what makes an OS frame hard to control?

Larrysümmers

Larrysümmers

Hall of Fame
Why do people often say that OS frames are harder to control then MID/MID+ rackets? Right now i use a TT warrior oversize racket with poly strung at 35lbs and i feel like i get amazing control, more so then when i used the RDS 001 mid, Prestige MID, Rebel, Rebel Team, K95/K95 team Radical MID+ Prestige Pro and 4D200.

these were all strung with poly strings about 55lbs but my current racket has so much control then when i played with those. so i was wondering why people say OS is harder to control.
 
longer strings = less control. more trampolining, string movement, etc.

you'd have more control with a ping pong paddle (or paddle ball paddle), if you could actually generate enough pace to play tennis with such.
(no string deflection at all) and assuming you could get some bite on the ball, ala strings.

this doesn't mean that something (OS) doesn't feel better/more natural to you personally. the "rules" are very general.
 
Nothing particularly. If it's weighted well and balanced well and strung appropriately there shouldn't be any huge problem with control. I always thought the POG and the Agassi Radical had great control despite being OS.

I think a lot of it is simply what people are used to. The large head may be unwieldy to them and the ball seemingly get's "lost" in the big head. Also, if the OS is unstable, then there's more area where it's going to be unstable. And, with the longer strings, the stringbed is going to be more lively and if strung too loose or with the "wrong" string (depending on the player), there will be trampoline effect. This can happen on any racquet, but it will be intensified on an OS frame. I own a Prince Diablo mid and as the tension drops, it's not as much of an issue as when the tension starts to drop on my Graphite OS.

Even though the huge glut of 100 sq inch frames are considered "normal" and marketed as "midplus", I grew up playing in the 80s with 82-90 sq inch frames and consider these frames pretty large, and I think the question would be valid for 100 sq inch frames as well. But, most people never expect any OS instability from 100 sq inch frames, since they're "normal" and what people are used to. Plus, a lot (but not all) of those frames have thicker beams, which, according to many, aid in stability.
 
Larrysümmers said:
Why do people often say that OS frames are harder to control then MID/MID+ rackets? Right now i use a TT warrior oversize racket with poly strung at 35lbs and i feel like i get amazing control, more so then when i used the RDS 001 mid, Prestige MID, Rebel, Rebel Team, K95/K95 team Radical MID+ Prestige Pro and 4D200.

these were all strung with poly strings about 55lbs but my current racket has so much control then when i played with those. so i was wondering why people say OS is harder to control.
Click to expand...

With so much more power you may need to control your swing speed. May make the game easier.
 
control is too vague of a notion. What does it mean? Amount of power? More power means less control for a strong hitter, but a weak hitter will need this extra power to keep his game in control. Ability to directionaly conduct the ball? Spin Potencial to keep the ball in play? etc
 
I've always felt the control issues were driven by the longer main strings using syn gut or multi strings that have a lot of elasticity.

Agassi's solution to this was using Prince Pro-Blend that had Kevlar strings in the mains. I believe he continued to use a stiff string in the mains after he stopped using Pro-Blend.

Nowadays, I believe that poly strings helps to address the 'flyers' some feel are more common with OS frames. To me... it's a perfect match of control, power and forgiveness.
 
I think it's generally true that OS racquets are less easy to control than mid-sized ones; however, I think a stick like the POG OS has more control than a wider-beamed mid to midplus racket (e.g., Pure Drive). I think it's the combination of beam width, stiffness, and head size that can make an OS really difficult to control. One that's 25 mm>, 65> flex rating would be difficult for me to control, but the thin beamed, moderately stiff POG OS is quite comfortably controlled.

As a sidenote, I have found the combo of the POG OS and full poly (strung at 52 or lower) to work very well. I haven't been able to use full poly in any other raquet due to wrist pain, but I can tolerate it in the POG OS. It's kind of neat to fuse the old POG with the modern (i.e., poly) and have it result in something pretty special.
 
It's no longer possible to make statements about head size and control since OS racquets are rarely sold today with the same weight, flex and weight distribution of the smaller racquets.
 
The Warrior OS has long been considered one of the best Control racquets Prince has put out in the last 15+ years. One should be able to control the ball w/the racquet. Then again many of the Prince's Triple Threat line was control oriented (Bandit, Graphite, Vendetta, etc,.)
 
"Control" is a relative term that really doesn't exist in a constant, tangible form. It refers to the players ability to have the ball do what the player intended, but I guarantee you, that in the history of this sport, the ball has never come off the strings in anyway except the way that it was supposed to !!!! Any error is ALWAYS human error. Thats the same reason why there is no such thing as a bad string job, or a bad racquet. What really is happening is that players are blaming the racquet or string instead of blaming themselves for expecting something other than what they got. Bottom Line: When you find a racquet, string, tension that suits you, DON'T CHANGE.
 
oiler90 said:
"Control" is a relative term that really doesn't exist in a constant, tangible form. It refers to the players ability to have the ball do what the player intended, but I guarantee you, that in the history of this sport, the ball has never come off the strings in anyway except the way that it was supposed to !!!! Any error is ALWAYS human error. Thats the same reason why there is no such thing as a bad string job, or a bad racquet. What really is happening is that players are blaming the racquet or string instead of blaming themselves for expecting something other than what they got. Bottom Line: When you find a racquet, string, tension that suits you, DON'T CHANGE.
Click to expand...

DON'T CHANGE your racquet, string, and tension on this board daily, you cannot be serious!
 
oiler90 said:
"Control" is a relative term that really doesn't exist in a constant, tangible form. It refers to the players ability to have the ball do what the player intended, but I guarantee you, that in the history of this sport, the ball has never come off the strings in anyway except the way that it was supposed to !!!! Any error is ALWAYS human error. Thats the same reason why there is no such thing as a bad string job, or a bad racquet. What really is happening is that players are blaming the racquet or string instead of blaming themselves for expecting something other than what they got. Bottom Line: When you find a racquet, string, tension that suits you, DON'T CHANGE.
Click to expand...

I agree with you for about 99% of your post, although I have genuinely played with bad rackets! It's sort of beside the point though.

The only problem I had playing with even a "MidPlus" at 102 inches was the lack of torsional stability. That definitely had effect on my control. The problem was mostly with volleying, being that it was really easy to get pushed around by hard passing shots, even if I hit dead on the sweet spot. In retrospect, I could have added a lot of weight and counter balanced, but I still didn't care for the really hollow feel.

-Fuji
 
The Radical OS is 18x19 string pattern.

I think an OS with a denser pattern like the Radical OS would cut down on the trampoline effect.
 
The Head Radical OS, The Gamma G290 103, the Fischer M Pro 105 all have excellent control. The Head and Gamma are tight pattern racquets, as well.
 
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