I disagree with Carl Schmits … Prince 105 helped rec players :)

[ByeByePoly]

Carl Schmits is the Managing Director of Equipment Standards and Facilities Development over at USA Pickleball (arbiter of legal paddles).

I am very impressed with his career, and from a couple of interviews I have seen very impressed with him. Which made his following statement in video below @38:38 made me go … wtf … no no Carl, the Prince 105 sq in tennis racquet did not leave the rec player behind. In fact … it did the opposite … the larger sweet spot helped the rec player make the game easier and more enjoyable. Same with the larger headed golf drivers.

Power and spin are real concerns … it’s a valid question to ask if you want pickleball to become Nadal tennis with poly strings. How much power and spin will be an ongoing debate. That to me is completely different than innovation that helps the rec player without increased power and spin. Also … the power/spin debate has two sides … on one end you have slick powerless paddles that no one can hit a decent groundstroke, on other end paddles that allow pace and topspin passing shots even in doubles. I guess tennis players like me coming into the game are the friction point … but there are a lot of us.

btw … regarding paddle power … does anyone else see the giant hole in this power restriction. I play regularly with a guy with arms bigger than my legs. He plays with gen 1 control paddle … hits a slap forehand rather than a tennis stroke … and can’t plant that wiffle in your chest before you even flinched. Is Carl going to make those shoulders and bicep illegal? I certainly hope so … hurry.

What say you ttw pickleball players.

@38:38

 

[ByeByePoly]

Question … do you really want to force bangers to kitchen with mush paddles in the name of protecting the rec player also at that kitchen?

Most rec player protection comes in the form of opponent discretion and skill level of that discretion.

 

[Azure]

ok

 

[optic yellow]

can you tldr this for people who want to learn more about pickleball out of curiosity but don't want to spend any time googling it because continue to resent its aggressive encroachment on the physical infrastructure of tennis?

 

[ByeByePoly]

can you tldr this for people who want to learn more about pickleball out of curiosity but don't want to spend any time googling it because continue to resent its aggressive encroachment on the physical infrastructure of tennis?

- Pickleball powers at be want to be careful on any changes to the game
- Carl Schmits and his group are the paddle Czars in this regards
- Carl was a pro racquetball player before an impressive business career
- he pointed to (in video above) oversized racquetball racquets and the Prince oversized tennis racquets as warnings where change in racquets changed the game forever for the worse for rec players, and left them behind in favor of the pro game

I strongly disagree that the 105 Prince racquet left the rec tennis player behind. I think the large headed racquets did the opposite for rec players. It gave a rec (even beginner) tennis player a better chance to hit the ball back over, and consistently in a very difficult game to learn. I think he picked the wrong tennis game changing warning analogy … it wasn’t the larger headed racquets, it was poly strings.

 

[optic yellow]

- Pickleball powers at be want to be careful on any changes to the game
- Carl Schmits and his group are the paddle Czars in this regards
- Carl was a pro racquetball player before an impressive business career
- he pointed to (in video above) oversized racquetball racquets and the Prince oversized tennis racquets as warnings where change in racquets changed the game forever for the worse for rec players, and left them behind in favor of the pro game

I strongly disagree that the 105 Prince racquet left the rec tennis player behind. I think the large headed racquets did the opposite for rec players. It gave a rec (even beginner) tennis player a better chance to hit the ball back over, and consistently in a very difficult game to learn. I think he picked the wrong tennis game changing warning analogy … it wasn’t the larger headed racquets, it was poly strings.

username checks out

You aren't wrong though, poly is definitely worse than the oversized racquets. You are wrong about the larger headed golf drivers however.

 

[vex]

I think the paddle power stuff is nonsense. As a relatively average strength guy I have way more power than I could ever need regardless of what paddle I use. The real differentiation point is paddle grit because that allows you to spin it more and thus unleash more power. You really don’t need the paddle to generate power for you.

 

[optic yellow]

I think the paddle power stuff is nonsense. As a relatively average strength guy I have way more power than I could ever need regardless of what paddle I use. The real differentiation point is paddle grit because that allows you to spin it more and thus unleash more power. You really don’t need the paddle to generate power for you.

I remember BBP saying this more or less in another thread.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I remember BBP saying this more or less in another thread.

I actually think the power of the paddle matters … but similar to a tennis racquet. You pick a racquet or paddle that matches your game. My wife’s stiff light powerful oversized Wilson is too powerful … makes me slow down my swing. A 12+ oz Wilson Pro Staff is not powerful enough for my swing speed … I end up swinging harder than my preference. Tweeners … Babolat Pure Drive, Volkl V1 Pro power matches my swing.

Pickleball paddle power preference is more complicated than tennis. If a singles player … most will prefer the power paddles. But most of us just play doubles (or primarily) … and Pickleball has this bizarre thing that tennis does not … the kitchen. In singles pb … baseline pace, passing shots, first strike adjacent matter. Not so much in doubles … intermediate and up … 90%+ of winning and losing will be decided at the kitchen. Kitchen play obviously involves control … dinking, resets, reflexes (hand speed). But power (pop) also comes into play. Much/most of the kitchen fire fight battle happens facing square to net with no shoulder turn (no time). You end up with arming strokes … think ping pong backhand. So a soft less poppy paddle might be preferred for dinks, but more pop (power) might be preferred for volleys and overheads.

My short five months experience was an example where power mattered in my doubles. I was playing with the very good xspak carbon paddle. Soft, good spin, great control, could hit the max pace I wanted from baseline if I swung harder than I preferred. Now moved to Vatic Pro V7 … I play similar to xspak without having to swing as hard (I play better). Also … where you can adjust by swinging harder at baseline … not sure players can adjust that ping pong backhand arming stroke at kitchen that much.

And yes … just like tennis … a paddle can be too powerful for your game. If your dinks and your resets are feeding your opponents smash … paddle might be too poppy for you.