heathcliff
Rookie
i´ve recently bought a prince woodie.
does anyone made experience with it?
does anyone made experience with it?
prince woodie
- Thread starter heathcliff
- Start date
I used one in the 1980s, can't imagine why you'd want one to actually play with as the POG is a vastly superior racquet, similar weight but more stable and more pop (though still very moderately powered). The woodie also tends to warp rather badly. Perhaps you could have it made into a wall clock.
Don't Let It Bounce
Hall of Fame
I remember hitting with one in the mid-80's, while I was playing with some of the other Prince frames of the time. It was a really comfortable hit, but I felt like I couldn't generate any power at all, especially on the serve.
Centered
Hall of Fame
It should probably only be strung with natural gut to get decent power. I have mine strung with Pacific Classic 17.
The high level of flexibility in the hoop makes it feel shaky. I've found the best shot to hit with it is slice. Slice serves are good, too.
It's probably the best racquet for someone with tennis elbow or some other injury that would be aggravated by ball impact stress.
I think the rated stiffness is 35.
The high level of flexibility in the hoop makes it feel shaky. I've found the best shot to hit with it is slice. Slice serves are good, too.
It's probably the best racquet for someone with tennis elbow or some other injury that would be aggravated by ball impact stress.
I think the rated stiffness is 35.
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BDAZ
Hall of Fame
i bought a used woodie off the bay a few years ago. not sure what it's strung with. very flexible (as someone said, shaky) in the upper hoop. in the lower third of the head, where the sweet spot is, holy mother... this thing is an absolutely gorgeous hit. one of the best feeling racquets i own. i love this thing.
Hit with one yesterday. After a string break a bud busted it out.
1. It was in beautiful shape strung at a higher tension. 65+
2. Tiny sweet spot compared to modern.
3. Had to dial the game way back and keep a classic form.
4. Tough to generate any power if the ball was outside my strike zone.
5. You -really- feel the mis hits
6. Hard to get around the backhand when the ball was coming in at a 4.5 pace.
7. I would use it in a wood only tourney but I would not keep one in my standard stable. Give me a nice late 80's POG/prostaff/prestige
1. It was in beautiful shape strung at a higher tension. 65+
2. Tiny sweet spot compared to modern.
3. Had to dial the game way back and keep a classic form.
4. Tough to generate any power if the ball was outside my strike zone.
5. You -really- feel the mis hits
6. Hard to get around the backhand when the ball was coming in at a 4.5 pace.
7. I would use it in a wood only tourney but I would not keep one in my standard stable. Give me a nice late 80's POG/prostaff/prestige
Centered
Hall of Fame
strung at a higher tension. 65+
caused:
Tiny sweet spot compared to modern.
ough to generate any power if the ball was outside my strike zone.
You -really- feel the mis hits
----
You probably don't have a string like natural gut in it, either, I bet. With 17 gauge gut it has quite a bit of power and a large sweet spot. You shouldn't feel mishits much because of the very very low stiffness of the racquet.
caused:
Tiny sweet spot compared to modern.
ough to generate any power if the ball was outside my strike zone.
You -really- feel the mis hits
----
You probably don't have a string like natural gut in it, either, I bet. With 17 gauge gut it has quite a bit of power and a large sweet spot. You shouldn't feel mishits much because of the very very low stiffness of the racquet.
joe sch
Legend
Very true, natural gut is the perfect partner for wood rackets and I like the tension very low which makes mishits more forgiving and provides more power and feel. Also stringing wood frames that are 2+ decades old at high tensions seriously risks frame damage and warping, especially midsized wood rackets.
Superman1272
Rookie
I own one. I will try and post some pictures in the coming days...
I do remember that there is a sticker that recommends Prince Nylon or Prince Synthetic Strings in a range of 72-78 lbs... or something like that. I thought that would be insanely high.
I would love to put some NG in it around 65. I would also like to experiment with some of the newer Co-Polys around the sub 40 range... should be a spin meister with such a set-up.
I do remember that there is a sticker that recommends Prince Nylon or Prince Synthetic Strings in a range of 72-78 lbs... or something like that. I thought that would be insanely high.
I would love to put some NG in it around 65. I would also like to experiment with some of the newer Co-Polys around the sub 40 range... should be a spin meister with such a set-up.
Centered
Hall of Fame
I've heard this is because stringing machines of the past used to have around 10 pounds of more of give. So a string job of "72 lbs" on an old machine, one would get a 62 lb string job.
Superman1272
Rookie
Looked at the sticker... "STRING WITH PRINCE NYLONS OR SYNTHETICS: 70 LBS MIN. - 76 LBS. MAX."
coachrick
Hall of Fame
Oh yeah, there were MANY rackets strung up to 80# back then. Try that on a two-point mounting Ektelon or Serrano machine so popular in the late '70s/early '80s. Yikes!
I'd say mid-60s or so with something thin would be the ticket.
coachrick
Hall of Fame
It's not so much that the machines 'lost' tension but that the frame could 'breathe' or flex while being strung--essentially 'giving' in the direction of the pull and lessening the resulting tension. This is one reason for the difference in recommended tensions. There certainly are others. Of course, the main reason for the lower tensions recommended in this thread is avoiding the stress of higher tensions on the wood frame.
Centered
Hall of Fame
The same thing. If you set a machine to 70 lbs and it "breathes" to 60 when stringing, that's 10 lbs of "lost" tension, I'd say.
Does anyone know how dramatic this tended to be? Was it 10-15 lbs on average?
I've also heard that strings from those days didn't hold tension as well, even the gut. But, I'm not sure if that's true. How can gut have changed all that much?
tacoben
Semi-Pro
Market Value for the Prince Woodie?
Just revisiting this thread again, as I was lucky to acquire not one but two of these racquets within a week
; both came with the tan racquet cover. I'm guessing they would go on fleabay for about $50 and $100 for near mint? Your thoughts please...thanks!
Just revisiting this thread again, as I was lucky to acquire not one but two of these racquets within a week
; both came with the tan racquet cover. I'm guessing they would go on fleabay for about $50 and $100 for near mint? Your thoughts please...thanks!
coachrick
Hall of Fame
Just revisiting this thread again, as I was lucky to acquire not one but two of these racquets within a week
I've seen what appeared to be pristine Woodies go for $20 plus shipping...and some receive no bids at all...guess it all depends on who's looking.
joe sch
Legend
I've seen what appeared to be pristine Woodies go for $20 plus shipping...and some receive no bids at all...guess it all depends on who's looking.
True.
Unless they are NOS never strung, the prince woody is a very risky racket to buy since its either probably already slightly warped and the seller does not know how to detect, or it will warp during shipping. Also, stringing these rackets at tension much higher than 50s lbs will also greatly increase the chances of it being warped. I had a perfect model, never strung, that I strung up with a very nice syn gut at low tension and it warped. I was very bummed
vintagefan
Rookie
Does anyone know the stringing pattern for this frame? I'm looking for string length, skip holes, start cross and tie offs for a four piece specifically.
What's the highest tension I should go for if I don't want to risk warping? Is the Kmate's 2 point mounting system good enough for a frame this large and fragile?
Thanks!
What's the highest tension I should go for if I don't want to risk warping? Is the Kmate's 2 point mounting system good enough for a frame this large and fragile?
Thanks!
