I am going to microwave my Legacy Pro when it gets here

[ByeByePoly]

Clickbait ... Just kidding ... probably (I'm 65 ... and if some 20 year old in open play complains about my future Legacy Pro power ... that youngster might just get the microwave treatment ) The microwaving is in reference to Paddle DelaminationGate going on now ... new thermoformed (unibody) paddles outer surfaces becoming "unglued" from that fancy plastic honeycomb stuff in the middle ... and on unibody paddles delamination seems to create a rocket launcher. So in theory ... microwaving kills the glue and rocket launching engaged. Man ... I hope that happens to my Legacy Pro naturally ... wouldn't even mind some louder pop to make it seems the wiffle is going even faster. (yes ... I know that is the opposite of my thread about making the game more quiet ... selfish impulse all about me). Older tech paddles where it's two surfaces just glued to core and edge guard appear to just get deader when the glue fails on those. I wonder how long it will take before one realizes you can't really police a paddle interior ... going to need to be exterior (did someone mention rubber outer skins).

OK ... for those that have no clue what I am referring too ... Pro Pickleball Players (talking about you Ben Johns, Zane Navratil, Miss Anna Leigh) have their panties in a wad over other players having paddles with more power. And no ... even though I listen to Zane's, and Will and Chris's podcast (did I just admit that ... wow) ... I do not subscribe ... meet me here in my ttw family surroundings. Not saying Chris or Michelle won't give you the boot ... but you can try.

At this point I would like all my tennis brothers and sisters to give ourselves a pat on the back for playing all of our tennis tournaments, USTA league play, leagues ... often over decades ... with not one check of our racquets or strings for legality. No one checked your RPM Blast poly strung at the legal 45+ lbs at the start of a tournament, but took your winnings back because your RPM had lost a couple of lbs of tension by the end of the tournament. Whaaaaaat?

Seriously ... we deserve it

OK ... maybe not fair, Pickleball just taking off ... early growing days ... but then again, this is primarily a tennis forum website ... we will be fair to pickleball later .... maybe.


So again ... what am I talking about? Stuff you can't really make up.

Professional Pickleball polices a couple of main things with paddles (I'm sure there is more than my simple list below):

1) length, width, thickness
2) spin
3) power

They are all confused with the proper terminology for power ... some confusing word salad including "dwell time" and "deflection" (can a brother get some strings) ... and wait until you see how they test for "power" below. They could save them a lot of time and consult with our ttw string scientist ... maybe glance at the string comparison chart, etc. I am no expert ... but seems energy return might be a good start.

So for spin test ... they use the little gadget in the pic below ... Starrett (???) ... they rub it around all over the paddle face and measure RZs, RTs, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZs




But I have saved the best for last ... the test for pop/power ... or if you prefer deflection is the gadget below ... dudes and dudetts ... isn't that a drill?



Supposedly if that sucker presses in too far then it's too much pop/power. Whaaaaat? As Chris (Pickleball Studio) correctly pointed out a pillow would press in a lot, and a cement wall not at all ... so I repeat .... Whaaaaaaaaaaat?

OK ... so obviously I am poking some good spirited fun at my new addiction/pball ... but I would humbly suggest the following are two tests that will at least be closer to the truth than that heavy duty drill ... which I would not want anywhere near the $200+ paddles the industry is selling us.

Power test #1:

@00:25

Power test #2:

 

[ByeByePoly]

I think we should name that deflection drill … The Delaminator

btw … to pass The Delaminator … the paddle surface can’t depress more than the width of a dollar bill.

 

[travlerajm]

Pickle ball paddle technology is so far behind other sports like golf and tennis that it’s kind of depressing to even think about.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Pickle ball paddle technology is so far behind other sports like golf and tennis that it’s kind of depressing to even think about.

I find it incredibly entertaining …we couldn’t have come up with The Delaminator in a 100 years. A wiffle ball game … throw in several paddlegates … mix in good old fashioned greed and bigger paddle companies (tour sponsors) trying to kill upstarts with lawyers.

Dude … now that’s a show … call Netflix.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Pickle ball paddle technology is so far behind other sports like golf and tennis that it’s kind of depressing to even think about.

I can’t wait until they strap a paddle on iron Byron.

Going to need a longer tee

 

[ByeByePoly]

Pickle ball paddle technology is so far behind other sports like golf and tennis that it’s kind of depressing to even think about.

Your presence made me think of something. The Delaminator (or Pickleball rules) don’t take into account @travlerajm lead taping a paddle to 12 oz. What’s more baseline paddle speed … 7.9 oz Legacy Pro right out of box (bubble wrap) or @travlerajm ’s fiberglass paddle obnoxiously lead taped to 12 oz? Of course … the test needs to be based on equal repeatable swing speeds so we can’t use your forehand.

Also … the entire kitchen thing really demands two relevant “power/pace” measurements unlike tennis. You need baseline full stroke pace like tennis … but also kitchen flip/speed up pace. For example … a full baseline swing could depress paddle surface and flip not so much. Even if one thought The Delaminator measured paddle pop … it certainly isn’t measuring the thing that matters most in pickleball doubles (kitchen pace/pop).

This is good stuff … predict what paddles and paddle testing will look like in 2-3 years. Also predict how many “legal” paddles I will buy that get deemed illegal after my purchase. This could be serious … because some of my new pickleball open play brothers and sisters would gladly proclaim “ByeByePoly is a big fat cheater with a big fat cheating paddle”. I say “some” because just like tennis … most are not even a little bit interested in differences in paddles, much less know what just became illegal.

 

[travlerajm]

Your presence made me think of something. The Delaminator (or Pickleball rules) don’t take into account @travlerajm lead taping a paddle to 12 oz. What’s more baseline paddle speed … 7.9 oz Legacy Pro right out of box (bubble wrap) or @travlerajm ’s fiberglass paddle obnoxiously lead taped to 12 oz? Of course … the test needs to be based on equal repeatable swing speeds so we can’t use your forehand.

Also … the entire kitchen thing really demands two relevant “power/pace” measurements unlike tennis. You need baseline full stroke pace like tennis … but also kitchen flip/speed up pace. For example … a full baseline swing could depress paddle surface and flip not so much. Even if one thought The Delaminator measured paddle pop … it certainly isn’t measuring the thing that matters most in pickleball doubles (kitchen pace/pop).

This is good stuff … predict what paddles and paddle testing will look like in 2-3 years. Also predict how many “legal” paddles I will buy that get deemed illegal after my purchase. This could be serious … because some of my new pickleball open play brothers and sisters would gladly proclaim “ByeByePoly is a big fat cheater with a big fat cheating paddle”. I say “some” because just like tennis … most are not even a little bit interested in differences in paddles, much less know what just became illegal.

It seems like pickleball paddle technology is trending lighter, but I’m here to tell you that the future of high level pickleball is in the opposite direction. It just may take a while.

 

[ByeByePoly]

It seems like pickleball paddle technology is trending lighter, but I’m here to tell you that the future of high level pickleball is in the opposite direction. It just may take a while.

Probably end up like tennis … avg rec player paddle much lighter than avg pro weights. Some of our better open play doubles players wouldn’t gain much with heavier or more power. They play mainly touch game … good at 3rd shot drops, good at touch kitchen skills (dinks, resets), light paddle more than good enough for finishing point on pop ups. It’s what all tennis players learn pretty quickly taking up pickleball … you can reach a good level of pball doubles never hitting pace from baseline.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Pickle ball paddle technology is so far behind other sports like golf and tennis that it’s kind of depressing to even think about.

Behind on paddle and sound tech … but way early on adopting betting.

Betting highest priority … more so than sound.

Will be efficient … now that tennis channel coverage includes commentators reciting betting odds … seamless to pball coverage. They should have a over/under bet on number of dinks in a match.

 

[travlerajm]

Behind on paddle and sound tech … but way early on adopting betting.

Betting highest priority … more so than sound.

Will be efficient … now that tennis channel coverage includes commentators reciting betting odds … seamless to pball coverage. They should have an over/under bet on number of dinks in a match.

Do they have an over/under on the number of kitchen fouls?

 

[ByeByePoly]

Do they have an over/under on the number of kitchen fouls?

Not sure … but I know for a fact you don’t want to be the husband forced to say:

”honey … you are stepping on kitchen line every now and then”