Prince Original Graphite ( POG ) Mid and OS versions

[ritton07]

(..the year mentioned on the only sticker is 1977)

[Hotrocks]

Originally Posted by BlueB

Early POGs have heavier SW then the later ones. Adding the bumper guard would turn it to an absolute beast...

I like the 4-stripe version the most.

Do any of you know were to find headguard & grommets for the POG- 4 strip-110" racquet? Looking for a friend. THanks......

[ritton07]

..the pics are not perfect...(sorry)
but, isn't it a beauty ?

[Hannah19]

If these pics are not perfect, which are...??

[floydcouncil]

Originally Posted by Hotrocks

Do any of you know were to find headguard & grommets for the POG- 4 strip-110" racquet? Looking for a friend. THanks......

Prince Graphite Original OS Bump & Grommet on TW.

[TheLambsheadrep]

Originally Posted by floydcouncil

Prince Graphite Original OS Bump & Grommet on TW.

Will those also fit the POG 2?

[floydcouncil]

Originally Posted by TheLambsheadrep

Will those also fit the POG 2?

I don't know what a POG 2 is.

[TheLambsheadrep]

Originally Posted by floydcouncil

I don't know what a POG 2 is.

It is described in the first post of this thread. The POG 2 is the second POG that was manufactured. It has the individual grommets and no bumper guard. The individual grommets on mine are starting to break and I would prefer the racquet to have a bumper guard, so I would like to know if any grommet strips/bumper guard sets would fit my version of the POG

[pheonix6579]

Did the POG OS 4.5 come in an extended (28in) version? I got my hands on one and its def. 28in. long. Though no indication of it being a "longbody"

[TheLambsheadrep]

I was reading how the first two renditions of the POG 110" had a more teardrop shape compared to the POG 3 through Tour (first of all, is this true? how different are the head shapes?). I recently got my POG 2, and by the end of a good hitting session this Sunday I could swear that the POG and my Head twin tube radical tours had the same shape. After I got home I laid them on each other, and it's as close as close can be. the biggest difference is that the handle for the POG is shorter so the POG has more throat to it, but the hoop and most of the throat of the two racquets are almost identical.

The first thought in my head was that since Agassi started with the POG, when he switched to Head maybe they modeled the early radicals after the early POG. Again, this is a POG 2 (individual grommets), and I've read here that Agassi used the POG 3 and 4 which supposedly have different head shapes. So as I asked before, are there really different head shapes within the POG 110" line?

And this is prob a stupid question, but the tension says no less than 72lbs, will stringing it in the mid 50's to mid 60's hurt the frame at all?

[PaulC]

Originally Posted by Don't Let It Bounce

The definition of "mid", "mid-plus", etc., has changed over the years (as I'm sure you know) and Prince at one point did call the 90 (which was really a 93) a "mid-plus". There's never been a POG that would be called a MP now, though.

OP, that racquet did appear first at the time of the POG3 described above. I don't know enough about it to describe versions and subversions*, but I'd expect production changes of the Series 110 and Series 90 frames to be parallel.

I found and saved a thread here on TT that described four versions of the four-stripe (POG4) rather than two. If no one posts a link soon, I'll get the info off my other computer and post it.

* Actually, almost every attempt to capitalize on the Graphite reputation in a more modern line (Graphite II, Triple Threat, NXG, EX03) has been accused of "subverting" the good name of the Prince Graphite, but I guess that's not the same thing, is it?

Can you post the link of the 4 versions of the 4 stripes?

I Just got another 4 stripes POG 90 from a friend, but it is way "beefier" and the beam is slightly thicker than my existing pair (as thick as the EXO graphite mid, I think), so would like more info.

[Don't Let It Bounce]

I don't have a link, but I do have a combination of information I've gleaned off several posts over the last few years. Any quotes (e.g., "worst version IMO") are opinions of TT posters.

• POG 1: 1 green stripe, no grommets, teardrop head, no bumper; no printing on top or side or racket (possibly a sticker) except for "Prince" and "graphite" at throat, cork-filled - circa 1978
• POG 2: 1 green stripe, , no bumper, individual grommets, teardrop head; no printing on top or side or racket (possibly a sticker) except for "Prince" and "graphite" at throat, foam-filled? - circa 1980?
• POG 3: 1 green stripe, bumper, grommet strip, modern head, ave. 356g/10.5 HL; "graphite series 110" printed on side (later variation read simply "graphite 110"); "Prince" and "graphite" at throat; foam-filled; circa 1983
• POG 4: 4 green stripes, grommet strip, modern head, bumper, ave. 345g/8.5 HL; Printing: "GRAPHITE" in gold on crossbar, "Prince" and "Prince" in gold at throat, "110" in gold at 12:00, "Graphite 110" in green at side; foam-filled; circa 1987. At some point printing shifted to "Graphite Oversize" on side and "Oversize" at 12:00, but I don't know whether this corresponded to 4a, 4b, 4c, or 4d.
  • POG 4a: box beam with sharp corners, solid, stiff, damped, silver hologram; "Series 110" on side
  • POG 4b: solid, slightly less stiff, slightly rounder edges, green hologram
  • POG 4c: rare, silver hologram, "Made In Taiwan" on other side, roundest edges, less HL
  • POG 4d: white primer instead of black; squared edges like POG4a
• POG 5: "Straight Shaft", lighter, less HL, less stiff, "nice pop"
• POG 5.5: "20th Anniversary" "specs seem to be different"
• POG 6: "Tour" - latest POG, very stiff, least HL of all, feels like different material than all others, hollow contraction (?), "worst version IMO"

[MAXXply]

Originally Posted by PaulC

I Just got another 4 stripes POG 90 from a friend, but it is way "beefier" and the beam is slightly thicker than my existing pair (as thick as the EXO graphite mid, I think)

FWIW, I bought a used POG Mid as you have described. I thought the same as you when I got it - a "beefier", "boxier" mold, just shy of the EXO Mid 93 beamwidth but reminiscent of it. The edges just slightly more squared-off instead of the subtle roundedness of the later POG 90s. I'm too lazy to post pics ATM but "1987" is printed and to the right of it was the gripsize printed in the sans serif typeface Prince used at the time.

I also have a POG Mid that I bought new in 1990. It too also has "1987" printed on the side but a hologram sticker to the right instead of the gripsize marking. The mold on this definitely looks different to the above and thinner. This mold looks like the one they're using on the current day TW reissues but I'm willing to be corrected.

So I'm thinking sometime between 1987-1990 there was a manufacturing transition to a slightly different mold for the POG Mid?

I won't proffer an opinion as to which versions of the POG lineage is best, merely to say that the foam-filled versions just feel better for me.

[PaulC]

Originally Posted by Don't Let It Bounce

I don't have a link, but I do have a combination of information I've gleaned off several posts over the last few years. Any quotes (e.g., "worst version IMO") are opinions of TT posters.

• POG 1: 1 green stripe, no grommets, teardrop head, no bumper; no printing on top or side or racket (possibly a sticker) except for "Prince" and "graphite" at throat, cork-filled - circa 1978
• POG 2: 1 green stripe, , no bumper, individual grommets, teardrop head; no printing on top or side or racket (possibly a sticker) except for "Prince" and "graphite" at throat, foam-filled? - circa 1980?
• POG 3: 1 green stripe, bumper, grommet strip, modern head, ave. 356g/10.5 HL; "graphite series 110" printed on side (later variation read simply "graphite 110"); "Prince" and "graphite" at throat; foam-filled; circa 1983
• POG 4: 4 green stripes, grommet strip, modern head, bumper, ave. 345g/8.5 HL; Printing: "GRAPHITE" in gold on crossbar, "Prince" and "Prince" in gold at throat, "110" in gold at 12:00, "Graphite 110" in green at side; foam-filled; circa 1987. At some point printing shifted to "Graphite Oversize" on side and "Oversize" at 12:00, but I don't know whether this corresponded to 4a, 4b, 4c, or 4d.
  • POG 4a: box beam with sharp corners, solid, stiff, damped, silver hologram; "Series 110" on side
  • POG 4b: solid, slightly less stiff, slightly rounder edges, green hologram
  • POG 4c: rare, silver hologram, "Made In Taiwan" on other side, roundest edges, less HL
  • POG 4d: white primer instead of black; squared edges like POG4a
• POG 5: "Straight Shaft", lighter, less HL, less stiff, "nice pop"
• POG 5.5: "20th Anniversary" "specs seem to be different"
• POG 6: "Tour" - latest POG, very stiff, least HL of all, feels like different material than all others, hollow contraction (?), "worst version IMO"

Thanks Don't Let It Bounce! Looks like my latest POG 90 is a 4a.

Besides slightly thicker, stiffer and have sharper edges, it's easier to string into a "narrower" shape (which I like) than my other 4cs without the needs of doing tricks like "stretching" the frame with the machine's frame-holder (on a stand-up machine that you can adjust the holder) and 5 lbs higher on cross etc.

Almost like it is meant to be narrower anyway. Wheras the 4cs can get REALLY "round" esp. if it's strung on a desktop 2 point mounting machine.

Also, I find it a tad head heavier than the 4cs, which make groundstrokes almost effortless for me if I string it with hybrids at 40s lbs

[PaulC]

Originally Posted by MAXXply

FWIW, I bought a used POG Mid as you have described. I thought the same as you when I got it - a "beefier", "boxier" mold, just shy of the EXO Mid 93 beamwidth but reminiscent of it. The edges just slightly more squared-off instead of the subtle roundedness of the later POG 90s. I'm too lazy to post pics ATM but "1987" is printed and to the right of it was the gripsize printed in the sans serif typeface Prince used at the time.

I also have a POG Mid that I bought new in 1990. It too also has "1987" printed on the side but a hologram sticker to the right instead of the gripsize marking. The mold on this definitely looks different to the above and thinner. This mold looks like the one they're using on the current day TW reissues but I'm willing to be corrected.

So I'm thinking sometime between 1987-1990 there was a manufacturing transition to a slightly different mold for the POG Mid?

I won't proffer an opinion as to which versions of the POG lineage is best, merely to say that the foam-filled versions just feel better for me.

Glad you also own it so it confirms the existence of it in batches and not just one or two anomalies

BTW, I always dream that Aussie Open itself and all of its warm up tournaments will turn into ALL indoors one day

[v-verb]

I've got 3 POG 3 mids and a POG 2 OS on the way. And a Prince Boron Taiwan. All bought since Friday

Thanks guys for inspiring me to spend the bux.

I've been using 2 Prince Ripsticks - which were great 5 years ago but now are killing my wrist. Got a Babolat Pure Drive GT but haven't bonded with it.

Tried an old Prince CTS Graduate 90 which was pretty good (felt better than the Babolat), but looking forward to getting the POGs and Boron.

[v-verb]

Originally Posted by 123ten

These are all POG 1st generation OS (grommetless - 1 stripe).

How do the grommetless POGs play? I've got 2 coming. I would wonder that the lack of grommets would chew up strings and give a "harsh" feeling?

[coachrick]

Originally Posted by v-verb

How do the grommetless POGs play? I've got 2 coming. I would wonder that the lack of grommets would chew up strings and give a "harsh" feeling?

I would dare say the 'old' guys would have preferred the grommetless 'feel' of the 'direct drive' much the same way the Head staff players often stuck with the non-suspension handles. The original PG wasn't harsh in a brittle sense, IMO...just more racket than a lot of folks were used to...especially when strung in the upper 70s.

If the finish of the frame is intact, there should be no additional wear on the strings from the lack of grommets. However, the holes inside the throat and those in the 'corners' of the hoop should be inspected carefully and tubed whenever the need is present.

IF you find a grommetless PG that is in 'perfect' shape hoopwise, consider yourself lucky. The high tensions and two point mounting certainly could take its toll over the years.

[v-verb]

Originally Posted by coachrick

I would dare say the 'old' guys would have preferred the grommetless 'feel' of the 'direct drive' much the same way the Head staff players often stuck with the non-suspension handles. The original PG wasn't harsh in a brittle sense, IMO...just more racket than a lot of folks were used to...especially when strung in the upper 70s.

If the finish of the frame is intact, there should be no additional wear on the strings from the lack of grommets. However, the holes inside the throat and those in the 'corners' of the hoop should be inspected carefully and tubed whenever the need is present.

IF you find a grommetless PG that is in 'perfect' shape hoopwise, consider yourself lucky. The high tensions and two point mounting certainly could take its toll over the years.

Thanks Coachrick!

I'll take some pics and let you know. I both are presently strung but I'm intending to string them wih RPM Team 17 ga at 40 lbs - will try the low tension poly and see how it feels

Cheers

nigel

[coachrick]

Originally Posted by v-verb

Thanks Coachrick!

I'll take some pics and let you know. I both are presently strung but I'm intending to string them wih RPM Team 17 ga at 40 lbs - will try the low tension poly and see how it feels

Cheers

nigel

Interesting string experiment...can't say I've ever tried poly in the 'original' rackets. I usually go for something 'age-appropriate' like nat gut or a soft multi. Let us know how they feel!