Orikoru
Tour Winner
I remember getting my tennis racket re-gripped there about 15 years ago!
Badminton
- Thread starter Orikoru
- Start date
D
Deleted member 21258
Guest
Used to play it when younger and got back into it about 15 years ago and again about 7 years ago with the family(6 of us normally).
We used a handicap system in single games, but it didn't really work tbh.. Doubles only kind of works, as the best player could dominate the game. Still had great fun tho.
Did once play a county ladies player on an accountants training weekend away, I was running around like a nutter, trying my bestest, she just stayed in once place and bashed me into the ground, think I won 2 points(both her mistakes), still brings a smile/laugh to my face, when I think of badminton.
Sadly another game, that is only really good if the standard of all players playing, are similar. Great game tho
One fun game we used to play at the end of the 1 hour slot on court, was the last 5 minutes was crazy shuttlecocks. We dropped say 10-15 shuttles on each side of the net, with 3 players on each side and to win the game, one team had to get all the shuttles on the other side of the net. It is mad, a great work out and great fun.
We used a handicap system in single games, but it didn't really work tbh.. Doubles only kind of works, as the best player could dominate the game. Still had great fun tho.
Did once play a county ladies player on an accountants training weekend away, I was running around like a nutter, trying my bestest, she just stayed in once place and bashed me into the ground, think I won 2 points(both her mistakes), still brings a smile/laugh to my face, when I think of badminton.
Sadly another game, that is only really good if the standard of all players playing, are similar. Great game tho
One fun game we used to play at the end of the 1 hour slot on court, was the last 5 minutes was crazy shuttlecocks. We dropped say 10-15 shuttles on each side of the net, with 3 players on each side and to win the game, one team had to get all the shuttles on the other side of the net. It is mad, a great work out and great fun.
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
It is much the same as golf clubs in that a decent player would beat you no matter what racket they have. I used to have a Yonex Arcsabre which had a lot of power so you could get easy clears to the back of the court plus some decent oompf on your smashes. However as I am getting older by the day, play doubles all the time and my reflexes were getting slower I wanted something a bit lighter so I could move it that little bit quicker if I'm at the net or defending smashes. As a 10th of a second can make a difference when someone is smashing it at you. So I got a Yonex Voltric flash boost. I am fully aware I have spent a lot on them and a racket half the price would do much the same, but to be honest I am at that stage I my life where I will use them a lot and it is my main hobby, so I am happy to invest in some quality engineering. And chances are I will get a little bit more power and a little bit more speed and may be 1 or 2 more points a game than I wold have done using a much cheaper racket. Suppose it's up to the person to decide if it's worth spending the money.
This is a decent matrix showing you all the variations from Yonex, https://www.badmintonbay.com/yonex-racket-selector-chart.html if you download their brochure it then lists the racket weights and grip sizes. http://yonex.co.uk/_assets/files/AW_18865_Yonex_BadmintonCatalog_UK_2019_Digital_V3.pdf Most amateurs tend to get grip sizes too big as well, you want to try and hold your racket the same way you are supposed to hold a golf club, in your fingers and not in the palm of your hand. This is a decent video explaining.
String tension also makes a difference, pro's tend to have a high string tension as they have the natural skill to hit the sweet spot every time, where as the lower the tension the bigger the sweet spot, so most amateurs probably need lower tensions. Also lower tensions generally mean more 'bounce' off the strings, so that will help amateurs get good clears and distance. But generally you will lose some touch and feel with lower tensions. If you are going to play a bit I'd invest in a decent restring to ensure you have a tension suitable for your game. Also invest in some decent shuttle cocks as well, they don't have to be feather ones as they tend to not last very long, but you can get some very good plastic ones nowadays that fly almost like feather ones but will last a lot longer.
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Orikoru
Tour Winner
All good info mate, cheers. I think at this point I'm the equivalent of a new golfer using a Dunlop starter set, haha. Wouldn't have a clue what string tension I would want or need. With the rackets I'm using I find that even hitting it hard it's rare that I hit it long over the baseline. Obviously I hit a fair few shots that just catch the frame of my racket at the moment, although that works out alright sometimes as that makes the shuttlecock dip a bit quicker unexpectedly.
As for shuttlecocks, I actually bought the wife some Yonex ones for Christmas as a half-jokey half-useful gift, so those are the ones we're using. I think it was these ones https://www.sportsdirect.com/yonex-mavis-200-shut-03-725019#colcode=72501901 Described as medium speed as opposed to fast or slow.
Qwerty
Tour Winner
Same as all racket sports but possibly more so with Squash, the game is at its best when both players are of a similar standard. It throws up some monumental battles and really fires you up to the point of wanting to strangle your opponent at times ?
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
I struggled when I played squash as all my mates were much better than me - they commanded the T and I just couldn't get the ball out of the corners they put it. For that reason I just didn't really take to the game at all - and my mates didn't get much from playing me other than a pretty regular laugh at my contortions and vain efforts.
My county standard badminton player mate would set me up to play shots that he'd have to work hard to get back and then win the point.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Probably the same problem I had. I had one mate I played squash with a few times, but he was clearly better than me, and while I won a few points here and there I never came close to beating him really. Ran me ragged. I think badminton is a bit more inclusive for all.
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
All good info mate, cheers. I think at this point I'm the equivalent of a new golfer using a Dunlop starter set, haha. Wouldn't have a clue what string tension I would want or need. With the rackets I'm using I find that even hitting it hard it's rare that I hit it long over the baseline. Obviously I hit a fair few shots that just catch the frame of my racket at the moment, although that works out alright sometimes as that makes the shuttlecock dip a bit quicker unexpectedly.
As for shuttlecocks, I actually bought the wife some Yonex ones for Christmas as a half-jokey half-useful gift, so those are the ones we're using. I think it was these ones https://www.sportsdirect.com/yonex-mavis-200-shut-03-725019#colcode=72501901 Described as medium speed as opposed to fast or slow.
If you are struggling to get a court booked as per your OP then see if there are any clubs locally. The club I got to has varying standards of player. So I imagine as long as you have a basic level of competence you'll be fine at most clubs unless it is advertised as a high standard of play. Plus you will learn a lot from playing with and watching players at a higher standard to yourself.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
We've been to a few 'no strings' clubs where everyone turns up and they mix you about with people, but I think we prefer to play our own games. We can get courts on the weekends, and we've actually managed to get one this Friday night, but it's the weekday evenings Mon-Thurs where courts are like gold dust!
SteveJay
Head Pro
i have played both squash and badminton, was reasonable at both.
Squash must be the sport that has the biggest gap between average and elite players. If you ever watch pro squash on TV it is literally a different sport, like they are playing with a bouncy ball (when actually they are playing with a ball that is less bouncy than that used by most players) in a little box. Yes, there is a big gap between elite and club golfers, but when you see the length of squash rallies the pros have, it looks like they are playing on a court half its real size!
Squash must be the sport that has the biggest gap between average and elite players. If you ever watch pro squash on TV it is literally a different sport, like they are playing with a bouncy ball (when actually they are playing with a ball that is less bouncy than that used by most players) in a little box. Yes, there is a big gap between elite and club golfers, but when you see the length of squash rallies the pros have, it looks like they are playing on a court half its real size!
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
I remember my coach telling me that a poor squash player is like a bluebottle that has flown into a room and wants to get out, he flies around like a maniac bouncing off walls when all he needs to do is slow down, look around for the open window and move to it.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Thinking of picking up a nice racket for myself, what do people think of this one?
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/br-530-pink-id_8552574.html
Seems nice and lightweight, but not so light I'd be swatting flies with it. Good price.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/br-530-pink-id_8552574.html
Seems nice and lightweight, but not so light I'd be swatting flies with it. Good price.
Is that good?
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
To be honest I'd spend a little bit more and go for something off here as they stock quality brands (not saying a perfly is not top quality, just that I've not heard of them) https://www.directbadminton.co.uk/ Look if they have a sale on, you'll be able to pick up a very good quality one for less than the price of a box of pro V1s.
Fromtherough
Assistant Pro
I’ve used this site before, no complaints about service. Yonex, Victor, Ashaway and Forza are all good brands to look for.
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
I ordered a racket at 4 pm from them one day, turned up at 10 am the next day and I'd ordered a custom restring on it. Very impressed.
Ye Olde Boomer
Well-known member
I played mixed doubles as a boy.
Any excuse to watch breasts jiggle.
Any excuse to watch breasts jiggle.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Decathlon just have this knack of giving their own stuff different brand names for the different sports for some reason. You've probably heard of their Inesis stuff for golf, their football stuff is Kipsta, and their badminton stuff seems to be Perfly, that's all.
Cheers for that link. I will have a look on there but it's hard to see the wood for the trees a little bit. I'm wondering if I want balanced or head heavy for example. Don't like the sound of head light though. Also I don't want one that's too light generally as I want to be able to feel it in the swing, so I'm thinking 85-90g... but in truth any of these assertions could in fact be wrong, haha.
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