Titlist cues worth the hype?

SC02GTP said:
I have hit with a few conversions. Like anything else, the ones converted by good cue smiths played better than the ones converted by the just ok cue smiths.

I don't feel that the fact that the cues were titlist conversions had much or anything to do with how they played. Good shaft wood and the right taper sure had a bunch to do with it though.
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This is my thoughts too.

Part of it is historical. My Balabushka cue is a titlist conversion, built in the early 1960's. I think all the greats, including the ones today, started doing these conversions.

IMO, the imperfections of the older titlists give them character. If you are looking for a perfect one, just have current cuemaker make one.

I wish you the best.

Ken
 
classiccues said:
A titlist with an A-joint, or A-joint rings is just a titlist shortie blank. But still cool.
In a sense, everything has a hype factor, what can not be hyped is practice.

JV
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A member here, I think he is a pro skier, has a thread about a full splice cue with an inlaid ring above the wrap. It might have been a titleist, can't remember. No pics but the description of how the ring was done sounded ingenious.
 
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measureman said:
Lets see it. Or whats the model number?
You never know who a buyer is.
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This cue plays fantastic
It's a real pool cue
No shit
Glad to be a member of the club


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My friend Dennis Glenn,the Balabushka and Szamboti collector
bought a Titleist conversion from almost every great cue maker in the USA

Including Gus ans George

I know of no one who knows more about cues than he does
so I guess they must be pretty good cues
 
The highest official run, 526, by Willie Mosconi, was done with a Titlist.

The highest generally agreed practice run, 768, by Babe Cranfield, was done with a Titlist.

Both converted by Herman Rambow. Draw your own conclusions on hype or reality.

All the best,
WW
 
I had a Titleist Cue that I bought as a kid. It was a good cue, had a linen wrap. I played with that Cue until 1999. My Cue today is a four point cue made by Guido Orlandi with a Conical Joint. Best cue I ever had. A Titleist Cue is a beautiful Cue with is simplistic design, it gave everybody a place to start in custom cue design.
 
This is the story I heard from old timers. Rambo was the wood manager for Brunswick going back to the 1920's. Brunswick owned a Maple Forest in Canada and he selected only the best wood for their tables, furniture and cues.Sometime in the late 1930's he designed the Titlist with the full splice method. That full splice design became very popular due to its true hit and sound. There is no "twang" in the full splice hit which is cherished to this day. Those early Titlists were butt heavy due to the nature of the game at that time,; that being slow cloth, 5x10 table size, heavy balls (clay) and an inferior rubber product. Nowadays, we convert those old Titlists by decreasing the butt diameter and itigrating specialized shafts for that nice hit we all like.
 
I have a scruggs titlist that ive been considering selling to help defray the cost of a new 9ft diamond pro am. Its been my back up cue for 10 years in case my playing cue went missing. Its hard to let the scruggs go though because I really like the way it hits. So meanwhile the Diamond table was ordered two weeks ago with a large deposit already given over but the scruggs is still in my closet and not listed. More and more it seems wiser to me to to sell off some vanguard index 500 shares than let the Scruggs go. Ive owned many titlist conversions in the past 30 years. I don't know if the old wood theory is proven but i'm definitely a believer in the potential ability of brunswick titlist cues, in the right hands, to evolve into something special.
 
Im sure its been said the but only reason Titlist cues are used is for the butt. If the original shaft is able to be saved and used its basically for nostalgia, it wont play any better but more than likely not near as good as the cuemakers own shaft. This may be a little off topic but the Titlist conversions are more of an investment and a window into the past than anything else. Its like the old Bushkas, Szam's, JW's, Ginas...etc, they play decent for when they were built but how many people run out and buy one now for their playability. I aint knocking them but a lot the cues from yesteryear were short, fat and played like logs. Its like automobiles, the old muscle cars are badass but the same model in 2018 have them dead to rights in performance :grin:
 
Baby Huey said:
This is the story I heard from old timers. Rambo was the wood manager for Brunswick going back to the 1920's. Brunswick owned a Maple Forest in Canada and he selected only the best wood for their tables, furniture and cues.Sometime in the late 1930's he designed the Titlist with the full splice method. That full splice design became very popular due to its true hit and sound. There is no "twang" in the full splice hit which is cherished to this day. Those early Titlists were butt heavy due to the nature of the game at that time,; that being slow cloth, 5x10 table size, heavy balls (clay) and an inferior rubber product. Nowadays, we convert those old Titlists by decreasing the butt diameter and itigrating specialized shafts for that nice hit we all like.
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Wow, awesome share! I love factoids & trivia like that, especially being a cue nut.

Made my day Baby Huey, Thanx! -Z-
 
$TAKE HOR$E said:
Im sure its been said the but only reason Titlist cues are used is for the butt. If the original shaft is able to be saved and used its basically for nostalgia, it wont play any better but more than likely not near as good as the cuemakers own shaf:
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Just my two cents on that. I have one from a very good cuemaker and had the original shaft done and a spare shaft from the maker and the original shaft is amazing. Granted the original is short but you could still use it. Just my opinion but as we all know, shafts do vary. I don’t play with mine as I want to give it to my son when I retire in 15 years. Those things have history, sadly no one will no about them when he takes it to a pool hall.



Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 
Nohomegnome said:
I’ve heard great things about Titlist/Titlist conversions but I’ve never hit one. Are they worth trying to find one? Do they hit that much better, or is it more about the scarcity? I love the old school look (who knew purple, green, and orange could look so good together?), but if it isn’t a superb player, I may as well just find a nice tribute, right?
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My player is a Titlist conversion and it's a great player. Actually I have three in the collection, and have played with many. love two of them and the third... not so much. I have a thing for Titlist.
To answer your questions;
Worth trying to find one? Sure! If you can get one at reasonable price, why not.
Do they hit better than anything else? No. it's about the maker. And, your personal preference.
Find a tribute? Sure. Again, it's all about the maker.

In my opinion, most of the way a cue plays is in the shaft. Not saying the butt has nothing to do with it, but I would say 80-90% of the playability of a cue is in the shaft.
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Titlist conversions are a blast from the past with a modern twist. They play great
and depending on who does the conversion it could be something really special.
 
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