HELP! SERIOUS tennis elbow from poly. Gosen OG users please respond.

I LOVE my full bed Big Hitter Blue Rough at 45lbs. on my YT Extreme Pro. I noticed a lot of the guys use Gosen OG 16 and 17. How do they compare to 18G? How about hybriding with BHBR vs. BHBR full bed vs. Gosen OG full bed? I'm considering hybrid or full bed Gosen since I have serious tennis elbow, but I'm afraid of losing spin and more importantly, control with syn gut vs. poly.

I'm a Gosen OGM full string bed user and I've used it for a long time. I prefer 16g over 17g. I like the firm string bed that Gosen offers but 17g is a little more harsh than I like.

I am not a fan of any of the polys I've tried. Doesn't mean there isn't something I'd like. Gosen OGM is cheap, lasts pretty well for me and treats my old arm fine.

I am a 50 year old, solid 4.0 player. I play Volkl V1 Classics. I like a muted feel. Gosen OGM works well in this frame to me. Strings are a pretty personal thing to me. Once I find a feel I like, I don't play around much with it.

soft strings

forten sweet and gosen are both great strings , work very well in hybrids as a cross string , also use the Volkl v1 classic frame , very easy on the arm and shoulder ( have 2 extras for sale ) get a stringer who can set up your frames correctly its well worth the extra expense.

You've got serious tennis elbow, but still love polys? You are very brave. A bud of mine uses Gosen 16 in a full bed and he really enjoys it. It's cheap, durable, and fairly decent spin and control!

-Fuji

serious TE? suggest full multi or multi mains with og crosses. if TE persists then don't play til the E is ready.

I'm getting my racquets string up right now with MSV Hex 1.18 mains and Gosen OGSM 1.15 crosses (didn't know the 18g was this thin, may have gone with 17g if I had known). I pick them up tomorrow, and I'll let you know what I think as soon as the weather clears up and I get to hit with it!

Fuji said:

You've got serious tennis elbow, but still love polys? You are very brave. A bud of mine uses Gosen 16 in a full bed and he really enjoys it. It's cheap, durable, and fairly decent spin and control!

-Fuji

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Well, I meant I LOVE the way it plays, not the TE I get. Has your bud tried 17 or 18? If so why did he go with 16? Durability is not an issue for me as Gosen OG is extremely cheap and I have a Klipper.

bad_call said:

serious TE? suggest full multi or multi mains with og crosses. if TE persists then don't play til the E is ready.

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I used to play with VS team and NXT Tour. Loved the feel, touch and comfort but could not really swing out without hitting long.

b mathis said:

forten sweet and gosen are both great strings , work very well in hybrids as a cross string , also use the Volkl v1 classic frame , very easy on the arm and shoulder ( have 2 extras for sale ) get a stringer who can set up your frames correctly its well worth the extra expense.

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I have a Klipper so durability is not an issue. My main concern with a non-poly is loss of control. Do you use 16, 17 or 18, and why so?

jgrushing said:

I'm a Gosen OGM full string bed user and I've used it for a long time. I prefer 16g over 17g. I like the firm string bed that Gosen offers but 17g is a little more harsh than I like.

I am not a fan of any of the polys I've tried. Doesn't mean there isn't something I'd like. Gosen OGM is cheap, lasts pretty well for me and treats my old arm fine.

I am a 50 year old, solid 4.0 player. I play Volkl V1 Classics. I like a muted feel. Gosen OGM works well in this frame to me. Strings are a pretty personal thing to me. Once I find a feel I like, I don't play around much with it.

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I'm 5.0 and hit the ball pretty hard with good (not crazy) amount of spin. I haven't switched away from poly because I'm afraid I'll hit long with non-polys. Do you think syn guts like Gosen OG has better control and spin than multis or gut?

It is better as a hybrid with gut, than a multi as a cross with gut. Crisper, more pop. It's the crosses that are the tensioners.

i currently use a full bed of of gosen og micro 17g on my kblade tours. 4.5 player but i dont break strings often. with a dense string pattern i rarely notice in a drop of tension. use to play poly on my prestige pros but since i use a mid now i dont want a boardy feel

mrtrinh said:

i currently use a full bed of of gosen og micro 17g on my kblade tours. 4.5 player but i dont break strings often. with a dense string pattern i rarely notice in a drop of tension. use to play poly on my prestige pros but since i use a mid now i dont want a boardy feel

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What do you like/dislike about OGM vs. poly? Are you getting enough spin and control with OGM?

TenFanLA said:

What do you like/dislike about OGM vs. poly? Are you getting enough spin and control with OGM?

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since i am not a frequent string breaker i hate how poly dies so fast so using ogm is much more cost effective for me (I dont string my own rackets). Compared to smooth polys (alu power) I found the same spin potential, but if I was using a textured poly such as signum pro tornado spin def goes to the poly.

Control definitely goes to the poly but since the kblade tour is less powerful than my prestige pro, I can still take big cuts at the ball without worrying about the ball spraying.

I would try to hybrid first with bhbr before you decide to try a full bed of ogm. For me it makes a world of difference, I cannot stand a full bed of poly

I also really dislike multis, I find them too mushy for my taste. gosen og micro has a nice crisp pop to it. People find it very surprising when I tell them I play with just synthetic gut.

mrtrinh said:

I also really dislike multis, I find them too mushy for my taste. gosen og micro has a nice crisp pop to it. People find it very surprising when I tell them I play with just synthetic gut.

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I also hit with VS Team full bed and NXT Tour full bed but I couldn't swing away and keep the balls in the court.

I started looking into OGM because quite a few people seem to play with it on TT and Big T keeps recommending syn gut for most people. He seems to be on top of strings.

Odd..what tension did you string the VS Team/NXT tour at? If they are spraying, have you tried increasing the tension? Big Hitter Blue Rough at 45 is fairly decent low tension, its a soft co poly ..and you still have TE? Since you have your own kilpper, why don't you just try the Gosen..they are cheap enough so if you don't like it, you can just cut em out.

OSM is a great string for hybrids and as a full bed..but the string tends to move around a bit. Normally the thinner you get, the more power, spin, comfort the string will provide.

For TE, you should seriously consider the following strings:

* Babolat All Air

* Gosen Ice

* Tecnifibre X-Ur Plans

* Prince Rest

* Head C-Ur-Dr

All of the above are superior to natural gut.

TenFanLA... I think you're in a bit of a conundrum.

You want low power, so you'll need a stiffer string. BHBR is a pretty comfortable string for a poly and you're stringing it pretty low at 45lbs.

Let's consider your frame... The Head Extreme Pro (pre 2011) has a stiffness of 70... pretty stiff.

I was having arm pain because of my frame that had the same stiffness as yours', regardless of the string and tension. The lower tension HELPED... but didn't resolve it.

Also, as a preventative... ice down your arm/elbow after you play and stretch/strengthen when you can.

Then I switched to a flexible frame and it all changed. I can play poly with no discomfort at all.

So... food for thought... if you like feeling of a string like a poly, you might need to consider a more flexible frame to compensate.

TenFanLA said:

I LOVE my full bed Big Hitter Blue Rough at 45lbs. on my YT Extreme Pro. I noticed a lot of the guys use Gosen OG 16 and 17. How do they compare to 18G? How about hybriding with BHBR vs. BHBR full bed vs. Gosen OG full bed? I'm considering hybrid or full bed Gosen since I have serious tennis elbow, but I'm afraid of losing spin and more importantly, control with syn gut vs. poly.

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The most important thing for you to do now is to rest and let your TE heal. That's absolutely crucial. See a PT get some massage, acupuncture and ultrasound. The tendon that inserts into the lateral epicondyle has a very poor blood supply (as do all tendons) which means it takes longer for it to heal than say a muscle tear. Depending on how serious your TE is, you might need a complete break of 3-4 months from tennis. I know its a drag but you need to think long term and do what's best for your body. The worse thing you can do is carry on playing because you're just going to make it worse and increase the problems later on.

*jumps to 3 months later*

As you know I play with BHBR 17 and currently have the following racquets (18x20/95) setup by way of testing, though I'm probably going to settle for 2 racquets with BHBR 17 mains and 1 with BHBR full bed.

1 x BHBR 17 full bed 53lbs
1 x BHBR 17 mains 53lbs / Gosen Micro Natural 17 55lbs (you feel the BHBR mains more with Gosen natural than you do with Gosen white)
1 x Multifeel 17 mains 55lbs / BHBR 17 cross 53lbs

The Multifeel mains is by far the most comfortable. That would be what I would suggest if you still want to stay with BHBR (which is still one of the more comfortable polys) and avoid trampolining full bed multis. BHBR mains is still likely to be a problem if you have TE.

Full bed Gosen 17 works as well (57lbs in a 18x20/95) and will give you depth control, but if you have serious TE, you'll probably still find that uncomfortable at mid tensions. Gosen Micro Natural 17 is softer than Gosen Micro White 17 by the way but is less crisp and slightly more springy.

Hope you get better and make sure you REST!!!

Good point Carolina. Stiff frame's always going to be a stiff frame. Strings and tension can help but can't overcome everything.

jgrushing said:

Good point Carolina. Stiff frame's always going to be a stiff frame. Strings and tension can help but can't overcome everything.

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His equipment is already pretty forgiving though - 16x19/100/45lbs. No harm in trying a different frame though. Ordinarily, I would suggest relaxing his grip, making sure he's hitting out in front and not pivoting from his elbow but he says he's a 5.0 so correct stroke mechanics shouldn't be an issue.

TenFanLA - if you find that you're spraying balls all over the place with your current stick when you accelerate the racquet why not try a 18x20? I played with a Tecnifibre T-Fight 320 the other day and apart from perhaps a slight lack of mass in the head I thought it was a lovely racquet - very solid feeling and plush.

Polystar Energy, same tension.

Plays like a poly (b/c it is), but feels like a synthetic. I don't even wear my elbow brace anymore, and using full poly never felt so good. Stick in the low 40s, it plays well for about 4-6 hours which is fine for a poly anyway.

Otherwise, natural gut around 60 is a good choice.

try the new wilson nxt control. multi that feels like a very soft poly imo

Actually I should have been more descriptive on how I got my TE. 7 months ago I was using my YT Extreme Pro withe RPM, swinging like a Nadal wannabe. At that time I didn't know about "dead" polys and played with RPM until it pretty much broke (10 hours+). My arm was so sore I didn't pick up a racket for 5 months. I started playing again with RPM and Nadal style, and in less than a month, I hurt my not quite fully-healed elbow once again. Since then I've switched to BHBR at 45 which feels much softer and probably is. I am careful to cut it out after 4-6 hours. Also I am not swinging crazy like Nadal, more like Djoker style with good amount, but not crazy amount of spin.

Since the change the elbow hasn't gotten much worse but I'm trying to find something like OGM? to make it even better. I've tried full gut and full NXT but I can't hit with the same pace and keep the ball in. I've also tried PS Energy and it has better control than NXT but it still flies compared to BHBR. So I'm thinking about trying BHBR/OGM or full OGM.

Also if my racket is the real culprit, I have 3x MG Rad Pro (more flexible, less power) that I was thinking about going back to.

Serious tennis elbow? You have two choices, quit for 2 or 3 months and do rehab arm exercises every day. Or, keep playing but only with natural gut, and do rehab arm exercises everyday. Once the TE is gone, you can get into hybriding, OG sheep, whatever.

Do's & Don'ts for Power Hitters w/TE

TenFanLA said:

I also hit with VS Team full bed and NXT Tour full bed but I couldn't swing away and keep the balls in the court.

I started looking into OGM because quite a few people seem to play with it on TT and Big T keeps recommending syn gut for most people. He seems to be on top of strings.

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Don't: use full-bed poly, thick poly in hybrids or high tension in hybrids;
Play more than 10 hours w/o restring
Do: string lower, thinner and more often. Find the lowest tension you can
manage decent control at; use a crisp synthetic as your cross to offer
control at lower tension (OGM is fine).
If you still suffer from TE after trying a softer poly hybrid (Signum Pro Tornado or Hyperion 17 with the OGM 17) then you know you have to go all syngut or multi and try a higher tension to give you back some control. Also, what stick are you playing? There are some arm-protecting player's sticks out there to consider. One of the first Futures events I strung at was won with a Kinetic stick and they are gold-standard for TE therapy.

mrtrinh said:

try the new wilson nxt control. multi that feels like a very soft poly imo

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It actually feels like a soft multifilament.