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Old 07-29-2007, 08:57 PM   #14
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 212

I hit with the Spalding tonight and I loved it. I didn't expect to like it at all, given the small head size and aluminum construction. I expected a lot of mishits and twangy vibration.

In reality, this racket is built like a tank. It felt extremely solid when hitting. This isn't the thin, light aluminum from the 80's department store rackets, this stuff is thick, solid, and heavy.

This racket also has a lot of control. I could literally crank on it as hard as I could and the ball would go where I wanted it to. I came up with a lot of nice angles and low, hard, and deep shots to the corners. Shots that I'd attempt with my regular racket that were low percentage shots, suddenly became high percentage shots. I could easily attack weak serves for example, and put the ball where I wanted, with a full swing and plenty of pace, without fear of it going wide or long.

I didn't mishit any more than usual either, despite the ~70 in.^2 head size.

Here's the thing though -- like I said, this is a heavy racket. It seems a little heavier than the Davis wood racket even, so I'm guessing it is 14+ oz. I was hitting around with my nephew who is a beginner. Given his slow shots, I had plenty of chances to tee-off. So I don't know how well I'd do against a better player, where I need to be able to maneuver the racket and get into position faster in order to return harder shots (the small head size may become more of a liability against harder shots too).

I might be playing someone tomorrow who is older than me, and I've been playing since I was 12 years old, and have never beaten (though I've come close plenty of times). I'll give the Spalding a try and see what happens.
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