As a player and a coach I’ve often wondered how top flight players have generated such amazing power. It’s a combination of many factors including timing of the shot, getting behind the shuttle to hit it, body-weight transfer, string tension, conditioning/training and the athletes natural muscle fibre combinations to name but a few.
There is one key element missing that I believe plays a major role in the power played on a badminton court – the speed of the shuttle.
I began to analyse shuttle speeds further and it suddenly dawned on me, thinking back over the years and even to this day, we’re killing skill at club/league level, which in turn is having a negative effect on our players, both junior and senior.
By doing this, without even knowing what we’re doing, players both young and old are being robbed of the art of badminton and in the ability to take their skill to new heights. Let me explain.
The rules for testing a shuttle according to the official Laws of Badminton are as follows:
3. TESTING A SHUTTLE FOR SPEED
3.1 To test a shuttle, a player shall use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttle over the back boundary line. The shuttle shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.
3.2 A shuttle of correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line as in Diagram B.
When I grew up as a player, I was always taught that the shuttle should land around 15cm either side of the back doubles service line. Whilst this is more or less correct, on many occasions we played with shuttles which landed 30cm short of the back doubles line and all the players accepted the shuttle as good. As a young player not knowing the rules I came to accept this practice as the norm. I had no idea at the time that I was being subjected to systemised de-skilling.
If you read section 3.2 again, the rule is very clear – that the shuttle should land between 99cm and 53cm short of the back line. This is NOT the doubles line as I was lead to believe, but the very back line of the court.
Thinking back, even to last season, I’m actually struggling to think of an occasion where we played with a shuttle that landed beyond the doubles service line. Every shuttle tested was short of the double service line by a considerable amount.
What Does All Of This Have To Do With Killing Skill Levels?
Think about all the effects of playing with a slow shuttle. First of all the simple task of hitting the shuttle to the back with a clear becomes more difficult. Only the very strong or consistently good players can do this frequently.
Let’s say that I’m a pretty good player but don’t quite have the same power capacity as a top player. A slow shuttle means I’m struggling to get a good length and have to work harder, or it can also mean that I have no chance of hitting any decent smash from the back line.
In this example, you may be thinking “well so what, tough luck.” OK, I hear you, but the speed of the shuttle is still having an effect on my skill levels. It means I do not get the same results as someone playing with correct speed shuttles. Let’s take this one step further…
The art of badminton is to play the shuttle around the court to outmanoeuvre your opponent. A huge part of badminton is keeping the shuttle in. A slow shuttle makes this easy compared to the correct pace of shuttle.
Time and again we see the pros hitting the shuttle out at the back having been put under pressure in a rally. Or, they fail on defence because the attack was just too good. Both these instances in league and club badminton are unfamiliar these days because we play with slow shuttles. OK, they do happen but there’s way more effort required.
So yes, we still hit the shuttle out at the back of the court, but I’ll wager that this would become more frequent if we played with the correct speed shuttles. The art of hitting the shuttle with just about the right amount of power will have to return, otherwise we’ll lose more points. I believe we’ve been so accustomed to playing with slow shuttles that these “touch” skills have eroded.
Let’s look at defending for a minute. In world badminton defences have got better and better over the years. This is partly down to racquet technology and also constant development of skill by the coaches and players.
In league play, we’ve all but lost this skill as we are not facing the same power levels – because the shuttle is too slow. So, we are not developing our skills to the same heights in order to control these returns.
And there lies the key to our downfall. Slower shuttles are actually reducing our ability to control the shuttle properly – we are merely returning it with a degree of control.
I’m not saying the skills don’t exist otherwise we wouldn’t be able to play half the shots we do, but I do believe that skill levels have diminished because of slow shuttles.
I’ll wager that if I showed up at most clubs with correct speed shuttles, I’d have complaints within minutes that the shuttles are too fast, with players losing points hand over fist because they cannot control the shuttle sufficiently to keep it in. The players wouldn’t like the power from their opponent that they cannot control although they’d be really impressed with their own power shots. And this is where the art and skills and have sadly diminished in our beloved game.
How Do We Reverse This Trend?
The good news is we can get them back. We’ve got to make sure players in every club understand the rules. They need to change now and within a very short period we could actually see a return to higher skill levels in the game and hopefully even more entertaining badminton.
It’s really is that simple and yet, at the same time very difficult. Club and league players have been playing with slow shuttles for years. The resistance to change will be as great as any other major change hitting leagues e.g. the new scoring system (even now some clubs around the country have not changed from the old system). But, we’ve got to persevere if we are to turn this around. For the older generation change may take time, but we’ve got to press on hard for the juniors because they are our champions of tomorrow.
Also I guess maybe the quality of the average shuttle has improved over the years so there may seemingly be less need to test them with less variation in a batch. However the conditions in a hall do vary, temperature for starters. Also the I think the length of time/way in which the shuttles are stored can impact on them, so there is still a need to test them.
All of these elements play a part in the playability, resilience and quality of the shuttle.
i would add that the RSL Tourney No1 shuttle of 1970’s was considerably better than many of the shuttles sold today. That was the cream of the crop in those days, manfactured in England and flew beautifully. They don’t make them like that any more.
The re are a number of good quality shuttles for purchase but in general you get what you pay for. You can’t have the most durable, best speed, consistently good shuttle at the lowest price – that is just nonsense. But those companies that do make these quality shuttles should be appauded because quality is sadly lacking in our game these days. It’s a shame too many club players do not have the chance to appreciate what this means in terms of the feel of the shuttle. There’s a certain confidence that comes with using the better shuttle too because you know they fly so well. But, budgets play a part although my guess is if real stats were taken and checked against the cost of the better shuttles, the more expensive will demonstrate they offer better value per tube than a cheaper shuttle.
Paul
When I was a junior too many years ago than I care to remember – at the clubs I played in we always tested a new shuttle – it only took a few seconds.
Now after a break of many years I am playing again, as my son is playing. If one shuttle a night is tested at the club where we play its probably the exception rather than the rule and its probably me doing the testing. Even in the junior tournaments they rarely seem to be tested.
When you hit the shot you should sense if its a good length, with the shuttle of the wrong speed it ruins that.
It seem to me that coaches/adult can’t be teaching juniors to test the shuttles and over the years it is working its way in to the game and more players are playing without bothering to test the shuttle – maybe I am wrong but it just seems that way to me.
Sadly there seem to be too few coaches that pay any attention to shuttle speeds these days and therefore do not pass on the information to their students. I can tell within a couple of shots whether a shuttle is slow or fast, it’s really not that difficult. Sadly too many players have used too slow shuttles for too long that they have lost the ability to do this.
Paul
Paul,
While not defending the slow shuttle (everybody hates the net kill that keeps coming back) in practice, it’s about more than where the shuttle lands. Thanks to the vagueness of “an upward angle” how high they hit it, who’s hitting it, and how experienced they are hitting feathers plays a fairly significant part. It’s usually pretty easy to tell when a player doesn’t understand what testing the speed is about or how to gauge the flight of the shuttle. They wander to the back of the court, look slightly panicked, swipe at the shuttle, don’t watch the flight and it’s most often caught before it lands by the players on the other side. In those cases, I can appreciate your criticism.
However, when I see the speed tested by (for example) a junior player with his racquet strung too tight, I’m inclined to give the absolute distance the shuttle goes a little leeway. He or she might well know what they are doing testing the shuttle but not have the power to hit baseline to back service line with an underhand stroke. I think suggesting an adherence to a distance rule without reference to the conditions of the hall, the grade of shuttle, the experience of the player hitting it or their general power will further kill skill at club level. Instead of understanding and judging the speed, the tester will be ‘aiming’ at the accepted box.
In practice, I find that balancing shuttle quality against budget, especially at club level, has a lot to do with reliability and speed of the shuttles within the brackets of the 77-79 speed range. Since shuttles are too expensive to just throw away the slow or fast ones, the speed testing is as much so all the players can see what they’re playing with as it is about getting the perfect speed.
Might I suggest ‘in-tipping’ 4 for a too slow shuttle?
Tim
Interesting comments. My article was written for the club player (adults) and was aimed at club badminton where the hideous crimes takes place. There is no reference to junior badminton at all and therefore your comments are perfectly valid. The difficulty with writing is that I could expand every article and I only have so much time to devote to this blog.
Yes, the junior with a racket strung too tight will certainly suffer. However, isn’t this part of the learning curve that they could possibly play an opponent who’s got it right, tests properly? Your point is valid though.
I coach county juniors and I’m amazed how slow the shuttles are for these players. It’s hard enough to coach some of them but give us a chance for them to see and feel what a good clear can do, rather than struggle for length. It can make a mockery of games whereby first to hit the back line stands the greatest chance of winning the point.
As each hall is different, it is up to the club to know the conditions etc in which they play and select shuttle appropriate to those conditions. I appreciate budgets play a part but too many clubs select on headline price rather than actual usage because they do not record the usage properly. Otherwise they would almost always buy higher priced shuttles. To me the grade of shuttle is irrespective because it either meets the requirements or doesn’t. A cheaper shuttle may play great or poor.
The whole idea for my article to get players to watch and think. Frankly i am tired of visiting clubs with rediculously slow shuttles and I may 4-5 feet short and the players consider this is acceptable. It’s a joke. And it’s not badminton. Then they wonder why so many of the club members have tennis elbow.
I got a club I visited to obtain a tube of the correct speed shuttles. The players complained because they couldn’t keep the shuttle in…or should I say did not have the control to keep the shuttle in. And they struggled to return smashes. This is what badminton is built on, skill. How on earth are we to help aspiring juniors make the grade when the conditions in which they compete do not enhance their skills.
Tim, again, many thanks for your comments as they are all valauable.
Paul
The only thing I can think of in such situations is keeping a diagram on your mobile with the acceptable drop area for the test and showing it to your opponent whenever he/she disagrees about the shuttle speed. Honestly said, I’ve seen no more than a bunch of pro players that know where the shuttle should really land and this is really sad.
Today for example I had a couple of games with a shuttle that was very fast as the humidity and temperature were quite low in the hall but I never complained about it. I was just angry at myself I couldn’t lower enough the power or adjust the technique of my clear shots so that I could keep them on the court. On the contrary, when you have a shuttle way too slow (76/77 is a very good example) you usually mistime simple shots you are supposed to nail without a problem and this is much harder to overcome during serious games in my opinion.
Another thing that’s worth mentioning is the power used by “pro” players when measuring the shuttle speed. Maybe 90%+ of the cases they are measuring the shuttle speed they are using too much power (again a result of improper coaching). Ideal case you shouldn’t be using more power in the test shot than you ordinarily put in a high serve.
Stefan
Stefan
You’re absolutely right on every point.
I see some players test shuttles by hitting them as hard as possible. Then they wonder why the game is so hard. Maybe it’s because they truly lack real touch and therefore need an element of solid hitting to get any feel in their shots. Whatever the reason, it’s not badminton.
Thanks for your insights.
Paul
Finally someone making sense!!! Due to the incorrect practice for measuring shuttle speeds 98% of the games I’ve played in my life had slow shuttles involved. Not only that but I can’t even tell you how much injuries I’ve suffered (and continue suffering) in my wrist, shoulder, and elbow trying to compensate the slow shuttle speeds with extra power applied to clear and smash shots (of course, I realise my imperfect technique has its share in them as well). I’ve played badminton in 3 different countries already and I can confirm practice and tournament games (even at pro level in most cases) are played with shuttles way too slow. It’s not too hard to guess it when you see a pro player not being able to make a deep enough backhand clear shot in a medium difficulty scenario a few times during national championship finals.
Both good and average players suffer from slow shuttles – good players for not being able to exercise proper defence techniques by getting used to reflect slow smashes, average players for not being able to exercise both their attack and defence techniques. I’m pretty sure this is one of the main reasons Europeans are being killed every time they go to an Asian tournament and having most of their successful games in Europe where such shuttles are massively used.
I’m an average player myself and I personally find speed 79 suitable for temperatures 12-30 degrees and medium to high humidity. Believe it or not every time I’ve pulled out a 79 speed shuttle from my tube against a better player in such conditions they’ve complained the shuttle is too fast and took measures. The few times they haven’t I’ve almost always managed to beat them without a problem due to the fact I can place accurate drop and deep clear shots. Also the amount of smashes they manage to reflect drops from 80% to 30% roughly. Not to mention it’s much easier to adapt your game to faster shuttles than to slower ones. It takes literally a couple of rallies while the opposite is virtually impossible to happen over a short term without considerable improvement of muscle power and technique.
I’ve decided to refuse playing with anything slower than 78 (and that’s only if the shuttles are exceptionally well flying which is true only for AS-50) when having the above-mentioned conditions as I’m not willing to risk my health every day so that people that haven’t been coached properly can feel comfortable at the court. I advise every player that feels robbed by such “speed experts” at the court to do the same thing.
Thank you so much. I am delighted to have found another player who appreciates and understands the need for the game to be played with the correct speed of shuttle. We are most definately a minority, which is very sad.
I had a discussion with a fellow coach about shuttle speeds recently. He agreed with my comments about shuttle speeds. Then, when we were asked the question “what do you do if the speed is incorrect?” I responded that you should tip the shuttle to make it correct. He responded that the law states that you should not tamper with a shuttle. My interpretation on that is, if both sides agree in order to obtain the correct speed for the shuttle, then it’s OK. He disagreed.
Am I going daft here? What do you do in a siutation like this? If the shuttle is too slow and the club do not have alternate speed shuttles (which is rare), you either play outside the laws of the game with the shuttle being too slow, or break the law in order to then play within the law? I think common sense takes priority and you break the law in order to play the game within the law.
Paul
[…] you are playing with the correct speed of shuttle. If you’re not sure, refer to my video and article on the subject. Without doubt, if you are playing with slow shuttles, it’s most likely you’ve […]
Jordan
Many thanks for your comment.
Whilst matches may seem to be focussed around power and speed, there is a critical element missing in your sentence and it’s something you’ll find to be true. Whilst these two elements are very important, the most vital ingredient is skill.
If you are very skillful with a racket, it’s only a matter of time before you have the same amount of power and speed. However, you will then have the advantage of skill to beat your opponents.
If you’re really interested in a Z Slash, then email me and I can arrange to get one for you if you like.
Paul
I’m so glad you have cleared up on this Paul, it is something I have been suspicious of for quite some time now. I’m currently playing in a junior team, but the rest of our division are adults, so they already have a pretty clear advantage over some of the younger players in our team who maybe aren’t as tall and so lack the ease of being able to play a clear or smash with extra pace. I myself thrive on being able to move my opponent around on court, which is actually why I prefer the Armortec900Technique as apposed to a power racket such as the Arcsaber Z-slash or Arcsaber 10. Although as I notice the matches are being more and more focused around “power and speed” I am very tempted to simply buy one of those rackets for that reason alone.
Peter, that’s an unusual problem to have. You must have extremely good control in your club. It’s going to be very interesting to see what changes happen over the coming months as a result of choosing the slower speed shuttles.
What do visiting teams say about your shuttles? Do you find there is a distinct home advantage because the opposition cannot keep the shuttle in?
The good thing here is that you recognise the situation and are doing the right things to correct it.
I played a match last week and the shuttles were way too slow. Sometimes you just have to bite your tongue rather than make yourself unpopular, even though I was right and the badminton laws support me!
Good luck for a prosperous season.
Paul
We have the opposite problem at our club, our shuttles are too fast! We play with RSL Tourney No 1, speed 79, and I (and others) find that I can hit them fairly comfortably from one back line to the other.
The court isn’t overly warm, so I’m surprised that 79s should be so quick. Generally, we’ll ‘tip’ every other feather to bring them back to the correct speed, but this can raise a few eyebrows from opponents in matches.
Thankfully at the last AGM it was agreed we should change to 78s so the next batch should be better – I’m sick of my net pushes sailing out the back!
And yes, they really *are* too fast, it’s not just that I like shuttles that are slower than they should be 🙂
Peter
Hi Rich
Many thanks for your comments and question.
I’m currently testing Victor shuttles. Sadly they sent speed 77 which are way too slow to test. I’m expecting speed 78 very soon. Initial impressions aside from the speed are that they seem a pretty robust shuttle and consistent quality too. My gut instinct is that I’ll need speed 79 for the hall I’m using.
I wouldn’t be surprised that you’ve got the wrong speed of shuttles at your club. No matter what brand, a slow speed completely throws your game and virtually neutralises power play. Have you tested them according to the rules? If not, please do so and let me know your findings. I’d be amazed if the shuttle tested correctly and still had such a huge negative impact on you.
Your comments about these shuttles and how they’re affecting your play already demonstrates my point in the article. For a player with consistent clears, the slower shuttle has changed your game i.e.shot choice which is effectively de-skilling you.
Like you, I’ve played in various halls and found vast differences in shuttle speeds. It’s a common feature and I believe most clubs are using the wrong speed shuttle because it’s easier and more cost-effective for the shuttle to be slightly slower.
I think there’s a belief that as the room gets warmer, the shuttle will fly faster. So, a faster shuttle speed will mean more shuttles are “tipped” to slow them down, which reduces durability and costs the club more. Very few clubs will purchase 2 speeds of shuttles because they simply don’t have the money.
Yes, the slower shuttle will have an effect on your game. Smashes will be slower, allowing your opponent to retrieve them when you should have won the point. It also effects your timing for defence because you expect the shuttle to reach you much sooner.
You need to adjust your base and bring it forward a step or two depending on the speed of the shuttle to compensate.
The issue here is that if you complain and get the rule book out, you’ll get a poor reputation – despite being right!
The first thing you need to do is talk to your team mates and agree that you should play to the rules. Get your club to purchase the correct speed shuttles for your hall. Either take a copy of my article or download “The Rules of Badminton from Badminton England website. Make sure all players understand the rules.
When you play a match away from home, make sure you’ve got the rule book and refuse to play with really slow shuttles. At the end of the day, both sides have to agree the shuttle speed is correct prior to play. A slow shuttle is a slow shuttle and the rules confirm what is deemed acceptable.
You may need to “tip” the shuttle inwards to get the right speed, although this reduces the durability. Alternatively, you can purchase some shuttle weights which are small square self adhesive weights that fit inside the shuttle on the base. The additional weight speeds up the shuttle and retains durability. You could buy these from Goode Sports. They are sold in a strip, but I’m not sure how many weights are on the strip. It’s worth a test at your club first rather than changing the shuttles. It could save you a fortune.
The important thing here is that you know what’s going wrong. Correcting it is somewhat harder because nobody wants to be seen as “difficult” Get the shuttle speeds right at your club so that half your matches will be played as you would like them.
With regard to playing at other clubs, it’s a tough one. You can make suggestions, but they’re used to their hall and shuttles. That doesn’t mean they like the shuttles, they could feel exactly as you do. Get some weights and see if they help.
Badminton is meant to be a fun game. The rules relating to shuttles play a vital role. Play according to the rules and the game has even more to offer.
Rich, let me know your thoughts and whether you can take forward some of my suggestions. Keep in touch and please post your findings if you get to test the shuttle weights or a faster speed.
All the best for the forthcoming season.
Paul
Hi Paul, interesting to read your insights regarding shuttle speed, especially considering our league has switched to Victor shuttles for this season. My first impressions of them are that they are incredibly slow, particularly after they’ve been hit a few times. The effort required to clear them is ridiculous! My timing isn’t always as precise as I would hope and I have thus found myself increasingly resorting to drops as I don’t feel as confident smashing or clearing.
What I wanted to ask you about however is the difference in shuttle speed from hall to hall. Ive grown up playing in a modern two court hall which is incredibly fast, and having used various shuttles at our club over the last few seasons, we have found Head shuttles to be the best compromise between speed, durability and cost. When playing away at large halls however I have always found the shuttle to travel far more slowly and my smash to be far less penetrative. Further more, I actually find defending smashes to be more difficult as I’m timing the shuttle prematurely. Am I imagining this or is it a problem that affects a lot of badminton players? Bearing in mind my leagues shuttles are even slower this year, I’m not exactly looking forward to away matches in 6 court halls!
Cheers
Rich
Nic
The video needs editing. Seeing video of me testing shuttles isn’t the difficult part. I need to do a voiceover explaining what I’m doing and what the results mean.
Hopefully I’ll have the time to complete it next week.
Best wishes
Paul
Hi again,
Had a go at the ballastics program but the shuttle test procudure is too imprecise ( more on that later) to model anything on the program I have. I did look at reasearch papers that have been done on shuttle speed and drag but without paying for the articles I could only read the abstracts. I did read though that plastics are always going to be different from feathers because they change shape when hit hard, making clears and smashes go futher/faster. They in effect have a variable Ballistic Coeficient which would make it impossible to model on the programs that I have.
Enough useless theory!
Played last night and actually managed to organise a group of us into hitting a shuttle to see how far it went ( no mean feat in a club with no rules or heirachy!) With practice I could hit a shuttle past the longer test mark, some approaching the base line, weaker players struggled to reach the shorter test mark. The player with the best smash could hit the shuttle a foot past the base line.
Getting the trajectory right was absolutely critical for maximum length, but strength/ intial velocity obviously a major effect too.
Would be interested to see your test procudure.
cheers,
Nic
Simon
Many thanks for your comments. Yet again this is familiar to my ears, players not knowing the rules and not willing to change because we know what will happen – they will hit more shuttles out!
Again, players don’t realise the damage they can cause by playing with slow shuttles. Sorry you had to learn the lesson the hard way.
Just because a player is experienced doesn’t mean they’re right. I’m still staggered the number of times I walk into clubs and hear experienced players deciding whether they play front and back or sides. My god, why isn’t someone correcting them?
OK, it would seem you need a video to explain how to test a shuttle. I’ll make one and post it on my blog and Youtube.
Best wishes
Paul
Hi Paul,
This has given me a little more confidence to assert the rules!.
I play in our club’s mens doubles team which plays in the local league with feathers. We’re always one of the weakest teams, so I’m wary of challenging far better players about their judgement of the speed of shuttles when I more often play with plastics anyway.
Yet I’ve seen (on at least a few occasions) these good players test shuttles in the following way:
1) Stand in the back tramline to hit the test shot (ie not strike the shuttle over the back line but a foot inside it)
2) Watch it land on or only just past the doubles-back-service line (ie a correct length if it had been hit from the right place)
3) Say “Oh, it’s too fast” and demand it passed back to them
4) ‘Tip’ it in some way to make it slower
5) Retest it, see it land three feet short of the doubles-back-service line (ie far too short) and declare it ok to continue.
I shall endeavour, this season, to be more confident in asserting that the shuttle is the right speed in the first place!
The thing that nic touched upon where the rules let us down a bit, is in their description of the test stroke. I have tended to use more of a ‘drive’ stroke than a ‘lift’ stroke and never quite know whether I’m doing it right which makes me less sure in myself to challenge others’ tests. Would be great if the power-that-be could record one and stick it as a video on their website (or even youtube!).
The reason that I have an interest in this correct-speed thing is less to do with skilful and better play, and more to do with health, though. I once played for a club which had infamously slow shuttles (all other local teams would comment on it) and were unwilling to change it. It wasn’t long before, in trying to hit the shuttle to the back of the court from positions I believed I was capable of doing so, I was starting to get towards tennis elbow and a sore shoulder and so on, in an attempt to get the power. I ended up leaving the club partly due to that, and continue to find that slow shuttles cause me to have to use a bad technique to get the distance/speed on the shuttle I can get from a faster shuttle, and can cause me injury problems as a result.
Nic,
I’d love to see the ballistics stats, could make some very interesting reading.
If you find the adjustment to shuttle speeds subtle, that’s fine as I never said there were major differences.
It would be very interesting to get your views when you have the opportunity to play with feathers too.
Best wishes
Paul
Paul,
I dont want to start a drive war ! I’ll try not to say too much more until I’ve actually tested out the different shuttles.
I suppose it all depends on the difference in speed between a slow and fast shuttle. If a shuttle is so slow that it is unlikely to be hit out then It also follows that a smash is going to be coming back over the net a fair bit slower. In that scenario I agree with what you are saying.
In my experience the effect of different shuttle speeds has been more subtle, just requiring an adjustment to find my length, or height when talking about net or drop shots. I have not been aware of an increased skill needed with fast shuttles.
How to compare slow and fast is another thing that comes to mind , simplistically the slowest legal shuttle travels 96.7% as far as the fastest legal shuttle. But that means little in real terms. I have got access to some ballistics programs, they might be able to answer questions such as what difference in terminal speed of a smash would fast and slow shuttles make. I’ll try and get back to you when I have had a play around.
Nic
Nic, great insights and very interesting that the knowledgeable player proved my point! Isn’t it amazing how we pass down incorrect information because we don’t check the source at the outset.
With regard to your query on the 2nd paragraph, hitting a good length is just as vital in doubles as in singles. Otherwise, hitting short opens the possibilities for a harder smash and also one with better downward direction. So consistency in hitting a good length is always important.
If you agree that a faster shuttle flies through the air quicker, then it doesn’t matter whether you’re playing a shot to the back of the court or a net shot. Whilst you may consider the difference to be marginal, try hitting a bunch of net shots with a good speed shuttle versus a slow speed and watch the results. If you’re playing net shots with an opponent, watch where they are standing and hitting the return. Are they closer or further away from the net? The touch needed here to control the shuttle is just as important as anywhere else on court. Mistakes at the net get punished swiftly.
I would say you’ve got the test procedure right if you’re standing behind the back line and hitting the shuttle upwards towards the back of the opponent’s court. This shot is not a drive where you’re hitting the shuttle at shoulder height. The shuttle will go beyond head height on the other side of the net but should not be near the ceiling.
Thanks again for your comments.
Best wishes
Paul
Played last night, with a very varied mix of shuttles, someone even sacrificed a tube of feathers for the greater good!
I did try the speed thing but quickly became unsure of what stroke was required.directions of – ‘Full underhand stroke….. hit upwards’ was a bit vague- I first tried a completely underhand stroke ie how beginners/juniors first serve the shuttle went very high but length was appalling halfway between front and back service line.
Spoke to someone who was quite knowledgable we came to the conclusion that it was OK to hit more sideways, maybe 45deg down from the shoulder rather than 90, and to hit at a trajectory for maximum length. Lot of pressure on court time so only got to test one shuttle which landed on the back service line. If this is the right test proceedure I will try and do the full range next week.
What i did find interesting was that the knowledgeable person stated that if the shuttle landed past the back service line it was too fast, which certainly backs up what you have said about clubs tending towards shuttles that are too slow.
My observations from last night are going to be greatly skewed by the fact that it was the first time I had played in 4 months, still recovering from torn meniscus and was barely mobile.
Only one guy was able to consistently smash through me, and that was regardless of the speed of the shuttle that we played with. Conversely anybody who placed it outside my immediate reach won the point!
I certainly agree and noticed that the more skilled players coped with varying shuttle speeds quickly and find their length in less time.
you said:
Let’s just take one point in particular to discuss. If the shuttle is slow a good player may or will not get the benefit of potentially more power or consistency in power if they cannot smash the shuttle to the floor.
Likewise, a slow shuttle makes clearing very hard and therefore you have less chance to hit it out of the back of the court. Whereas a correct speed shuttle makes it easier to hit out of the back and therefore touch and the ability to “find your length” become imperative in order to put pressure on your opponent and win the point.
The first paragraph I do agree with, although I am not sure why a faster shuttle will be more consistent?
Second paragraph- does this apply more to singles?- I should have mentioned that I only play doubles( singles would have been comical last night!) , I do my best never to clear, generally If I do against the guy with the big smash hes got a good chance of killing it, especially if its slightly short. So finding the length with a clear seems pretty important regardless of shuttle speed, obviously agree though that a slower shuttle is going to come back over the net at you a bit slower. I don’t expect to win many points with a clear. I am aiming more for the tramlines or corners with flater shots, even with a slow shuttle it is easy to put these out so I would have thought that the touch/skill required pretty similar.
When it comes to net or drop shots I really can’t see how the skill level required is any different at all.
still when I know the correct test procedure I will definately try out the available collection of shuttles, there is no point using ones that are ‘wrong’ I am just not as yet convinced that slow is as detrimental as you are saying.
Having said that I am all for change, this club still doggedly sticks to the old scoring rules-arggghhhh!
All the best
Nic
Nic
Yes my article was written with feathers in mind however the same applies to plastics. It’s certainly a lot easier to get the speed right with a feather than a plastic.
Let’s just take one point in particular to discuss. If the shuttle is slow a good player may or will not get the benefit of potentially more power or consistency in power if they cannot smash the shuttle to the floor.
Likewise, a slow shuttle makes clearing very hard and therefore you have less chance to hit it out of the back of the court. Whereas a correct speed shuttle makes it easier to hit out of the back and therefore touch and the ability to “find your length” become imperative in order to put pressure on your opponent and win the point.
A highly skilled player should find their length very quickly because they have both the skill and “feel” for the shuttle. On the other hand a lesser skilled player may take considerably more time to get this right. During the course of the trial and error stage, they may have lost too many points to make a difference in the game.
It’s going to be an interesting test for you when you next play. I’m still betting that the faster shuttles are still within legal tolerance, albeit on the longer rather than shorter side. If so, you’ll soon understand my point if you’re hitting the shuttles out of court.
To answer your well-thought out questions:
1) playing with slightly faster shuttles does train skill. If you have to quickly guage the speed of a shuttle and keep it in, that’s a skill. If you have a very hard smash aimed at you and you can return it with control, that’s skill.
2) there are plenty of shuttles that do fly correctly, it’s just a matter of cost. Many clubs elect to purchase one speed of shuttle to eliminate over spending. This in turn means that depending on the hall, they are usually too slow “but they’ll do.” It’s always a matter of testing what’s right for that hall on the night. Feather shuttles are expensive and most clubs do not have the resources to purchase more shuttles than budgeted for.
Thanks for your comments Nic and insights.
I am guessing that you are talking more about feathers than plastics here?
It brought to mind two scenarios when I have to deal with differeent speed shuttles:
I will be playing at a club tonight that usually has a horrendous mix of plastics, It is common to come off one game straight into another with a completely different speed shuttle. I find the difficulty is adjusting to the new speed regardless of whether it is slower or faster. If they are fast I’ll hit them out, to slow I’ll hit the net on drops.
Another club that I play at only ( in winter) turns the heating on as we start, consequently the air warms up towards the end of the session and the shuttles fly quicker, so we start hitting them out, this needs an adjustment on our part to keep them in but I had never considered that it requires more skill.
I can see what you are saying about terminal speed of a smash, but i would have thought a player with a good smash and a slow shuttle would still be able to penetrate especially if they were aiming the shot , clears I would have thought most people could hit a slow shuttle out if they really tried. As to losing the ability to touch or control the shuttle I don’t see the difference, regardless of the speed of the shuttle I am aiming to land the shuttle just inside the line or clip the net, not saying I manage it though!
But then i am only talking about my experiences with plastics and I will definately try the speed test tonight and see where the plastic shuttles end up on (or out of ) the court.
Interesting read though: brought to mind two questions,
1. If you believe that speed of shuttle trains skill would you reccomend using shuttles that are right on the upper limit of legal?
2. Are there not shuttles out there that fly correctly?
Russell, you’re absolutely right.I suspect this is why clubs have adopted this”slow shuttle” policy. When you think about it, there is no reason why a shuttle shouldn’t last as long if it’s the right speed. Perhaps it’s due to more mishits trying to retrieve a harder smash (back to the de-skiliing argument).
I’d love to hear from you, the reader, what your thoughts are on this subject. Test shuttles when you’re at a club or playing elsewhere this week and let me know your findings. I wonder how many of you will report back that your shuttles are very slow?
I’ll wager that most shuttles will fall short of the acceptable testing parameters by more than 30cm (about 1 foot in old measurements). Let me know because it’s something I believe it critically important and is really killing our game.
Shuttle performance vs longevity and cost are a real problem. It doesn’t seem to matter how much you spend though. We’ve always used Yonex AS-30’s and although they are durable, they do seem slow. Recently we tried some RSL No.2 shuttles, and they were considerably faster, lower cost, but not so durable. You can’t win!