Woodies Day Out

After getting whipped left and right (link), I called for a wood rackets session with my mates.

Dunlop MaxPly, Yonex Couguss 2 (link) and Slazenger Centenary (link) showed up for some rallies. 

Once we figured the sweetspot was in the bottom third of the stringbed, our strokes started falling in place very quickly. 

Although challenging, it was not impossible to execute topspin, sidespin or slices with the 65 square inch face. Just that the mis-hit rate was slightly higher than with our modern frames.

One distinct difference was the need to consciously relax and swing the racket forward. Forcing or "muscling" the stick with a tight grip flexes the racket like a fishing rod and made us lose control.

On sweetspot hits, impacts were extremely soft, comfortable and powerful. Weighing about 370 grams, I estimate the swingweight of the woodies to be approximately 380-400 kg/cm². Yet it did not feel that heavy nor clumsy. Neither were any of us consistently late for any shots.

Off-centres hits were only "punished" by the ball falling very short, often in our side of the court, and some very low frequency vibrations. Not painful and nothing jarring, somewhat like placing your hand on a bass speaker that was turned on very loud. It was comical!

If you have never hit with a wood racket, you must try it. I think it is a great tool to teach anyone smooth fluid strokes, and to watch the ball very carefully at impact. A wonderful "sweetspot trainer".