Pool Table Felt

Pool table cloth, also known as pool table felt, has been around since the beginning of pool in the 1500 or 1600s. The cloth used during that time was a woven wool cloth. The green color was chosen at the time to imitate the green of the lawn. They didn't know it back then, but the human eye has a higher sensitivity to the color green. This prevents eyestrain when looking at it for extended periods of time. This is the reason green is the favorite color of pool tables. Iwan Simonis Company began making cloth for pool tables 200 years ago. Today they are the most famous pool cloth maker in the industry.

The worsted wool or a blend of wool and nylon pool cloth is used on the majority of pool tables. The maker of this cloth is Iwan Simonis Company. Usually it is well known the faster the cloth the faster it will wear out.

The small 7 foot or bar size pool tables usually are covered in a durable and slower cloth. The favorite choice for this is the Championship Mercury Ultra Table Cloth. This is the same cloth used at the majority of the national amateur tournaments, which includes the APA, VNEA and BCA.

The cloth you might want for your home pool table of 8 or 9 feet is the Velocity Pro Worsted Billiard Cloth. This cloth is made with very high wool content and is considered to be a faster cloth, but will no fuzzy or pilling of the fabric.

A professional installer can install the cloth on your pool table or you can save yourself some money by doing the job yourself. You can find pool table felt kits on the market, which will help you, install the cloth yourself.

After you have replaced the cloth of your pool table, sooner or later you will see some white marks appearing on the new cloth. You might wonder if you purchased a less than quality material. That is not the case.

It is normal for the pool table felt to show evidence of the wear and tear from normal use. It is the friction of the cue ball, which actually causes the marks on your pool cloth. They are more likely to be seen after an excellent break shot. During a really good break shot the cue balls reach an average speed of 25-30 mph. The friction of the cue ball created as it travels across the cloth can reach temperatures of 250 degrees Celsius. When the cue strikes, the ball can reach up to 450 degrees from the momentary friction. It is the friction, which causes the burn marks on the pool cloth.

The burn marks in the pool table cloth will soon look like track lines, especially from the commonly used break spot. You'll probably see three break spots one in center, one to the left and one to the right because these are the most common break spots. Breaking from the side rail will force a player to shoot downward to hit the ball. This will push the ball into the cloth more, which will produce a mark. With several hundred shots made from the same spot the cloth will be severely worn.

The marks are actually burn marks caused by the friction of the cue ball on the billiard cloth. Some types of cloth will show wear more than others. If these marks are showing with every shot you make, you could be hitting the ball too hard or with your stick at too high of an angle. You might need to reevaluate the how you are shooting and make the correct adjustments and also dont forget to cover your table up with pool table covers.