 700 level players in our "Region". The average level of play is MUCH higher than in the USA, and I tell you brother... These players THIRST for the chance to play on Diamonds, as compared to what they normally play on...

 

[skip100]

A ball that is not scraped in off the rail with excessive speed, for the most part.

For reference.. My Diamond Pro/Am has 4 1/8" pockets, and every ball that has ever hung up on me, is because I brushed the rail coming in to the pocket, such that the OB is approaching the pocket facing from a head-on angle. Or struck 2x as hard as needed. Or both.

Germans play on these goofy *ss hard pocket facing Gold Crowns, and you still see a lot of 50+ ball runs, and 2-3 packs in weekly league play. The simple truth of it is.. As a collective group, Americans just don't have strokes up to the task. My podunk little club here in Barmfark, Germany, has multiple players 675+ Fargorate, and we have multiple 700 level players in our "Region". The average level of play is MUCH higher than in the USA, and I tell you brother... These players THIRST for the chance to play on Diamonds, as compared to what they normally play on...

"Brushing the rail coming into the pocket" should not be a death sentence. Pool is not snooker.

 

[ShortBusRuss]

"Brushing the rail coming into the pocket" should not be a death sentence. Pool is not snooker.

It's not. With a quality smooth stroke, even a hard pocket facing will not reject the ball if you catch a little bit of rail.

If you get wonky angles on slower Gold Crowns, HOWEVER, due to poor position play.... Better make damn sure you hit the center of the pocket.

If anything... Diamonds make it a bit easier to recover from poor patterns. The speed and responsiveness more than makes up for the pockets.

This is simply a matter of American players used to playing on subpar equipment, having to power the ball around the table, getting their lunch ate by tables specifically designed to punish such play.

 

[garczar]

Apples-n-oranges as far as Diamond vs. Olhausen. Diamond's have a lil deeper shelf and will reject POORLY HIT shots. Oly's have improper pocket angles and spit out even well hit shots. On Diamond ProCuts(4.5) if you're having balls rejected its because you hit it like shit. Not the tables fault.

 

[ShortBusRuss]

Apples-n-oranges as far as Diamond vs. Olhausen. Diamond's have a lil deeper shelf and will reject POORLY HIT shots. Oly's have improper pocket angles and spit out even well hit shots. On Diamond ProCuts(4.5) if you're having balls rejected its because you hit it like shit. Not the tables fault.

Ayuh. I bought one of the crazy tight 4 1/8" Eurotour Diamonds from Fulda, Germany.... And even up here in wine country with humidity often over 50% before I get the heat and dehumidifier going... If I miss a ball, I definitely missed it. Even as tight as this table is....It plays near perfect in my estimation... And I got myself on video beating the ghost pretty bad on a Red Label Diamond (that banked about a fooking Diamond short middle pocket to corner!!), so I can play a little.

 

[trob]

Apples-n-oranges as far as Diamond vs. Olhausen. Diamond's have a lil deeper shelf and will reject POORLY HIT shots. Oly's have improper pocket angles and spit out even well hit shots. On Diamond ProCuts(4.5) if you're having balls rejected its because you hit it like shit. Not the tables fault.

Exactly.

 

[straightline]

Room I worked at had a big G. The pockets acted like they are saying Olhausens do. Din much matter - they were essentially buckets. Set a personal best on it; 2 consecutive 4 rack congestion drills for a total of 126. (63 balls each)