hi ,,,,,after just spectating at a pro tournamount in thailand i would guess that most of the players were using a tip around 13 mm,,,,,,would this be a fair comment,,,,i say this because i currantly use a z2 shaft 11.75 mm and i am not 100% convinced with it,,,,,is there any information on what the pro,s use ........many thanks tjd
tip size
- Thread starter tjd
- Start date
There's nowthing wrong with narrow shafts
Think about the best snooker players on 6-12 tables and 8,9,10, mm shafts running points like straight pool. There are 3-4 major low deflection shafts. They usually make 3 sizes, 13.25, 12.75,and 11.75. Cuemakers will make what you want. The statistics for Pred sayes the z-2, 11.75 has the least deflection. like 96.3- from 100. You need a good straight stoke for narrow shafts, I use open bridge with my z-1 with z-2 ferrule- shoot softly. McDermoot, Tiger , OB-1, Jacoby has a new LD shaft too.Remember pool like baseball ,very mental. mark
Think about the best snooker players on 6-12 tables and 8,9,10, mm shafts running points like straight pool. There are 3-4 major low deflection shafts. They usually make 3 sizes, 13.25, 12.75,and 11.75. Cuemakers will make what you want. The statistics for Pred sayes the z-2, 11.75 has the least deflection. like 96.3- from 100. You need a good straight stoke for narrow shafts, I use open bridge with my z-1 with z-2 ferrule- shoot softly. McDermoot, Tiger , OB-1, Jacoby has a new LD shaft too.Remember pool like baseball ,very mental. mark
Just a suggestion that possible can make it easier for you to decide what to play with -
Instead of asking what the pros play with ask yourself what you would like? Like witch size do you feel comfortable with, do you prefer a certain taper, do you want loads of spin, stability etc etc? Do you want LD or regular - word of this also LD isn´t a sign of quality just a spec that many cuemakers have, I for one have only had/have one LD shaft that I really liked and that´s M Lambros new LD shafts, usually I prefer a good cue with low LD but not a LD shaft. After this evaluation and you have narrowed it down a bit you call a cuemaker or several and decide witch one you like best (most of them will fit a aftermarket shaft to your butt also, if you decide to go with that) and talk it over (most of them do know so so much and they also understand customers different ways in saying things), one important thing is also (for me anyway) is that you get the right weight on your new shaft so the bp is to your liking.
I have probably missed a few things here but you prob get what I suggest, main thing I believe is start putting words on what you like yourself, you are the shooter it´s only you who can tell what´s best for you, - even if a good instructor/cuemaker/AZ members etc probably can lead you in a good direction.
I hope this can help you a bit.
Regards
Chrippa
Instead of asking what the pros play with ask yourself what you would like? Like witch size do you feel comfortable with, do you prefer a certain taper, do you want loads of spin, stability etc etc? Do you want LD or regular - word of this also LD isn´t a sign of quality just a spec that many cuemakers have, I for one have only had/have one LD shaft that I really liked and that´s M Lambros new LD shafts, usually I prefer a good cue with low LD but not a LD shaft. After this evaluation and you have narrowed it down a bit you call a cuemaker or several and decide witch one you like best (most of them will fit a aftermarket shaft to your butt also, if you decide to go with that) and talk it over (most of them do know so so much and they also understand customers different ways in saying things), one important thing is also (for me anyway) is that you get the right weight on your new shaft so the bp is to your liking.
I have probably missed a few things here but you prob get what I suggest, main thing I believe is start putting words on what you like yourself, you are the shooter it´s only you who can tell what´s best for you, - even if a good instructor/cuemaker/AZ members etc probably can lead you in a good direction.
I hope this can help you a bit.
Regards
Chrippa
it's the climate
My friend Rodeb , who is an excellent player from the Philippines , once explained to me that they tend to use the larger diameter shafts there out due to the extremely hot & humid climate - they simply resist warping better . I suspect the Thai players you saw are used to the larger shafts for the same reason .
I personally know of several well-respected American cue sellers who have shipped perfectly straight , old-growth maple shafts to the pacific rim and had them warp as soon as they were exposed to the extreme climate change . . .
My friend Rodeb , who is an excellent player from the Philippines , once explained to me that they tend to use the larger diameter shafts there out due to the extremely hot & humid climate - they simply resist warping better . I suspect the Thai players you saw are used to the larger shafts for the same reason .
I personally know of several well-respected American cue sellers who have shipped perfectly straight , old-growth maple shafts to the pacific rim and had them warp as soon as they were exposed to the extreme climate change . . .
I don't care what anybody else uses. I tried them all and with all tip hardness's and I prefer a Z2 or a Chuck Starkey 12 mm shaft. Both with a Super Pro tiip and no ferrule on the Starkey shaft.
Don't worry about what Efren uses. Just have fun trying stuff and find out what feels right to you. You'll spend a few bucks but you'll have fun and no matter what you do it will take a while to get the searching done... hell ... maybe it's never over :groucho:
Don't worry about what Efren uses. Just have fun trying stuff and find out what feels right to you. You'll spend a few bucks but you'll have fun and no matter what you do it will take a while to get the searching done... hell ... maybe it's never over :groucho:
I agree with the previous posters. Tip diameter is really your personal preference unless you are looking to put more spin on the ball with a smaller tip size. I've played with a 13.25mm, 13mm, and 12.75mm. The 13 still feels the best to me and its probably because I've used it for the longest. I know some players in Taiwan don't like using anything under 13mm, I'm not sure if its the humidity that causes warping, but most players there store their cues in the pool room and the AC is ran 24/7.
Smaller tips are better, but not for all the reasons you hear. They're better because (1) they produce less deflection and (2) they make it a little easier to see where you're going to hit the cue ball.
They do not produce more spin.
They are not more sensitive to stroke error.
pj
chgo
They do not produce more spin.
They are not more sensitive to stroke error.
pj
chgo
interesting observation that I made during the recent international challenge/tournament of champions event. i got to see a lot of the pro's cues close up and it seemed most of the players there were playing with thinner shafts. I obviously wasn't able to measure them, but i'd say most were around 12.5mm.
I play with a McDermott I-3 with a Moori soft tip and a tip diameter of 11.75mm. When I shoot I feel a geometric precision where I strike the cue ball because of the smaller tip diameter. I agree with some other posters that it doesn't matter what the pros use - it's what you feel comfortable with.
Agreed, per:
Agreed.
Agreed, per:
Agreed, but a larger, flatter tip will result in less unintentional English when the aim is center-ball, right?
FYI, I have several resources on these topics here:
Regards,
Dave
Yes, a flatter tip is slightly less sensitive to this, but I don't think tip width has anything to do with it.
pj
chgo
they use smaller balls in that game though
I wholeheartedly agree with the previous posters. I play with a lot of great players that use between 11.5-12.5mm shafts and though that was the way I needed to go. I went back to my 13.0mm shaft a couple months ago and it feels much better to me. Just find what feels good to you and stick with it. Best of luck to you.
it's not so much tip size as it is shaft girth!!!!!!!!lol
but for serious it is. i had a gilbert that i sold on here that had a 12.5mm tip but played nice and stiff/crisp/firm (insert term here) because of the conical shaft taper he used. it was actually different than any of the other gilberts that i've owned but i really liked it.
you should experiment on your own a little. i bet you'd play better in long sessions if you had a thicker tip. that 11.75 stuff is too small for most people. or it seems like it should be anyway
I watched three guys playing 9-Ball a few days ago. They must have all been related (father, son and grand son I think). They were playing something like round robin 9-Ball where the loser sits out. I don’t think I have ever seen three non-pros play so well. It was truly amazing. Anyway, all three were playing with what they said were “turned down” shafts. Next to my Z2 they were skinny! My best guess is that they all played with something like 8 or 9 mm shafts*. All three began their aiming with the shaft almost on top of the cue ball and adjusted as needed on the final stroke.
I don’t remember any of them playing super hard strokes but they did double the long rail a few times. I walked away after watching for about an hour shaking my head. How can any one, let alone three people play that well with such small shafts? I don’t know but they did it. All three of these guys could have played in the US Open.
* I have a snooker stick with a 10 mm shaft that I like but these guys had sticks that were even thinner. Their sticks were nothing I had seen or heard of before but were certainly professional quality. The one fellow I talked with had about three of them in his bag. He did say that they had had them custom made.
I don’t remember any of them playing super hard strokes but they did double the long rail a few times. I walked away after watching for about an hour shaking my head. How can any one, let alone three people play that well with such small shafts? I don’t know but they did it. All three of these guys could have played in the US Open.
* I have a snooker stick with a 10 mm shaft that I like but these guys had sticks that were even thinner. Their sticks were nothing I had seen or heard of before but were certainly professional quality. The one fellow I talked with had about three of them in his bag. He did say that they had had them custom made.
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Play the shaft that is comfortable in YOUR hand, not someone else's. I like 13.25mm and have no trouble with spin control.
Tried the "two tip widths off center" test with my cheap Dale Perry last night. I did this at the request of a fellow that had been studying deflection. He marked a spot on the far end rail and told me to aim at that spot using center ball, then do the same using two tips widths off center right - kept hitting the spot either way. If I was automatically compensating, it was done completely without any conscious awareness.
Guess I could conclude that my cheap Dale Perry has a very low deflection shaft. Or I could conclude that deflection is an over-hyped issue.
Tried the "two tip widths off center" test with my cheap Dale Perry last night. I did this at the request of a fellow that had been studying deflection. He marked a spot on the far end rail and told me to aim at that spot using center ball, then do the same using two tips widths off center right - kept hitting the spot either way. If I was automatically compensating, it was done completely without any conscious awareness.
Guess I could conclude that my cheap Dale Perry has a very low deflection shaft. Or I could conclude that deflection is an over-hyped issue.