Poly in a Wood Racquet?

[DrumWizOHBD]

I am still a fan of wood racquets, and often workout or warm up with one. I was thinking of trying a shaped poly or poly-multi hybrid, like Tour Bite or Cyclone. Is this a good or bad idea? And, if I go through with it, is there anything important I should know so as not to damage the frame. Tension recommendations? I usually like Multi @ 48 lb.

 

[onehandbh]

Bad idea if you want your wood racquet to last. A few years ago I hit every now and then with a wood racquet. Even using soft synthgut, it eventually cut through the wood and broke the racquet. Wood is not as strong as graphite.

 

[darklore009]

I remember Chris done this with a wooden racket before in a review. You would need to ask him since he had done this before @TW Staff

 

[TW Staff]

I've hit several wood racquets with low tensioned poly in them. I love the way those racquets play. The poly really helps tame the massive plow through of a 14 ounce wood racquet. The spin and control I get really gives me more confidence to attack the ball. The low tension (I stay around 36 lbs) helps keep the sweetspot from shrinking too much.

Cheers,
Chris, TW

 

[DrumWizOHBD]

I've hit several wood racquets with low tensioned poly in them. I love the way those racquets play. The poly really helps tame the massive plow through of a 14 ounce wood racquet. The spin and control I get really gives me more confidence to attack the ball. The low tension (I stay around 36 lbs) helps keep the sweetspot from shrinking too much.

Cheers,
Chris, TW

Sweet! I'm going for it! There's a Wood Racquet even in town this weekend, hoping I can get a slight edge ;-)

Thanks guys, I'll let you know how it goes

 

[teachingprotx]

I think it feels great wood and poly. I like it even better with Kevlar the flex of the wood and the stiffness of poly or an aramid .
Sweet and sour perfect mix.
I've never had any probs with warping with either string . I did mine one at 58 lbs with alu power. The other I did 60 lbs with prince pro blend.
Both frames were Donnay flex pros.

 

[joe sch]

I've hit several wood racquets with low tensioned poly in them. I love the way those racquets play. The poly really helps tame the massive plow through of a 14 ounce wood racquet. The spin and control I get really gives me more confidence to attack the ball. The low tension (I stay around 36 lbs) helps keep the sweetspot from shrinking too much.

Cheers,
Chris, TW

Good advice especially with the low tension since I have seen many wood rackets, even new old stocks (NOS) warp after restringing with a stiffer string at a higher tension. Also, as @onehandbh warns, a stiff string, like the polys, can end up cutting the woody holes so you may also want to use tubies especially to help protect the angled stringing spots. I always recommend natural gut and with a 65 sq" head and 18x20 tight pattern, the gut will last pretty well, especially at lower tensions.

 

[DrumWizOHBD]

I ended up stringing my Wilson Advantage up with some remnants I had: YTEX ProTour 16L Mains w/ Tour Bite 20g crosses, both at 36 lb, per Chris's recommendation.

Just finished up our Woodie Mixer. Played 3 hours or so....had some pretty stiff competition, too. One fella played two years at U of Arkansas. With the poly I was able to really crush the ball without fear of the ball flying out. I definitely noticed more bite on the ball, but not the huge difference you would notice when stringing up a modern frame. The biggest difference I noticed was the "CRACK!" sound I got with a big flat serve or other well struck power shot. It was unlike anything I was used to with a wood racquet. We attracted a few spectators to our court to record my serve on their phones!! Overall, I still had a decent amount of power for a full poly setup, but the lack of a deep pocket sensation was missing and took a good 10-15 minutes to get used to it. On volleys is where I noticed that I couldn't just "stick the racquet out there" for a putaway volley, I had to give it a little extra mustard compared to full multi setup. Also the poly mutes the feel a little bit IMO, similar to adding silicon to a modern racquet handle. But on Serve and Groundies, Poly in a wood racquet is pretty eye opening to how much string technology has changed the game. Next time I think I will either try 3 or 4 lbs lower in tension, or try a hybrid with powerful multi in the crosses to try to improve the feel and volleys. Again, it seemed like every time I though a forehand or backhand might go out, it would drop in right inside the line....where I am used to the occasional sailing shot with Multi. I really didn't have those with the poly. Overall I still prefer the feel of Multi or Gut in a woodie, but the on court results for control, spin, and confidence to crush the ball are definitely in Polyester's favor. Just for reference, My Advantage comes in at 13.5oz strung with overgrip and full poly, which was a little lighter than the 15 gauge multi I had in it prior.

 

[SeeItHitIt]

A Woodie mixer - what a great idea! I'm going to push for one of these but pretty sure Commander Heatherly will call no-joy (yes, a Top Gun reference for thumbs down).

 

[joe sch]

I ended up stringing my Wilson Advantage up with some remnants I had: YTEX ProTour 16L Mains w/ Tour Bite 20g crosses, both at 36 lb, per Chris's recommendation.

Just finished up our Woodie Mixer. Played 3 hours or so....had some pretty stiff competition, too. One fella played two years at U of Arkansas. With the poly I was able to really crush the ball without fear of the ball flying out. I definitely noticed more bite on the ball, but not the huge difference you would notice when stringing up a modern frame. The biggest difference I noticed was the "CRACK!" sound I got with a big flat serve or other well struck power shot. It was unlike anything I was used to with a wood racquet. We attracted a few spectators to our court to record my serve on their phones!! Overall, I still had a decent amount of power for a full poly setup, but the lack of a deep pocket sensation was missing and took a good 10-15 minutes to get used to it. On volleys is where I noticed that I couldn't just "stick the racquet out there" for a putaway volley, I had to give it a little extra mustard compared to full multi setup. Also the poly mutes the feel a little bit IMO, similar to adding silicon to a modern racquet handle. But on Serve and Groundies, Poly in a wood racquet is pretty eye opening to how much string technology has changed the game. Next time I think I will either try 3 or 4 lbs lower in tension, or try a hybrid with powerful multi in the crosses to try to improve the feel and volleys. Again, it seemed like every time I though a forehand or backhand might go out, it would drop in right inside the line....where I am used to the occasional sailing shot with Multi. I really didn't have those with the poly. Overall I still prefer the feel of Multi or Gut in a woodie, but the on court results for control, spin, and confidence to crush the ball are definitely in Polyester's favor. Just for reference, My Advantage comes in at 13.5oz strung with overgrip and full poly, which was a little lighter than the 15 gauge multi I had in it prior.

Looks great, nice hybrid coloring for that beautiful Advantage.
Next time, I would love to make a road trip from Dallas and my old school teaching pro buddy Matt in OKC may also love to participate.

 

[DrumWizOHBD]

Looks great, nice hybrid coloring for that beautiful Advantage.
Next time, I would love to make a road trip from Dallas and my old school teaching pro buddy Matt in OKC may also love to participate.

Thanks for the comments, Joe! Follow Lafortune Tennis on Facebook or their website. It's an Annual Event usually October or November. I think proceeds benefit a charity like the United Way. There was free food, too! We had some other players have friends come in from out of town. Or, if I remember, I will post a reminder here next year ;-) I will say my arm is a bit tired today from playing so competitively with the Woodie yesterday! Hopefully we can get you up here next year.

 

[joe sch]

Thanks for the comments, Joe! Follow Lafortune Tennis on Facebook or their website. It's an Annual Event usually October or November. I think proceeds benefit a charity like the United Way. There was free food, too! We had some other players have friends come in from out of town. Or, if I remember, I will post a reminder here next year ;-) I will say my arm is a bit tired today from playing so competitively with the Woodie yesterday! Hopefully we can get you up here next year.

Sounds like a plan if Im still in Dallas.
Also a few fun wood tournaments down south like Austin and Houston areas.
I really should run one in Dallas in the Fall, the weather was really nice this year.

 

[Puddy]

Sounds like a plan if Im still in Dallas.
Also a few fun wood tournaments down south like Austin and Houston areas.
I really should run one in Dallas in the Fall, the weather was really nice this year.

Didn't you run such a gig years ago in CA?

 

[joe sch]

Didn't you run such a gig years ago in CA?

Never managed an tournaments, only selfishly played them

 

[moon shot]

I've got a Wilson Maureen Connolly strung with Hyper-G @ 45lbs and a Elenor Tennant strung with Cyclone @40lbs. I don't think either play better than my Kramer Autograph with Gut / Kirshbaum Competition in the upper 40s.

A wooden frame has to be thought of as a consumable, no matter the strings if you play with it then it will warp, wear, or break eventually. I always assumed they didn't have a head guard as they would become unplayable in other ways quicker.

 

[joe sch]

I've got a Wilson Maureen Connolly strung with Hyper-G @ 45lbs and a Elenor Tennant strung with Cyclone @40lbs. I don't think either play better than my Kramer Autograph with Gut / Kirshbaum Competition in the upper 40s.

A wooden frame has to be thought of as a consumable, no matter the strings if you play with it then it will warp, wear, or break eventually. I always assumed they didn't have a head guard as they would become unplayable in other ways quicker.

I wonder if I string my circa 1930 Bill Tilden Cannonball with poly string if the tennis gods will haunt me

 

[MAX PLY]

I wonder if I string my circa 1930 Bill Tilden Cannonball with poly string if the tennis gods will haunt me

I don't believe in ghosts but if you do that, I suspect I may have to reconsider.

 

[moon shot]

Here is Mrs. Connolly, she was the first woman to win a calendar grand slam in '53. She went on to marry the man who invented the salad bar and started the company that owns Chili's, Olive Garden, and Taco Cabana among others.

How do you like her new do?

 

[MAX PLY]

^^^

 

[DrumWizOHBD]

Here is Mrs. Connolly, she was the first woman to win a calendar grand slam in '53. She went on to marry the man who invented the salad bar and started the company that owns Chili's, Olive Garden, and Taco Cabana among others.

How do you like her new do?

Lovin it!