:: Opinion ::
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Wrap, no wrap, Irish linen wrap, or leather wrap....that is the question! Which feels the best
or what looks the best...that could be another question. My thoughts and opinion on these
two questions have been developed over about (40) years of playing pool. Cosmetically, I
think which wrap looks the best depends on the cue itself. Some cues look better with a
black leather wrap and some cues look better with an Irish linen wrap. If you are buying a
cue with the mind-set of selling it sometime in the future, you might want to concentrate on
which looks the best. If however, you are like me, and you buy a cue with playing with it in
mind, you should get it wrapped with whatever "feels good" to you when you are playing
with it. If you are not comfortable with the cue feel, then I can guarantee you that you will
never get the results at the table you have spent all your time and money trying to achieve.
In other words, before you decide what wrap you want on your cue, first decide what you
plan on doing with that particular cue.
If you decide that this is not really the cue you are going to play with for a long time and you
know in the back of your mind you are going to sell it down the road, wrap it with whatever
"looks" the best. Plan for the re-sale. Sometimes that will be Irish linen and sometimes that
may be leather.
I personally, have never bought a cue to sell. Each and every cue I have ever bought, I
bought it with playing with it, and keeping it for a long time, in mind. In forty years of play, I
have bought myself seven cues. That's about every six years. Except for my first cue, I
either bought the cue with a leather wrap, or I had a leather wrap put on it after I bought it.
Your grip! .... how hard, how much pressure do you apply to your grip? Some players grip
it so light you could almost slip a piece of paper in between the cue and that players
fingers. Some players grip it real tight. Some players use a medium grip. My grip borders
on tight. I hold it like I am afraid someone is going to try and grab it away from me. Except
of course, when I need to draw the cue ball the length of the table. The lighter the grip, the
better the "draw". But that's another story.
You get a much better grip with leather! Irish linen is a tad slick. To me, because of my
grip, slick is not good. That's why I use leather. Now you're wondering about your grip. My
guess is there are a number of world champions that grip it light, and there are a number of
world champions that grip it tight. Light vs. tight. Use the grip that makes your game better.
Use the wrap that makes your game better. That's the bottom line. Unless of course, you
bought the cue for re-sale!
If, for whatever reason, you do decide to go with leather and you live here in Arizona, you
are fortunate. You're fortunate because Jeff Pranke lives here as well. Jeff can "install" a
leather wrap as well as anyone I have ever known, including the cue manufacture. When I
buy a cue I immediately make two phone calls. The first call goes to someone that can
reduce the shaft from 13mm to 12.75 and the second call goes to Jeff. How long does he
take? He has never had my cue more than three days! Jeff's number, in case you need it,
is 602-973-2170.
Ron Merseal
or what looks the best...that could be another question. My thoughts and opinion on these
two questions have been developed over about (40) years of playing pool. Cosmetically, I
think which wrap looks the best depends on the cue itself. Some cues look better with a
black leather wrap and some cues look better with an Irish linen wrap. If you are buying a
cue with the mind-set of selling it sometime in the future, you might want to concentrate on
which looks the best. If however, you are like me, and you buy a cue with playing with it in
mind, you should get it wrapped with whatever "feels good" to you when you are playing
with it. If you are not comfortable with the cue feel, then I can guarantee you that you will
never get the results at the table you have spent all your time and money trying to achieve.
In other words, before you decide what wrap you want on your cue, first decide what you
plan on doing with that particular cue.
If you decide that this is not really the cue you are going to play with for a long time and you
know in the back of your mind you are going to sell it down the road, wrap it with whatever
"looks" the best. Plan for the re-sale. Sometimes that will be Irish linen and sometimes that
may be leather.
I personally, have never bought a cue to sell. Each and every cue I have ever bought, I
bought it with playing with it, and keeping it for a long time, in mind. In forty years of play, I
have bought myself seven cues. That's about every six years. Except for my first cue, I
either bought the cue with a leather wrap, or I had a leather wrap put on it after I bought it.
Your grip! .... how hard, how much pressure do you apply to your grip? Some players grip
it so light you could almost slip a piece of paper in between the cue and that players
fingers. Some players grip it real tight. Some players use a medium grip. My grip borders
on tight. I hold it like I am afraid someone is going to try and grab it away from me. Except
of course, when I need to draw the cue ball the length of the table. The lighter the grip, the
better the "draw". But that's another story.
You get a much better grip with leather! Irish linen is a tad slick. To me, because of my
grip, slick is not good. That's why I use leather. Now you're wondering about your grip. My
guess is there are a number of world champions that grip it light, and there are a number of
world champions that grip it tight. Light vs. tight. Use the grip that makes your game better.
Use the wrap that makes your game better. That's the bottom line. Unless of course, you
bought the cue for re-sale!
If, for whatever reason, you do decide to go with leather and you live here in Arizona, you
are fortunate. You're fortunate because Jeff Pranke lives here as well. Jeff can "install" a
leather wrap as well as anyone I have ever known, including the cue manufacture. When I
buy a cue I immediately make two phone calls. The first call goes to someone that can
reduce the shaft from 13mm to 12.75 and the second call goes to Jeff. How long does he
take? He has never had my cue more than three days! Jeff's number, in case you need it,
is 602-973-2170.
Ron Merseal
Arizona Pool Scene www.azpoolscene.com