Tables...
Home Table: Olhausen Gem pro 8 (limited room)
Usual Hall-Table: Diamond Pro's
Local 9' Tables played: Connelly, GC III-IV, Gandy (horrible example), AE Schmidt (nice),
Preferences: Given all the tables an equal footing as far as condition, cloth, rails, age, etc.. - Overall, I prefer to play on a Diamond Pro. There are 2 main reasons behind this choice. 1) I believe Diamonds are tighter- and require more accurate shotmaking- especially long up the rail. I think this improves my game when moving to other tables. 2) On GC's, Connelly's, and Gandy's.. the side pockets seem to reject balls far easier than a Diamond. I'm not saying they are smaller, or harder to pocket in the side.. I mean that if you hit dead center in the pocket, but a bit too hard (and it's 75% of the speed that a Diamond will "accept" a ball), the ball comes back out. When I "make a shot".. I want the ball to stay in the pocket. I can rocket balls into a Diamond's side pockets, even from obtuse angles- and it goes down. When I miss- it's because I missed - not because I hit the ball 1mph too hard.
My only "problem" with the Diamonds- may be due to factor's not inherent to the table design/quality. I play where they have 4-yr old Diamond Pro's. I am disappointed in the condition of the rails. I'm not a table mechanic, but the rails (on all 9 of the tables) are very inconsistant. There are "dead-spots" everywhere, and were there even before the recovering. The fellow that recovered them- swears it's the rail material... I have no idea.. ... These tables are not very well maintained... though I try to do my part by wiping them down, and brushing before I play.
My 22 year old Olhausen rails are still very lively- and they have had a workout
Ray