Racquet which makes you feel good

S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
I read an interview with Robert Redford in IT mag. It seems he was a serious junior tennis player. He said something that made me realize something about myself - "in tennis, it just feels good to hit the ball."

Looking back, I realize I never got the same satisfaction when playing table tennis or badminton. Hitting the ball or the bird did not provide the instant gratification that tennis does. Kicking a socker ball also did not do it for me, or swimming. Stroking a cricket ball with a bat feels good, but it happens for too short a time compared to the time spent on the field.

How many of you like tennis because it feels good to hit the ball? What racquet provided you the greatest satisfaction? For me it has been the Head MGPP strung with Prince Recoil at 58 lbs.
 
for me, it happens with the MG prestige MP, with multifilament strings that give a really comfortable popping sound. I just find a lot of satisfaction in feeling and hearing the sound. :)
 
swimming is awsome if you are good at it. check out michael phelps training videos on youtube. if you can swim 10% as good as him you will feel like you're flying through a dimension between water..

adding to the thread, everytime I hit with a different racquet i feel like it might be special until the honeymoon phase ends. but so far i think the g325 is amazing because it has a very big sweet spot, control is 100% and most importantly it puts EVERYTHING inside the baseline which is refreshing. i own the pro tour 630, prestige tour 660s, agassi le os, prince 03 blue and pog longbody and the gamma trumps them all.
 
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MGPP has a unique sound with dampener. When I hit with it, the sound comes out like a pro's shot.

I get no "feedback" with swimming so no satisfaction.
 
The Prestige Classic Mid with full gut his right in the sweetspot has a great feel to it that sticks with me. These days i'm playing with the LM Prestige MP and enjoy the pocketing I get with a gut hybrid. I haven't hit with the MGPP I may give it a whirl, do you find it provides that ball pocketing feel that feels so sweet?
 
Back in high school I got that feeling from my Head Radical Twin Tubes - I have not gotten the same feeling (or results) from any racquet since then. My APDCs come close- but not quite.
 
sureshs said:
I read an interview with Robert Redford in IT mag. It seems he was a serious junior tennis player. He said something that made me realize something about myself - "in tennis, it just feels good to hit the ball."

Looking back, I realize I never got the same satisfaction when playing table tennis or badminton. Hitting the ball or the bird did not provide the instant gratification that tennis does. Kicking a socker ball also did not do it for me, or swimming. Stroking a cricket ball with a bat feels good, but it happens for too short a time compared to the time spent on the field.
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly. My C10 spec'd C9s with 17g Klip mains and JC 17 Xs did it for me.
 
Agreed. It's insane, the whole issue of feel with a racquet. My softer frames as well as my stiffer ones feel phenomenal when I'm consistently whacking the ball dead center.

I spend some quality time with my Dad on the golf course here 'n there (he still plays some tennis, too) and when I'm at the range doing a little upkeep, I have no words for the completely connected feeling that comes with perfect contact. Ben Hogan used to say something along these lines: the feel of a perfectly struck golf shot runs out of the club, up through your arms, and straight into your soul. Don't know if he ever played tennis...
 
That's basically the reason I play tennis. Oh, and I also like the movement and the tactical stuff. Hitting solid is kind of a rush, but so is placing the ball juuust so.

I feel best with the Old Dunlop Max 200g, the new Babolat Pure Storm Ltd, the old adidas Lendl gtx/kneissl, the PUMA Becker Pro and the Volkl c 10 comp and c 10 pro.

Honorable mention to the Dunlop ag100, 200 and the Prestige Pro midplus.
 
LafayetteHitter said:
The Prestige Classic Mid with full gut his right in the sweetspot has a great feel to it that sticks with me. These days i'm playing with the LM Prestige MP and enjoy the pocketing I get with a gut hybrid. I haven't hit with the MGPP I may give it a whirl, do you find it provides that ball pocketing feel that feels so sweet?
Click to expand...

It is probably not as flexible as the Classic so you may not get the same pocketing feel
 
I like my Prince O3 hybrid hornet, but for me i really dont care much about the raquet as much as the strings, you get more benefit from a crappy raquet with good string than from a good raquet with crappy strings. IMHO.
 
PC600, PS 6.0 85, POG 90 4 stripe, and MW200G 95. Definitely want to try the AG100 though when TW gets them back in stock.
 
Iv really enjoyed my ag200's strung with BBO at 56. It may just be that iv played my best tennis with this combination though.
 
sureshs said:
I read an interview with Robert Redford in IT mag. It seems he was a serious junior tennis player. He said something that made me realize something about myself - "in tennis, it just feels good to hit the ball."
Click to expand...

They aren't exaggerating either. Redford was a top junior in California I believe. There was a special on Pancho Gonzalez in which they interviewed Redford. It seems that, as a junior, he was given the change to hit with Gonzalez to warm him up. Redford said he was trying to impress Gonzalez by how hard he could hit the ball. Unfortunately, he wasn't hitting many in. Gonzalez looked across the net and yelled "Just him the damn ball in!"

There are two frames which bring "it" back for me, the Dunlop Maxply Fort and the Slazenger Challenge 1. I played some of my best tennis as a youth with those two frames and enjoy hitting with the Fort now.
 
"Feel Good" racquets?

That would be: Max 200G, POG, Donnay Pro One Int'l, RDX 500 Mid, PS 6.0 85, PS 6.0 95, PC600, Volkl T10 MP Gen II, AG100, K90, etc.
 
I really liked the feel of the Yonex RDS002 and the RQIS1 Tour. But did not get much power from them on the serves due to the flex. MGPP with a flex of 63 is a nice compromise.
 
My little sister's MGExtreme MP , if I missed a shot , I can just slam the racket on the court without a care in the world to make me feel better.
 
The PS St Vincent's strung with natural gut is hard to beat. The original first batch Max 200G would be a close second. For woodies, it'll have to be Dunlop Mayply Fort and Wilson Jack Kramer as a close second.
 
Currently I am playing with the Donnay Pro One MP and the Redondo MP, which are nice enough racquets.

I tried the C10 pro and the VE 10 which were nice enough racquets.

BUT the racquet that as no other makes me feel good is the Wilson Reflex mid frame: an unknown gem of which I proudly possess three. I don't even know its exact specs except static weight: 360 grams; head size:85 s.i., beam width: 19; balance: 6 or 7 points HL; composition: the frame says graphite, so I assume it is all graphite. For flex (it feels quite flexy) and swingweight (must be high, it has incredible plough through) I don't have exact specs.

What can I say? It is impossible to describe with words. When I have played with this frame, afterwards, I find myself laughing all of a sudden for no reason thinking of a particular ball I struck, just like a young boy in love for the first time.

With this frame I feel I can do anything, as if the court was a ping pong table and I can put the ball anywhere I want. It is as if the racquet gently catches and releases the ball to drop it off wherever I want and at the pace I want.

It is as if the racquet strings were directly connected with the pleasure stimuli center in the brain.
 
The ones that vibrate the hardest make me feel the best. Hahaha jk. :)

No, seriously, the POG 110 4 Stripes, Full VS Gut at 57. Really, whatever you say, that racquet just made me enjoy the game more than any other setup I've ever tried.
 
Dunlop Max 200G, Dunlop Black Max, Dunlop Max Impact, Dunlop Revelation Tour Pro, Dunlop Revelation Select Pro, Dunlop Revelation Classic Pro, Dunlop Max 300i, Dunlop Max 400i.
 
Let's see...

My Vantages cus they have such nice balance and feel.
My Prokennex Ki5X cus they give me the least aches n pains.

mawashi
 
Hitting the ball is everything. I would hit tennis balls 24 hours a day if I could. I'll hit on the backboard for hours. I was the 5.0 player who would hit with 3.0's or 3.5's if they wanted to (I'm not so good anymore). I play despite pain in my knee, foot, shoulder, and elbow. I love to hit the ball.
I love hitting with wood rackets.
Also, I love hitting with my original Kennex Black Aces as the weight of the racket powers through the ball and the strings just sing.
 
To me this type of 'feel' is greatly enhanced if the racquet is also super stable/plowthrough. K90 is surely top on the list
 
I remember about 17 years ago, I was at a doubles tournament and a guy who was a Volkl rep asked me to hit with him until his partner show up. He was hitting with a red with yellow strip volkl and was ripping the cover off the ball. I asked if he had another stick. Man, I was crushing the ball off of both wings. You know that sound you get when you hit the ball just right? Well, I was getting that sound everytime I made contact.

People came over to watch us hit thinking I was a touring pro working out with my coach. (The volkl rep was much older and I was in my mid 20s.) My dubs partner showed up wondering what the buzz and was laughing is arse off about all the chatter because he knew on a good day I was a solid 4.0 player.

I would have love to have been able to afford that volkl back then. I think it was the one that Petr Koda used.
 
heftylefty said:
I remember about 17 years ago, I was at a doubles tournament and a guy who was a Volkl rep asked me to hit with him until his partner show up. He was hitting with a red with yellow strip volkl and was ripping the cover off the ball. I asked if he had another stick. Man, I was crushing the ball off of both wings. You know that sound you get when you hit the ball just right? Well, I was getting that sound everytime I made contact.

People came over to watch us hit thinking I was a touring pro working out with my coach. (The volkl rep was much older and I was in my mid 20s.) My dubs partner showed up wondering what the buzz and was laughing is arse off about all the chatter because he knew on a good day I was a solid 4.0 player.

I would have love to have been able to afford that volkl back then. I think it was the one that Petr Koda used.
Click to expand...

I remember Peter Korda using the C10, but he might have used a different one before that...
 
zoobears said:
swimming is awsome if you are good at it. check out michael phelps training videos on youtube. if you can swim 10% as good as him you will feel like you're flying through a dimension between water..

adding to the thread, everytime I hit with a different racquet i feel like it might be special until the honeymoon phase ends. but so far i think the g325 is amazing because it has a very big sweet spot, control is 100% and most importantly it puts EVERYTHING inside the baseline which is refreshing. i own the pro tour 630, prestige tour 660s, agassi le os, prince 03 blue and pog longbody and the gamma trumps them all.
Click to expand...

thanks for the tip about the michael phelps training videos. awesome.
 
The Slazenger Challenge No. 1

Rabbit said:
...There are two frames which bring "it" back for me, the Dunlop Maxply Fort and the Slazenger Challenge 1. ....
Click to expand...

You are so hip, man. An American who waxes poetic about the Slazenger Challenge No. 1.

I still hit with one of my Maxplys....about once a month. My lone Challenge 1 is warped, though, so it just sits up on a wall looking good.

Remember Manuel Orantes?
 
yup!

roundiesee said:
The PS St Vincent's strung with natural gut is hard to beat. The original first batch Max 200G would be a close second. For woodies, it'll have to be Dunlop Mayply Fort and Wilson Jack Kramer as a close second.
Click to expand...


The first max 200 g´s where had just "that" fell:). The second (and there for) generations lost some of that, dont now why. I have one "surviver"(for 20+ years:confused:), my first graphite racquet ever, and still survives, even after flying of my hand in a serve (lots of times) and landing in a comple or rocks outside! still intact (Excpet for the paint that´s not there at all).

Never felt anything like a sweetspot hit in a 1st gen max 200g . for me that nr. 1 (and it is a lot head heavy).
 
Striking a volleyball never gave me the good feel, even though it was with bare hands. Tennis thru the racquet is much better.
 
^Oh hell yeah!

I'm going to make you really wail, gnash your teeth, and tear your clothes now.

Many years ago.....the first purchase I made from another board member was from a guy who started here about when I did...ATATU. He was trying to raise funds to go to nationals...

He sold me a brand new, never strung Slazenger Challenge 1.

It is in pristine condition. I never had the heart to string it. But...and you'll love this....I get it out from time to time and swing it......I figure that won't hurt it....

That is one beautiful frame.

Ahhhhh memories
 
Hitting the sweetspot with a well timed stroke is very rewarding indeed. It feels more rewarding with flexible racquets to me so the max 200g and F200 are right up there.
 
I still have my Slazenger Challenge No. 1 and Maxply Forts from back in the day, too. Unfortunately, one of the Dunlops warped itself into ornament status (shame on me!), but the others are around for that occasional trip down amnesia lane. I was so into heavier racquets, even as a kid, that one of my Dunlops was a medium, not a typical light... a mighty tree branch, indeed. One of these decades I'll probably come across a "wooden racquets league" and I'll be armed and ready!

I get a great feeling from a number of racquets including a good volley with my 6.1 Classics, a big forehand with the Volkl C10, a scary wrecking ball of a flat serve with the LM Presige mid, anything with extra spin from the Prince NXG's... the list goes on. Now that I have a true one handed backhand, anytime I crush the ball with a full cut off that wing, it pretty much embodies the meaning of life for me on the courts. Heck, when I fire off a full fh or bh stroke on a return of serve, I feel just about clairvoyant no matter what racquet I'm using.
 
Rabbit said:
^Oh hell yeah!

I'm going to make you really wail, gnash your teeth, and tear your clothes now.

Many years ago.....the first purchase I made from another board member was from a guy who started here about when I did...ATATU. He was trying to raise funds to go to nationals...

He sold me a brand new, never strung Slazenger Challenge 1.

It is in pristine condition. I never had the heart to string it. But...and you'll love this....I get it out from time to time and swing it......I figure that won't hurt it....

That is one beautiful frame.

Ahhhhh memories
Click to expand...

i have a mint donnay pro cynetic 1 that has never been strung.
maybe i should swing it from time to time:)
just to remind the racket of why it was originally built
 
zoobears said:
swimming is awsome if you are good at it. check out michael phelps training videos on youtube. if you can swim 10% as good as him you will feel like you're flying through a dimension between water..

adding to the thread, everytime I hit with a different racquet i feel like it might be special until the honeymoon phase ends. but so far i think the g325 is amazing because it has a very big sweet spot, control is 100% and most importantly it puts EVERYTHING inside the baseline which is refreshing. i own the pro tour 630, prestige tour 660s, agassi le os, prince 03 blue and pog longbody and the gamma trumps them all.
Click to expand...

sell me your PT630 and PT660s!
 
my first "omg this feels so good" happened with the remake of the Head Classic MP.

the next frame that had a big wow factor was the PT280

Next, the RQiS 1 Tour, and the RDX500

Next it was the Max200g...

and I'm hoping it'll be the PT630 once and for all shortly :)
 
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