What is the performance like on some of these good looking five stars?
Soulman owns the Oblivion pictured on its own, i can't remember who had the Powerbow.
I don't take a bat that i don't think will perform. Some bats feel hard to start with, but will get going with time as they are used, my own Laver being a prime example. But when a bat is dead or has a tiny middle you can notice it quite quickly. I think part of the skill (if handpicking is a skill) is knowing the difference. I haven't been in the industry terribly long but the more i do this the more confident i feel about picking good bats for customers. I have received plenty of nice reviews/comments from customers recently so hopefully i am getting it right.
It is rare, but some stunningly beautiful bats can be poor performers. I remember knocking in a Kahuna Players for someone ( not purchased from us
) that was very pleasing on the eye, but total driftwood to use. I spent a lot of time trying with the mallet and also on the bowling machine as i really wanted such a nice bat to be good, but it just wasn't.