How certain are you of this?? Or do you just not like Tim's cues??
Tim Scruggs Sneaky
- Thread starter Ascue
- Start date
InsertCleverNameHere
Well-known member
you just say the word when you're ready to move on from it
InsertCleverNameHere
Well-known member
best pool I ever played in my life was with one of Keith's sneakies. Ancient history now but yeah great cues.
I have a Scruggs Sneaky Pete I bought from his place in Baltimore way, Pretty cool shop. I haven't looked at it in decades. It's been in my closet, safely snugged away in a Lucasi case I won here on AzBilliards for being a Gold Member. I had not even thought about it until I read this thread.
Interestingly, Mr. Scruggs used to be a sponsor of a regional pool tour, Scruggs Power 9-Ball Tour, usually held in pool rooms located in upper Maryland and southeast Pennsylvania. At the end of the season, he would gift the winner with a custom-made Scruggs cue, made to their specifications.
The last season, the winner who shall remain unnamed, sold his cue spot, not made yet, to someone else, and I think that hurt Tim's feelings. That was it for him sponsoring a pool tour. It was a nice regional tour, in the early 2000s, as I recall. Lots of road warriors, social shooters, and pros came out of the woodwork to shoot in it, always on a weekend.
I'm going to go pull out my Scruggs Sneaky Pete and enjoy it later today. I had forgotten all about it. Thanks for this thread!
Interestingly, Mr. Scruggs used to be a sponsor of a regional pool tour, Scruggs Power 9-Ball Tour, usually held in pool rooms located in upper Maryland and southeast Pennsylvania. At the end of the season, he would gift the winner with a custom-made Scruggs cue, made to their specifications.
The last season, the winner who shall remain unnamed, sold his cue spot, not made yet, to someone else, and I think that hurt Tim's feelings. That was it for him sponsoring a pool tour. It was a nice regional tour, in the early 2000s, as I recall. Lots of road warriors, social shooters, and pros came out of the woodwork to shoot in it, always on a weekend.
I'm going to go pull out my Scruggs Sneaky Pete and enjoy it later today. I had forgotten all about it. Thanks for this thread!
I will say that I have owned a Schmelke SP as well as a Scruggs and a Frey SP - the Schmelke played very well. However The Scruggs and Frey played similar to each other and Different than the Schmelke - “better” is only in the hands of the player.
I used to spend a fair amount of time up at the Scruggs shop, BS'ing with Tim and Mike. They built a handful of cues for me, over a 10 year period. All were stunners, but my favorite cue from them was a fancy Sneaky.
I was absolutely convinced that SP was the best cue ever created.
Then I bought a Joe Callaluca cue (fancy SP) from Bama...and instantly got pissed off. The JC cue was beyond miraculous...and I hated that fact. It was 10x the cue my Scruggs SP was.
I still love TS cues (and have one in my case). I think their SPs are awesome pieces of work.
But the lesser known stuff out there WILL surprise you.
I was absolutely convinced that SP was the best cue ever created.
Then I bought a Joe Callaluca cue (fancy SP) from Bama...and instantly got pissed off. The JC cue was beyond miraculous...and I hated that fact. It was 10x the cue my Scruggs SP was.
I still love TS cues (and have one in my case). I think their SPs are awesome pieces of work.
But the lesser known stuff out there WILL surprise you.
Perhaps you are thinking of John Slavotinek , who was working in the Scruggs shop with Mike Cochran in the early to mid 90's. John left around 1996 for a job with a tool company.
Yes, I'm sure you're right. I remembered his name as a long one, beginning with S. but wasn't sure. If you also remember, it wasn't too long after John left that Tim did not want to do any more Sneakys. I think he thought they were a bit of a pain and took time away from other work.
All the best,
WW
Well, I can understand why people have differing opinions about pool cue quality and cue makers because I questioned
this for a very long time until I resolved it to my ultimate curiosity and satisfaction. Now with gun smithing and blade making, quality is readily more apparent and higher prices directly coincide with better quality, especially with handguns and long rifles. Fit, finish, materials, weight, balance, design, accuracy……the more you spend, the more you will receive….that is just a fact of life when it comes to guns and blades……..but you don’t need to have the very best when something lesser fills the bill more than adequately and is still considered to be top of the line….it always comes down to the archer rather than the arrow….but the truth is the best made arrows really do cost more and are better.
I absolutely agree. And, again, I'm in no way knocking any custom artisan for being able to command big dollars or holding incredibly long waitlists. They've built brand juggernauts through blood, sweat, tears, incredible talent, exceptional drive, and by having forgotten more knowledge than most people will ever have. But after a certain point, let's face it, whether it's a cue, knife, holster, or arrow they're all made well. Like, really well made. The extra dollars are for the name. I mean, look at just about any post on any site with someone showing cues. Invariably, if it's not mentioned with the picture, one of the first questions will be, "Who made it?" Another example would be, try selling a relatively plain four point cue that lost its signature during a refinish. The fit and finish could be impeccable. It could hit a ton and all that. But good luck selling it for what it would have brought with that signature.
My favorite part about all of this is that it's ok. People (myself included) like to have nice things. We also like to have some sort of connection to the artist. And a lot of times that connection comes through that signature or logo.
Attachments
My kinda place. I meet all the requirements.
This is not an attack on you as I know you arent the person who coined that phrase nor are you the first to say it...
...but I can't fucking stand that saying... the cue plays a massive part in the players success.
"You don't climb a mountain in flipflops"
Plays a part but i'd never use the word 'massive' to describe its importance. I'll use a golf analogy to make my case, there was pretty high-ranked pro that showed up to an event and found that the airline had lost his clubs. He basically just went to a couple local shops and the pro shop at the event course to make up a set. They weren't even close to his fit and shaft etc. He shot 8under the first day and ended up making cut and iirc got a top 20-25 finish. Talent/skill trumps tools every time. A cue is important but some people act like they hold magic.
Last edited:
Love it!
This is one of the greatest archers in the world. Pretty sure she can beat any of us with any bow and arrow, but guess what she uses when it’s time to dance with the world’s best?
No big difference to each other or to any other Sneaky Pete? Frey made most of the Scruggs Sneaky Petes.I owned both, one Scruggs sneaky and several Frey sneaky. No big diff to me. Currently playing a 60" Frey Bocote sneaky and like it a lot. It's about perfect
I think we're losing track of what we're actually talking about. I don't think anyone is going to argue that a Scruggs sneaky is going to play better than a broom handle and don't see SVB showing up to the US Open wielding a one piece Dufferin with a slip on tip. (For the sake of this conversation let's forget that he's sponsored.) Do you know what else I don't see SVB showing up to the US Open with? A $20,000 Gina.
I guess my whole point to all of this is that you reach a point of diminishing returns. A cue can only play so good and once you reach a certain dollar threshold, it becomes a moot point.
For the record, I do believe SVB could beat 99% of the population's brains in with a one piece Dufferin with a slip on tip.
I guess my whole point to all of this is that you reach a point of diminishing returns. A cue can only play so good and once you reach a certain dollar threshold, it becomes a moot point.
For the record, I do believe SVB could beat 99% of the population's brains in with a one piece Dufferin with a slip on tip.
Since it's a slow morning at work and some people respond better to data with graphs, I decided to do an experiment in my head. I took 100 each of D players, C players, B players, A players, and Pros. I let them use their cue of choice to play the ghost in a race to 10 to establish a baseline represented as "0" on the Y axis in the graph below. I then had them pick a number: 1 or 2. If they chose 1, they had to play the same race again with a $20k custom. Then they played yet another race with a broom handle (Model H-6424-HNDL, 60" Tapered Replacement Handle. $8.00 from Uline.) The picking a number part was to ensure that playing with one or the other in the first race didn't effect how they played in the second race as, statistically, half would play with the custom first and the other half would play with the broom handle first. The results are below.
Please don't ask about how I calculated the performance increase/decrease percentage. The math is way too complicated and completely made up. But, as we can see, the graph shows some undeniable truths.
If you've read this far, thanks for playing along. While this is exaggerated, it's really not too far from the way I see it in my head. Hopefully you at least got a chuckle out of it.
EDIT: I'm thinking about doing the experiment again, but this time having Tony from Black Boar sign the broom handle. I'll post the results if/when that happens.
Please don't ask about how I calculated the performance increase/decrease percentage. The math is way too complicated and completely made up. But, as we can see, the graph shows some undeniable truths.
- D Players don't care at all. They play perfectly with both instruments.
- C Players show a marked increase in performance with the custom cue and decrease with the broom handle. This has been attributed to the fact that C Players have gotten at least a little used to using a somewhat decent cue.
- B Players showed a minimal bump in performance with the custom but a notable decrease in performance with the broom handle. This is due to what's known as the "Bumpy Shaft Effect." B Players have gotten even more used to a decent cue and, in many times, a very nice custom with an exceptionally smooth shaft that the broom handle just doesn't provide.
- A Players showed no improvement with the custom but a notable decrease in performance with the broom handle. It is believed this is due to their ability to overcome the "Bumpy Shaft Effect" and to a slight degree, superior pattern play versus B Players.
- Once again, Pros showed no increase in performance with the custom and a minimal decrease with the broom handle. This is clearly a result of the "They're Just That Good" phenomenon.
If you've read this far, thanks for playing along. While this is exaggerated, it's really not too far from the way I see it in my head. Hopefully you at least got a chuckle out of it.
EDIT: I'm thinking about doing the experiment again, but this time having Tony from Black Boar sign the broom handle. I'll post the results if/when that happens.
Last edited: