Most paddles begin with a honeycomb core that has a surface material (also referred to as the skin or face) glued to both sides of it. These 2 materials determine the COMPLETE BALL RESPONSE OF YOUR PADDLE. After the core and surface are assembled, an edge and handle are attached. It is then finished by wrapping the handle to form your grip.
Simple, right? WRONG! The catch is that there are a variety of cores, surfaces, paddle shapes, thicknesses, weights, grip shapes, and grip sizes to choose from.
Overwhelmed yet? We sure were when we started learning that there were all these different options and, worse yet, no one was telling us accurate facts about them. That’s how Third Shot Drop began!
First, we had to figure out how paddles really worked. Then, we had to sort through the “information” and learn what was correct and how to make it all make sense.
The core determines about 75% of the paddle’s performance.
The surface is used to fine tune how your paddle responds to the ball.
They are customizations that are not generally available in all aspects from most manufacturers. However, it is these factors that will immediately improve your game and help step up your confidence and skill level.
Until now, these were pretty much your only choices. UNTIL NOW!
We exist to make it possible for you to finally find a paddle that is exactly right for you! Our primary objective is to make it possible for you to decide for yourself what paddle combination suits you most. Even if you don’t use our brand, we want to give you the REAL information you need to make an educated, accurate selection in purchasing your most important piece of pickleball equipment.
We offer 2 resources that let you try every paddle option to identify your paddle needs.
EITHER you can find us (and our big yellow van) visiting courts and tournaments, offering demos where, not only are players able to actually use every paddle option available, we will measure your grip size and offer a wide range of weights to sample as well. We will even build bespoke custom paddles* on the spot! (If you ask nicely. Our Paddle Maven gets a little touchy occasionally.)
OR, if we aren’t appearing at a court near you anytime soon, you can contact us to find our nearest Court Ambassador. They are all over the country and more are being added regularly. Our Court Ambassadors have paddles they can bring you to try out and maybe even hang out for a game or two.
Graphic customization or special order weights must be ordered from the website.