Recommended tip width for a rookie

[Terry Davidson]

shredder:

If you only play a couple of hours per week then a good tip should last you over a year, perhaps more. There are many good tips out there and some players like the hard ones and some the softer ones due to personal preference. I use either Talisman Soft or Phoenix MH and have tried the MW new experimental tip, which I also like as it is hard.

Nothing wrong with Elk Master but sometimes you get a spongy one which will shred when you go and shape it. If that happens toss that tip and start over.

Terry

[shredder]

Thanks Byrom and Terry, great replies!

[Dozza19792]

Let's face it, there's not much difference between 9.0mm and 9.5mm or even 10mm as you're only talking about .5mm around the outside between 9mm and 10mm.

A more important approach is when re-tipping the cue, with something a little below 10mm, like 9.8 to 9.5mm leaves you a little wriggle room if you're fitting with a 10mm tip. Those with a 10mm ferrule would have to buy 11mm tips as it's tough to correctly fit a 10mm tip to a 10mm ferrule.

That being said, I agree with the above comments. A beginner will usually put some unintentional side with his delivery and a larger tip helps to overcome that but the opposite side of the coin is it is harder to control the cueball when in the balls and using screw. I use a 9.2mm to 9.4mm normally with my present MW playing cue being at 9.3mm (blackspin) which works fine for me.

There are other much more important considerations though, like shaft flex, type of tip (soft/hard), length, weight, butt diameter and balance point and you have to figure out what suits you best by trying cues with different characteristics until you find something that fits and then you take those specs and order a custom made cue, although a player can get used to any cue if he plays with it long enough.

Terry

I agree 100% with these points......myself, I now play with an 11mm tip due to what the cue came with......I find I can still get good reaction on the cue ball with this size, as screw/top spin and overall cue power (as they constantly refer to on TV) is down to timing.....if your technique is solid you should be able to play the shots no matter what.