Hi friends,
Welcome back to my newsletter!
With “The Great Paddle Boom of 2025” finally slowing down a bit, I had some time to dig into a few interesting stories for this week.
From answering in-depth questions on DUPR’s new rating algorithm to uncovering how the Boomstik’s weight setup compares to a Major League Baseball concept.
And Eddie? Well, he pulled out an old 2017 paddle from the vault to see if it could still go toe-to-toe with today’s so-called “game-changers.”
Let’s dive in!
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In this week’s email:
Selkirk Boomstik: The Story Behind the Weights
Q&A with the Creator of DUPR’s New Algorithm
Podcast Sneak Peek: Are Pickleball Facilities Sustainable?
That Old School Swing
Read time: ~5 minutes
THIS WEEK'S GEAR NEWS
Selkirk Boomstik: The Story Behind the Weights
We’ve talked plenty about the Selkirk Boomstik over the past couple of weeks, and with today’s public launch, the buzz is still going.
One topic that keeps coming up is the built-in weight system.
Why make it permanent? Why this exact setup? And who is it really designed for?
I sat down with Tom Barnes, Selkirk’s VP of R&D (Research & Development), to discuss the permanent perimeter weights on the Boomstik, also known as the MOI Tuning system.
Since the LABS launch, most players agree that the weights significantly boost performance. But there’s been plenty of speculation about why Selkirk chose to add this much weight (half an ounce) in these exact spots — and why they made them non-removable.
Tom’s answer? The target audience is 4.0–4.5 skill level players, and he believes this setup is ideal for most in that range.
While some pros prefer highly customizable weighting options, he thinks the majority of players will benefit from this fixed weight setup.
Here’s the thinking behind it:
Swing weight + twist-weight balance: Keeps swing weight manageable for better maneuverability, while pushing twist-weight way above average to expand the sweet spot.
Better feel + more power: The weight placement balances the paddle’s center of gravity and center of percussion, adding power while making ball contact feel more solid, increasing power.
Strategic placement: The weights are about four inches from the top, right in the “vibration node”. The area that feels best to hit from because it reduces vibration in your hand.
It’s similar to the “torpedo bat” concept in Major League Baseball.
Adding weight along the vibration node to boost power and forgiveness at the same time.
If you’re considering purchasing the Selkirk Boomstik, you can get $40 Selkirk gift card using the code: INF-JOHNKEW
THIS WEEK’S INSIGHTS
Q&A with the Creator of DUPR’s New Algorithm
DUPR made big changes to their algorithm recently, and with that, a lot of mixed emotions.
Some people hate it, some people love it.
Three weeks ago, I sat down with the person who developed DUPR’s new rating algorithm, Sarah Carpenter, along with Senior Pro Scott Fliegelman, to talk about the new changes.
That conversation sparked a TON of questions, so we circled back with Sarah to get answers to the most common ones.
TL;DR on DUPR changes:
Your rating now moves based on performance vs. expectation. Every match has an expected score, calculated from the ratings of the players involved. Whereas before, the winning team would always go up and the losing team would go down.
Doubles Example: if a team is expected to win 11–3 but wins 11–8, their DUPR rating will go down. The losing team, which was expected to score fewer points, will go up.
Q&A with Sarah Carpenter
Question: Our team (4.5 and 4.2) wins a match but by less than the predicted score, and our ratings drop. How is that drop split between partners? Equally? Or based on rating/reliability score?
Answer: It’s not an even split. The system adjusts each player’s rating separately based on how much “new information” the match gives about them.
Each match has a “weight” based on things like:
How recent it was
Match format (1 game, best of 3, etc.)
Whether it was uploaded by a player or a tournament director
A player’s overall weight is the total of all their past match weights.
When a new match is added, the change in rating depends on the ratio of that match’s weight to the player’s overall weight. Lower overall weight means a bigger change — up or down — because the system is learning more about that player.
Reliability score also matters. Players with lower reliability scores see bigger rating changes, while those with higher reliability scores see smaller changes. Reliability is based on the number of matches and how recent they are.
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Question: What if two partners (say, 4.2 and 4.7) have similar overall weights?
Answer: If their overall weights are the same, both ratings change by the same amount.
This keeps the gap between their ratings the same, which is especially important for mixed doubles.
To change that gap, you need to mix up your partners.
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Question: So the algorithm shares fault/credit equally between partners?
Answer: Yes. Without seeing the actual match play, it assumes equal credit or blame.
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If you’re interested on more content related to DUPR’s algorithm change, check out Scott’s recent post about how he recently went 7–1 in a tournament and his DUPR dropped… and he’s OKAY with that.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
PODCAST SNEAK PEEK
Are Pickleball Facilities Sustainable?
Private pickleball clubs are opening fast. The U.S. is adding about 130 new courts each month, often in repurposed malls or big-box retail spaces.
Even with more than 16,000 places to play, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association estimates we will need about 25,000 additional courts to meet demand in the coming years.
Some believe many of these new private clubs will not survive over the next decade.
The reasoning? Even considering pickleball’s rapid growth people believe:
Many players will still choose free outdoor courts when possible
If indoor clubs have to keep courts full all year to keep doors open, most will fail
High overhead costs, especially franchise fees, make it harder to survive
It could end up looking like the dispensary boom. Huge growth at first, then closures as supply outpaced demand and only the well-run operations survived.
On the flip side, pickleball’s growth isn’t exactly slowing down. It’s fun, it’s social, it’s competitive, and it works for just about every age group. That’s a tough combination to beat.
If demand keeps up, clubs with good business plans and solid management should be able to stick around.
The ones with both indoor and outdoor options, reasonable memberships, and plans that guarantee court time in the winter will be in the best position.
We’ll be covering this topic more on this week’s podcast.
AROUND THE POST WITH EDDIE
That Old School Swing
I played my first game of pickleball in March 2017 — practically prehistoric in pickleball years.
My first paddle? A fiery red Monarch Dragon Slayer. Looked cool. Cheap enough for a sport I was just trying out.
Back then:
Most paddles were fiberglass or graphite
Faces glued and cold-pressed over a honeycomb core (polymer, nomex, or aluminum)
Onix Z5 and Selkirk Amped ruled the courts
Everyone promised “control and power” — some things never change, eh?
Fast-forward 300+ paddles later, and a first-name relationship with my UPS driver. I’m still hunting for that mythical perfect paddle.
Lately, I’ve been wondering: How far have we actually come?
To find out, I dug up a Gruvn 16H, one of the early raw carbon fiber paddles, and took it to the local courts to see how this relic holds against today’s latest paddles from JOOLA and Gearbox.
No thermoforming. No foam. Just old-school build and classic vibes.
The verdict?
Gen 1 paddles still have game. The control on the Gruvn was spot-on, and the spin from that raw carbon fiber was downright nasty. The dwell and plush feel brought me right back to why I fell in love with pickleball in the first place.
Best of all, I could take full swings without worrying about sending balls into the next zip code.
Sure, today’s paddles are faster, bouncier, and packed with tech. Sweet spots are the size of dinner plates. But in the right hands, Gen 1 can go toe-to-toe with the latest $333 “game-changer.”
In the end, the Gruvn 16H gave me more than nostalgia. It proved paddle tech has made the game more forgiving, but skill still matters most.
Moral of the story: Pickleball’s always been about the player, not the paddle.
If you want to test yourself, try playing like it’s 2017. You won’t ditch your modern “main,” but you might have more fun than you expect.