Responsive feel?
- Thread starter RoarTT
- Start date
beltsman
G.O.A.T.
No one really knows or can put it in words, but generally it means feedback on the feel of the ball. Feel = ability to perceive pace, spin, angle, etc.
styksnstryngs
Professional
I like boxbeam type stiffness, the pure strike falls in that category for me personally.
chikoo
Hall of Fame
It means like a 3 series BMW
Imago
Hall of Fame
In this case we say, it has all the gears.
Imago
Hall of Fame
Dartagnan64
G.O.A.T.
Prince Phantom 93P
It depends on what your definition of good feel is. I like the feel of a Pure Drive Roddick with poly. Very raw and direct feeling. Others hate it.
Seems 93P is up there along with RF97A in terms of touch/feel score from TW play testers.
Frankly I think its very overrated as a "feeling" Within .10th of a second you are going to know by the flight of the ball your spin and angle so its really just a nice to know. I rate it like I do an ice hockey puck on a stick where feeling if it was usefull is much more important. In practice its great to know if you are on the heel for a pass or toe for a snipe shot.
In reality if you are contacting the ball or puck the decision is already made and you will know in less than a second what you did right or wrong and be able to correct it on the next swing. Point here I am trying to make is at game speeds you have such a short window to act getting the shot or pass off is more important than lining up the perfect shot and missing. At slow speeds, yes you will notice it but that was true on about every racquet I've demoed. I found when i concentrate on feeling the ball my technique and placement suffers.
Another example is a manual car, you might "feel" like you are driving but in reality the kid who cant drive a stick in his PDK dual clutch is faster than you.
Your technique is what moves the ball where you want it and your spin and tension add how far. Even in a world where your arm was numb to feeling the impact and spin on the ball you should be, with time, able to perform any shot you did prior but I'd say the longest to "get" would be the net game.
Which to me is interesting because I think that definition differs from want most people perceive as feel or touch. I would place it in the touch category and its not a "feeling" at all.
I think they are meaning the ability ti quickly know how much to put on the ball to get it to go where you want, then the ball actually goes there consistently.
Having spent some time on the RF it felt like I could put the ball where I wanted within about 2 min with it. I could put "touch" on it and crush the 1/4 box I wanted or add some touch and drop it in the 1/4 of the deuce box.
The problem was it was a brick. 5 serves in my shoulder popped. Could it have been technique? Sure probably was, but would you attempt something that if you screw up you pop a joint?
mhkeuns
Hall of Fame
I don’t think they compare. If you seek power, go for the RF97A, but choose the 93P if you enjoy playing tennis. The 93P does pretty much everything well. You don’t notice the headsize at all, even compared to the 97/98” frames.
mhkeuns
Hall of Fame
I honestly think it’s nothing more than something that feels good in YOUR hands and swing style.
Dartagnan64
G.O.A.T.
I've played both and the 93P offers better feel IMO. The RF97 is a very stable frame but its not as well balanced, a bit sluggish and not as precise. The 93P is maneuverable for its weight but remains stable and balanced through the swing leading to great precision. The feel is crisp and direct. Its string sensitive in that you need to string lower tensions and gauges than you might normally use. But get that dialed in and this thing is a joy to play with. It isn't tennis on easy mode but it is devoid of all those WTF moments I had with my Pure Drives. If I hit a bad shot with the 93P I know exactly why. If I miss with my PD often I have no clue what went wrong.
