Best Brands of Pool Cues

Pool isn’t the sort of game in which anyone can become an overnight success. Playing all of the angles and clearing a table in less time than Ronnie Allen requires dedication, practice, and patience. It takes time to hone the skills needed to sink every ball on the table, and due diligence, commitment, and unrelenting enthusiasm are the only way you’ll get there.

That said, it’s always nice to get a little help and take advantage of anything that’ll speed the process up in some small fashion. While a pool cue won’t suddenly transform you into an eight ball wonder, it can make your practice games a little smoother, put some extra zip in your shots, and bolster your self-belief. A bad workman may blame his tools for his lack of success, but a good pool player knows that a great cue can give them all of the advantages that they’ll ever need.

But how do you know which cues are the best ones to use to up your game? How do you know which manufacturers are acknowledged by the pool faithful and fanatics of the game as being the very best at what they do? It’s simple. You ask them. Or you turn to the internet and ask it. Which is what we did. We asked disciples of the game and pool hall enthusiasts what the best brands of pool cues are, and this is what they told us…

McDermott

For nearly half a century, McDermott has put its faith in a simple mantra.  Innovation, invention, and inspiration. It’s seen this once small Wisconsin firm rise to the top echelons of their industry and their cues are prized and valued by players from all over the world.

McDermott doesn’t follow the herd, they like to do things differently. They like to do things their own way and their belief in never holding back and always forging forward has paid off for this futurist company. Their fusion of technology and traditional craftsmanship has seen them flourish when so many of their competitors have failed.

They believe that by being the best at what they do, you can be the best at what you do. Every single one of their cues is made from North American maple and goes through a one hundred and fifty point production process that ensures that each cue conforms to high the standard that McDermott demands from all of their products.

There’s a reason McDermott has been making pool cues for forty-five years. It’s because they’re among the very best at what they do.

Meucci

Meucci is one of the best-kept secrets in the world of pool. They’re not a globally known brand and they don’t want to be a multi-national corporation. While they’re unknown outside of the pool circles, in the enclaves of the game, Meucci is a name that’s whispered with reverential praise.

All of Meucci’s cues are designed and developed by Bob Meucci, the head of the company. If a cue is worth making, Bob thinks that it should be made well. Which is why he’s so involved in everything that his company does.

Meucci cues are designed to be far more flexible than most, which reduces ball deflection and conforms to a simple idea that Bob had which pays dividends for every player who uses his pool cues. That less is more. You don’t have to hit the ball hard to drive it into a pocket or confound your opponent. You just have to use a Meucci cue.  

Schon

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Schon pool cues are just about the most beautiful in the game. In fact, the word Schon means ‘beautiful’ in German, which we think is incredibly appropriate. Names are important. They should tell you everything that you need to know in a single breath, and that’s exactly what the name that Terry Romine Snr and Bob Runde chose to market their hand-crafted pool cues in 1981, does. It tells you everything that you’ll ever need to know about Schon.

Terry had a simple goal. He wanted to make the perfect pool cue. He sought perfection in every area of his life and wanted his company and his vision for it to follow suit. And for forty years, that’s what Schon has been doing. Making what are widely regarded as being the most perfect pool cues the world has ever seen. 

Perfection isn’t impossible. Schon proved that. And their pool cues continue Terry and Bob’s legacy, by bringing beauty and elegance to a game that thrives on both.

Joss Cues

Everybody knows who Tom Cruise is. He’s one of the most famous actors in the world. In 1986, along with Paul Newman, he starred in a movie about the world of pool hustlers, ‘The Colour of Money’. Throughout the production of the movie, both actors exclusively used one brand of pool cue; Joss.

Joss Cues, despite the world-wide pool fame that Paul and Tom handed to them, believe, first and foremost, in family. They treat all their customers the same way; as though they’re part of the family business founded by Dan Joss in 1968. 

Every Joss family cue is designed and handcrafted with the same care and attention to detail, which ensures that every cue that leaves their premises is precise and hard-wearing. It’s this continuing commitment to their craft that saw Dan’s son Stephen awarded the Cuemaker of the Year Award by the American Cuemaker’s Association in 2017.

You know that a pool cue manufacturer is doing something right when they’ve got Tom Cruise, Paul Newman, and the American Cuemakers Association on their side and every single one of their cues comes with a rock-solid lifetime guarantee. 

Lucasi

Talking about lifetime guarantees and warranties, Joss isn’t the only pool cue manufacturer to offer them. Lucasi does too. When you’re raking the balls on a pool table you want your cue to be precise and unfaltering, which is what Lucasi’s laser-cut, hardwood cues are. They’re as precise on the table as the process that was used to make them is. 

While other brands keep every stage of the manufacturing process at home, Lucasi cues are actually made in China, which greatly reduces the company’s production costs.. Lucasi cues may be cheaper than their competition, but they’re every bit as durable, long-lasting, and precise.

All of that and a sixty-day satisfaction guarantee? It’s no wonder pool hounds love Lucasi cues. 

Pechauer Custom Cues

Pechauer Custom Cues take great pride in letting the world know that every single one of their cues is made in Green Bay, Wisconsin from wood chosen by Joe Pechauer, the son of the company’s founder Jerry Pechauer. Everything is kept in house at Pechauer. They keep their eye on the ball at every stage of their hand-crafted manufacturing process. Nothing is left to chance, if a cue wears the Pechauer name it comes with a cast-iron guarantee. 

As their implies, Pechauer creates custom pool cues and is dedicated to making their customer’s dreams come true and the art of cue making. Every Pechauer cue is as individual as the customer who uses it. Beloved by professionals and amateurs alike, Penchauer is a home-spun, American institution. 

Pechauer started small and they’ve stayed that way, putting their customers and cues above everything else. And that’s the way they like it. 

Balabushka Cue Company

Founded by, arguably, the world’s most famous pool cue maker George Balabushka, the Balabushka Cue Company continues to make cues to the same exacting standards as their founding father did. Arriving at Ellis Island after fleeing the Russian Revolution as a child, George Balabushka’s life story could have been a Hollywood movie. He was one of kind and a little bit of his spirit continues to live on in every one of his company’s high-performance, hand-fashioned pool cues. 

The Stradivarius of the cue making world, George Babushka’s original cues are now worth eye-watering amounts of money and fetch a pretty penny whenever they come up for auction. The Babushka Cue Company continues to do what George did so well and their pool cues are still in high demand, the world over

Mezz Cues

The last brand of pool cues on the list is the only one not based in North America. Mezz Cues are a high-end pool cue manufacturer that started life in Japan in the nineteen nineties by Yuji Miki who spent most of his life making cues for the American market. Taking all that he had learned about making pool cues while working exclusively for the US market and adapting it to his own model, Yuji’s company has become famous the world over for making exceptional, dependable and precise pool cues. 

Quality comes at a premium, and while Mezz Cues are from cheap, they are recognized as being the very best that money can buy.  Crafted with eternal beauty and grace and presence, serious pool players dream about owning a  Mezz Cue. They are quite possibly the only cue that could transform an amateur into an overnight success story and turn the professional pool world on its head in the process. Yes, Mezz Cues really are that good. 

While this list may not be the definitive article as far as pool cue manufacturers are concerned, it’s been compiled with the pool enthusiast in mind. We asked serious pool devotees who they though the top-flight pool cue makers were, they told us and now we’ve told you. Maybe this list will encourage you to pick a cue up and see what you can do. If you do, maybe you’ll start dreaming about Mezz Cues too…