NH Steve
Administrator
In another thread there was some conversation about the relative difficulty of pool on today's equipment versus the equipment of the past. I thought it was an interesting topic and deserved its own thread.
1. Pocket size: In the past the pocket standard was bigger. Today the pro standard is smaller. Of course, both in the past and now, there are plenty of variations.
2. Cloth: In the past, slower napped cloth was the standard. Today, Simonis 860 or the like cloth is standard, which was specifically engineered for ideal pool playing conditions.
3. The balls: In the past they were a different plastic composition (often referred to as "clay"), today they are a high grade of phenolic resin and expectations of exact consistency is demanded. See for example the controversy about Cyclop balls when they were introduced a couple years ago.
4. The cues: There were tremendous cue makers in the past that set a very high standard that many players still feel is the ideal tool for pool today. But today you also have low-deflection shaft technology that is engineered to reduce some of the variables inherent in cuing with side english, along with various advances in cue joinery that are touted to improve the hit. Many of today's players rely on their modern cues and shafts.
5. Tips: Tips in the past were solid leather, with natural variations and an assortment of special treatments to get different degrees of hardness. Today we have layered tips in various increments of degree of hardness that can be measured scientifically, so that every player can fairly consistently have exactly the tip playability that they want.
6. Chalk: Standard chalk was the norm back then. Today you can buy a variety of special chalks with different degrees of chalk texture and stickiness. Many players today supply and guard their own personal chalk choice when they shoot.
There might be other differences too -- like lighting for example, that have changed.
As I see it, most of the above changes definitely favor the conditions today. The one exception is pocket size. I know for me, I prefer today's conditions -- especially when the cloth is new and seems to swallow up slightly missed balls rather nicely.
Three cushion billiards is of course a whole nother animal, but in that discipline especially, it is pretty widely acknowledged that the modern equipment has contributed a lot to the much higher averages in competition today vs the past. I think they reference the heated tables, the super fast and consistent cloth and also the quality of the balls.
In all cue games, but I would say especially the high learning curve games, the growth and dissemination of knowledge hugely favors the modern game. That would apply to One Pocket and three cushion especially in my opinion.
1. Pocket size: In the past the pocket standard was bigger. Today the pro standard is smaller. Of course, both in the past and now, there are plenty of variations.
2. Cloth: In the past, slower napped cloth was the standard. Today, Simonis 860 or the like cloth is standard, which was specifically engineered for ideal pool playing conditions.
3. The balls: In the past they were a different plastic composition (often referred to as "clay"), today they are a high grade of phenolic resin and expectations of exact consistency is demanded. See for example the controversy about Cyclop balls when they were introduced a couple years ago.
4. The cues: There were tremendous cue makers in the past that set a very high standard that many players still feel is the ideal tool for pool today. But today you also have low-deflection shaft technology that is engineered to reduce some of the variables inherent in cuing with side english, along with various advances in cue joinery that are touted to improve the hit. Many of today's players rely on their modern cues and shafts.
5. Tips: Tips in the past were solid leather, with natural variations and an assortment of special treatments to get different degrees of hardness. Today we have layered tips in various increments of degree of hardness that can be measured scientifically, so that every player can fairly consistently have exactly the tip playability that they want.
6. Chalk: Standard chalk was the norm back then. Today you can buy a variety of special chalks with different degrees of chalk texture and stickiness. Many players today supply and guard their own personal chalk choice when they shoot.
There might be other differences too -- like lighting for example, that have changed.
As I see it, most of the above changes definitely favor the conditions today. The one exception is pocket size. I know for me, I prefer today's conditions -- especially when the cloth is new and seems to swallow up slightly missed balls rather nicely.
Three cushion billiards is of course a whole nother animal, but in that discipline especially, it is pretty widely acknowledged that the modern equipment has contributed a lot to the much higher averages in competition today vs the past. I think they reference the heated tables, the super fast and consistent cloth and also the quality of the balls.
In all cue games, but I would say especially the high learning curve games, the growth and dissemination of knowledge hugely favors the modern game. That would apply to One Pocket and three cushion especially in my opinion.