Prince Original Graphite ( POG ) Mid and OS versions

shamaho

shamaho

Professional
graycrait said:
@PSC85 , @Sanglier , @shamaho , @WYK ,

I was hitting with a Clash 98 a friend was demoing the other day and it was strung with Lux Element at 53lbs. I absolutely loved emulating the young guns whipping that thing Rafa like and creating more spin than usual. My hitting buddy who was demoing the 4 different Clashes told me to knock it off because he couldn't hit my shots although they were right back at him and miraculously landing in. I hit three other Clashes that day but none gave me that satisfaction that way. My buddy mentioned that the Clashes cost 249.00 ea. I said "Yeah, I know." All 4 of those Clashes are spec'd at 55RA

We are going hitting again today with the Clash demos but I want to string my lightest 4-stripe POG 90 with the only poly I have, Wilson Revolve, and take it along with me. I wonder if 53 is the right tension? I never had much luck with my choice of tension or types of poly in the POG 90s, always reverting back to Ashaway Kevlar x Zyex.

My lightest out of 9 POG 90s, is a 4-Stripe with Midsize on the hoop, not 90 on the hoop. With synthetic grip, one OG, poly string - it weighs 11.89.
Click to expand...

I string mines at 41 lbs mains vs. 37 lbs crosses - that's the original starting tension, of course it drops off more with time - using MSV Focus Hex. So with that low tension, one has to accelerate the racket head through the ball to get the needed control (but nothing like the vicious Nadal swing).
 
  • Like
Reactions: WYK
shamaho

shamaho

Professional
graycrait said:
My hitting buddy who was demoing the 4 different Clashes told me to knock it off because he couldn't hit my shots although they were right back at him and miraculously landing in.
Click to expand...

"knock it off"... ahah hilarious really !! I think probably that remark made you enjoy it even more ! :-D
 
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
shamaho said:
"knock it off"... ahah hilarious really !! I think probably that remark made you enjoy it even more ! :-D
Click to expand...
That is what happens when two 60 somethings get on the court at 4.30 p.m. in 92 degree heat. The only people we are a danger to on the court is ourselves.
 
PSC85

PSC85

Semi-Pro
My 4 stripe POG MS comes up to 333g strung. Is that within normal range?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
PSC85

PSC85

Semi-Pro
graycrait said:
@PSC85 , @Sanglier , @shamaho , @WYK ,

I was hitting with a Clash 98 a friend was demoing the other day and it was strung with Lux Element at 53lbs. I absolutely loved emulating the young guns whipping that thing Rafa like and creating more spin than usual. My hitting buddy who was demoing the 4 different Clashes told me to knock it off because he couldn't hit my shots although they were right back at him and miraculously landing in. I hit three other Clashes that day but none gave me that satisfaction that way. My buddy mentioned that the Clashes cost 249.00 ea. I said "Yeah, I know." All 4 of those Clashes are spec'd at 55RA

We are going hitting again today with the Clash demos but I want to string my lightest 4-stripe POG 90 with the only poly I have, Wilson Revolve, and take it along with me. I wonder if 53 is the right tension? I never had much luck with my choice of tension or types of poly in the POG 90s, always reverting back to Ashaway Kevlar x Zyex.

My lightest out of 9 POG 90s, is a 4-Stripe with Midsize on the hoop, not 90 on the hoop. With synthetic grip, one OG, poly string - it weighs 11.89.
Click to expand...

@graycrait Thanks for the note. My POG MS is stock with leather grip and probably some multi on it that came with it. It feels really nice except it only weighs 333g much to my surprise. I'll have to take it out for a full hitting session again soon. It actually feels pretty whippy but I'm coming from normal spec range of 350~363g strung frames.
 
WYK

WYK

Hall of Fame
graycrait said:
@PSC85 , @Sanglier , @shamaho , @WYK ,

I was hitting with a Clash 98 a friend was demoing the other day and it was strung with Lux Element at 53lbs. I absolutely loved emulating the young guns whipping that thing Rafa like and creating more spin than usual. My hitting buddy who was demoing the 4 different Clashes told me to knock it off because he couldn't hit my shots although they were right back at him and miraculously landing in. I hit three other Clashes that day but none gave me that satisfaction that way. My buddy mentioned that the Clashes cost 249.00 ea. I said "Yeah, I know." All 4 of those Clashes are spec'd at 55RA

We are going hitting again today with the Clash demos but I want to string my lightest 4-stripe POG 90 with the only poly I have, Wilson Revolve, and take it along with me. I wonder if 53 is the right tension? I never had much luck with my choice of tension or types of poly in the POG 90s, always reverting back to Ashaway Kevlar x Zyex.

My lightest out of 9 POG 90s, is a 4-Stripe with Midsize on the hoop, not 90 on the hoop. With synthetic grip, one OG, poly string - it weighs 11.89.
Click to expand...

When I was young, I would string the pog at 60 lbs with nylon. SOmetimes higher. But nylon lost it's tension very quickly back then.
I now string usually with 15 gauge revolve at very low tensions in all frames, like usually less than 41 lbs.
 
S

soulcamp

New User
I have two four-stripe POG mids, one I got in 1987 that weights in at 333g (strung), and another I bought around 1991 that weighs 346g (strung). I prefer them strung around 60 lbs with a soft multi (Gamma TNT2 Touch).

I had a one-stripe POG back in 1986 that had a sticker recommending tension up to 75 or 80 lbs. I had it strung with Prince Topspin at 72 and it snapped-in-half while playing, sandwiching a ball in the string bed. I returned it to Prince & they replaced it (for free) with the '87 four-stripe above (and a new stringing recommendation of 50-65 lbs).

I recently purchased two new 93p 14x18 (which have a strung weight of 342g). I've found that stringing them even in the low 50s is too much for the 93p. So I don't think it's just string technology that has lowered string tension throughout the years.
 
shamaho

shamaho

Professional
soulcamp said:
I have two four-stripe POG mids, one I got in 1987 that weights in at 333g (strung), and another I bought around 1991 that weighs 346g (strung). I prefer them strung around 60 lbs with a soft multi (Gamma TNT2 Touch).

I had a one-stripe POG back in 1986 that had a sticker recommending tension up to 75 or 80 lbs. I had it strung with Prince Topspin at 72 and it snapped-in-half while playing, sandwiching a ball in the string bed. I returned it to Prince & they replaced it (for free) with the '87 four-stripe above (and a new stringing recommendation of 50-65 lbs).

I recently purchased two new 93p 14x18 (which have a strung weight of 342g). I've found that stringing them even in the low 50s is too much for the 93p. So I don't think it's just string technology that has lowered string tension throughout the years.
Click to expand...


60 lbs !?!! yikes!!! :) that's waaaay to much for me.... I could not play with that tension
I string my POG 4 stripes at 42 lbs (lower even for crosses) - using fullbed poly - MSV Focus Hex. and I could go lower, actually it does go lower just after a a while and some court time....
 
shamaho

shamaho

Professional
shamaho said:
60 lbs !?!! yikes!!! :) that's waaaay to much for me.... I could not play with that tension
I string my POG 4 stripes at 42 lbs (lower even for crosses) - using fullbed poly - MSV Focus Hex. and I could go lower, actually it does go lower just after a a while and some court time....
Click to expand...
ooops! I keep repeating myself... sorry, forgot that I had already posted that.... ;-) old age....
 
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
WYK said:
I now string usually with 15 gauge revolve at very low tensions in all frames, like usually less than 41 lbs.
Click to expand...
I have some 16g Revolve. I might try stringing a POG at low 40's with it. I strung some of that 16g Revolve in a Head Pro Tour 280 (18x20) and at 45lbs I still thought it was too "boardy."
 
S

soulcamp

New User
shamaho said:
60 lbs !?!! yikes!!! :) that's waaaay to much for me.... I could not play with that tension
I string my POG 4 stripes at 42 lbs (lower even for crosses) - using fullbed poly - MSV Focus Hex. and I could go lower, actually it does go lower just after a a while and some court time....
Click to expand...

A full bed of poly at 60 lbs would probably snap my arm clean off. I started using a really soft poly (Volkl Vstar 18L) in the crosses a few months back and dropped the tension down to 59/57. :D

I had tried the same poly in the mains previously (with multi crosses) and had to let my arm rest for a week after only 30 minutes of hitting. They got cut out as soon as I got home.
 
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
@Addxyz, LOL. Thanks. That is fascinating and at a fascinating price. Although not new one can find quite a few that are in excellent condition for way less than $200.00 on the auction site. I have a pair in my grip size 4&1/2. I found them unwieldy at 28" so chopped both to 27.25" and they play nice and soft. I hit one of them for 2 hours yesterday morning.
 
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
@Addxyz , I just snagged a nice Michael Chang OS Ti Longbody off the auction site and with shipping it cost 1/4 of what that new one is going for. The MC OS Ti LB has been my unicorn for some months and I got it in my grip size.
 
tennis_balla

tennis_balla

Hall of Fame
Just got this Prince Graphite. Long sticker on the side of throat, butt cap is cracked but has a P sticker on it, black and gold P. No grommets however, did these come without grommets?

67095754_10156572962856089_633641399966760960_o.jpg

67115948_10156572962866089_3325261197795655680_o.jpg
 
S

soulcamp

New User
tennis_balla said:
Just got this Prince Graphite. Long sticker on the side of throat, butt cap is cracked but has a P sticker on it, black and gold P. No grommets however, did these come without grommets?
Click to expand...

It's hard to tell without a more close-up shot of the holes, but I'm pretty sure that's the grommet-less version. My four-stripe mids have grooves all along the edges for the grommets to sit in. I don't see why the OS would be different.
 
tennis_balla

tennis_balla

Hall of Fame
graycrait said:
@tennis_balla , How much does that POG weigh?
Click to expand...

I’ll let you know Monday, I strung it up at my friends tennis shop but the battery on his scale went dead.
The butt cap was slightly cracked, so I bought some thin silicone tape and wrapped the butt cap to stabilize it and to build it up a tad and used a heat sleeve on top of that for the full length of the grip including butt cap to make it one size bigger. Now it’s solid.
After that I put on a Head Hydrosorb Pro replacement grip and a Wilson Pro overgrip.

I found the racket in the basement of the tennis club I coach at while searching for what the past coaches left behind for lessons (balls, cones etc).
 
Shroud

Shroud

G.O.A.T.
tennis_balla said:
67555330_10156579418296089_925877782309765120_o.jpg

67571004_10156579418311089_7591286027742871552_o.jpg


Strung it up today with ALU Power @ 50lbs, and leather power pads at the throat. I’ll hit with it tomorrow. It’s the first generation Prince Graphite with no grommets.
Click to expand...
Serve and Volley with that thing and you may be mistaken for Micheal Stich
 
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
After 35+ years of playing, I recently got around to trying a few variants of the POG: one-stripe grommetless 110, 4-stripe 110, early 1-stripe 90, and 4-stripe 90. All are pretty good racquets, but I liked the 4-stripe 90 best.
 
S

soulcamp

New User
retrowagen said:
After 35+ years of playing, I recently got around to trying a few variants of the POG: one-stripe grommetless 110, 4-stripe 110, early 1-stripe 90, and 4-stripe 90. All are pretty good racquets, but I liked the 4-stripe 90 best.
Click to expand...

I've played using 4-stripe POG 90s for 32 years. Just recently switched to the Phantom 93p 14x18. It's definitely not the same racket, but it's the closest modern racket I've ever used. The string pattern is actually more open than the POG 90. My slice is pure evil. :happydevil:
 
shamaho

shamaho

Professional
soulcamp said:
I've played using 4-stripe POG 90s for 32 years. Just recently switched to the Phantom 93p 14x18. It's definitely not the same racket, but it's the closest modern racket I've ever used. The string pattern is actually more open than the POG 90. My slice is pure evil. :happydevil:
Click to expand...

32 years with the POG 90 !? wow ! I only started playing with them recently, after a 1,5 year stint with the PCG 100 which allowed me to stabilize my game and take it a couple notches up - then I felt I needed more whippiness and turned to the 90s about early this year - my collection of POG 90s recently expanded from 2 to 3... now expecting my 4th... (with two cousins Exo3 sitting beside them)
 
S

SpinControl

Rookie
The POG was my wishlist racket since I was young. Long story short, I ended up with other rackets over the years, but always longed for the POG.
I had the Prince Graphite Pro, the Prince Approach 90, and the Prince Graphite Chang LB in all that time. I hated the long body; gave it to my cousin in '99 or '00.
Needless to say, when I got back into tennis in 2015, my first stop was looking for used POGs.
I picked up two 4-stripe midplus and two StraightShaft midplus for no more than $250 total shipped! Crazy considering their prices back in the 80's and 90's.

I think they play very similar. I need to weigh them to determine the weight differences. I noticed the other day that the 4-stripe seemed heavier; I hadn't noticed that before.

Loving the rackets.
My weapons are now 4 POGs and 4 Approach 90's.
Sad to see Prince fade from the tennis scene.
 
U

Ultra 2

Professional
I've seen and hit with probably 50 different POGs and the weight of the frame varied greatly from frame to frame. As a general rule, the smaller the grip, the lighter the frame was. They used to handle weight the frame with lead plugs in the handle foam.. once I came across a 110 with 6 of them in there.. yikes!
 
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
@SpinControl , I have to give props to @Ultra 2, @Sanglier and @dak95_00 for keeping me interested with Prince 80's/90's rackets. If you hate the Chang Graphite that is fine, but the Chang Ti 95 LB is a whole different experience. But then I have 9 POG 90s, a half dozen OS POGs and a grand total about 60 Prince rackets. My newest one is a Prince Tour Pro 98 18x20, but that is my only Prince from the 2010s. And 1 Triple Threat Warrior 100 from the early 2000s. I do have 2 Approach 90s, but you need to try out the Graphtech DB 90s and the Advance Response 90s. The AR 90s are hard to find with decent grommets. The only other Prince 90 from the 80s I think is a must have is the Graphite Pro 90. The others all play fine but not quite as good as the POG 90, Graphite Pro 90, Graphtech 90 and Advance Response 90 in that order. You must get a Mono or two and then the Precision 690 Longbody cut to your favorite length.
 
S

soulcamp

New User
SpinControl said:
Sad to see Prince fade from the tennis scene.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say they're fading. The Phantom 93p is an excellent racket (in both 14x18 and 18x20). While not the same racket, the 93p 14x18 is the closest modern racket I've found to a POG 90. Definitely worth a look if you like the thin beam and open pattern of a POG 90.
 
Shangri La

Shangri La

Hall of Fame
Can anybody compare ball feel/feedback of current TW tour POG OS to earlier versions?

I've had a couple of these but for whatever reason I always felt it plays a bit hollow and metalic (and I really like the feel of TW re-release POG 100). Maybe I never gave it enough time or had the wrong string setup (full PSGD, full VS gut, wrong poly, etc).

I recently string it up with RS Lyon at 52/47 and it finally has the satisfying solid 'graphite feel' I've been looking for. I'm OCD about ball feel and it's the number one criteria when choosing racquets. I wonder how people 'feel' about the current version and think whether it's a legitimate successor of a classic. Thinking about getting another from TW..
 
Last edited:
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
Out of the 15 POGs I currently have, 6 OS and 9 "90s," I have one Tour OS and 2 Tour 90s. In my mind the Tours play a little stiffer. Probably the only person who can really explain the nuance as it may relate to different manufacturers with maybe different "recipes" over the decades is @Sanglier. How the latest issue Tours stack up to earlier releases I have no clue.

I liked the OS version that came out with the same cosmetics as the PCG 100LBs and I think that was around 2012. The only OS "Classic" POG I have left is one I installed a 2-handled "Natural" handle on - don't ask why I chose that one. I don't mind the Tours but if I want to grab a POG to go hit with or compare to something else I generally grab a 4-stripe and even that can be crapshoot. I doubt I have 2 POGs of either size that weigh the same as their same sized wall mates.
 
chazz

chazz

Rookie
Just bought a 4 stripe POG oversize off the auction site. I'm currently using the tour version tennis warehouse sells but feel the swingweight is just a tad bit much for me so I'm hoping the 4 stripe will be perfect since it's more headlight.
 
Shangri La

Shangri La

Hall of Fame
chazz said:
Just bought a 4 stripe POG oversize off the auction site. I'm currently using the tour version tennis warehouse sells but feel the swingweight is just a tad bit much for me so I'm hoping the 4 stripe will be perfect since it's more headlight.
Click to expand...

It would be great if you can share your thoughts on how different the 4stripe and Tour play/feel. BTW I custom ordered my current tour from TW with strung specs of 12.2oz/325sw. Very manageable. Previous Tours were 12.6oz/335+sw which was way to high for me.
 
chazz

chazz

Rookie
Shangri La said:
It would be great if you can share your thoughts on how different the 4stripe and Tour play/feel. BTW I custom ordered my current tour from TW with strung specs of 12.2oz/325sw. Very manageable. Previous Tours were 12.6oz/335+sw which was way to high for me.
Click to expand...

I didn't receive it yet but it looks like it's strung with poly which I need to immediately cut out and string with synthetic gut. When you say custom ordered you mean they weighed a bunch of racquets for you and found one with a lighter weight or do they have a new batch with a lighter weight/swingweight? That 325 swingweght seems perfect for me.
 
Shangri La

Shangri La

Hall of Fame
chazz said:
I didn't receive it yet but it looks like it's strung with poly which I need to immediately cut out and string with synthetic gut. When you say custom ordered you mean they weighed a bunch of racquets for you and found one with a lighter weight or do they have a new batch with a lighter weight/swingweight? That 325 swingweght seems perfect for me.
Click to expand...

When I placed the order, I asked them to find one that's closest to 295sw/11.5 oz unstrung unmodified. They would then go through a bunch of racquets and confirm with me if what they find was okay. I'm more flexible with weight as I can usually find a way to adjust but pretty particular with sw. Spending extra $20 to make sure I will be happy with the racquet is better than getting one that's unplayable.
 
D

Dprostor

New User
Hello, does anybody know if it is possible to find/buy some butt caps with cut out P? Thanks very much in advance, regards
 
U

Ultra 2

Professional
Dprostor said:
Maybe someone would know if this kind of cut out "P" butt cup was in majority or minority of 3rd iteration of POG?
Click to expand...

What size are you looking for? I do come across them now and again. Are you trying to restore your POG to its original state?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Prince Original Graphite (POG) versions
Replies
5
Views
3K
Centered
Centered
TheLambsheadrep
POG 2 grommets
Replies
1
Views
985
coachrick
coachrick
adista4
Prince Original Graphite vs Prince Graphite Composite vs Prince Graphite Pro (all OS)
Replies
7
Views
5K
Steve Huff
S
J
POG Mid grommet alternatives?
Replies
24
Views
830
bcart1991
bcart1991
G
POG OS grommethless 1978
Replies
4
Views
924
glpsace
G
Top