Tactic for slower shuttles?

I'm mainly a (male) mixed-doubles player, and slow shuttles can completely ruin the game. If you're able to force the opposing lady to the back, the rally is instantly over, as they simply won't have the strength to hit a deep clear, guaranteeing you an easy kill on the next shot - but it's a cheap tactic and won't feel rewarding. My partner also says that playing with slow shuttles hurts her shoulder, so it's just not worth it, and I always carry a few tubes of shuttles in my bag these days, purely for when this situation arises.

Assuming you're stuck with the slow shuttles though, and not permitted to "tip" them to alter their speed, I think there are two main things to bear in mind:
1. Your smashes will be slower and far less deadly. This means you need to be more patient, and build the point to set up a more clearcut attacking opportunity, by using more variety, placement, deception, etc. You cannot rely on power alone, and if you keep hitting jump smashes from the baseline, they're going to keep coming back, and you'll just get tired. However, when you do get a good opportunity, you must go all-out to take advantage - one slightly weak shot could allow your opponents to play a good lift, undoing all of your hard work. This is where slow shuttles favour big-hitters, as they require less of an opening before they can launch a decisive attack.
Of course, all of this applies to your opponent(s) too, so you should be more willing to lift when under pressure. Defensive shots are much easier not only because the shuttle will be coming at you more slowly, but because there's little risk of you hitting them out the back of the court.

2. It's much harder to get good length on your clears, so you may need to hit them a bit flatter. On the plus side, length is less crucial - slightly short clears are less likely to be punished, and you probably won't be hitting them out the back. Again, it's the same for both (all four) players, but if you're physically stronger than your opponent(s), you have the advantage with slow shuttles, and you'll probably want to play more attacking clears and keep them pinned at the back, to wear them out.

If you have significantly less power than your opponent(s), you're going to have a rough time... good luck.

 

If it's a social game then who cares. Just use the game to practice.

If it's competitive game then you shouldn't be playing with slow shuttles. A match, the club should forfeit if they don't have the correct equipment to facilitate the match (it's effectively cheating to use slow shuttles), and a tournament it shouldn't happen: why should anyone pay good money and travel to something where it's not organised properly? To me it's like asking what tactics should be used if the net is set at the wrong height. Just try to avoid that situation as much as possible and do whatever comes to mind if you're forced into that situation, and if it's a regular occurrence rethink what you're doing to end up in this situation regularly.

Some courts feel slower than others but shuttles should stay within a range.

All tactics depend on who your opponents are, and their weakness and strengths, as to whether you actually need to adjust anything and this is a long long topic in itself. You only need to do anything different if you're not winning after all. If you're losing because you're having trouble getting the shuttle on the ground for whatever reason, be more patient with opportunities, play a bit softer, and maybe increase a small amount of drops, clears, lifts to conserve energy and change things up. That's all really, you shouldn't deviate much from your normal game and do things which aren't good things to do in doubles such as, lift all the time, play loads of cross court shots etc. etc.

If your opponents are taking advantage on the counter attack all the time then your rotation is dodgy and you should have tactics for that called be in the right position and play the right strokes. If you cannot get anything on the ground and nothing is working then you're pretty much screwed anyway unless your opponents are some kind of gods of defence and inconsistent at the back. And again, that's nothing to do with how fast or slow anything is as to what tactics you should use against them.

 

There is bias even in competitive club.
Quite few times im invited by some friend to play at their club (outside my regular club i join weekly routine) & they basically had no standard shuttle. Its all about how they are used to type of shuttle (either slow or fast) & had no comment coz they think its normal.
There is a time i asked them, isnt the shuttle is to fast or to slow, the answer is simply "is it? Been using it for quite a while".

Different story for social club. They are very much random shuttle without any base shuttle. I see a rich social who use expensive shuttle where they play poorly. Or a poor social who play with used shuttle (idk how to tell. The shuttle is getting killed again & again till it lose its shape). Or some high beginner who starting to feel the satisfaction of smashing & play with fast shuttle coz the adrenaline is crazy fast.

For how to deal with slow shuttle, i think its handicap for both side. Not like you get the slowness but the opponent is not. If the opponent used to it, well its bad for you i guest.
But i do agree. If a thing didnt works try different thing.

 

Just doesn't happen where I am. If they're not right they have to go and get a different speed, or we have to tip them inwards. If they can't do that then we get a walkover. But it never gets to this point anyway as the club and players would be shunned, they've all been around a long time in higher leagues and none of the players want such a situation. If you need faster shuttles in a different season of the year then your club should plan for that, it's not difficult.

If I was going to matches where it was acceptable to use slow shuttles I'd refuse to play that league and for that club, it's a waste of time. Why should any player travel an hour and pay money to do that. May as well save your money and do something else. The players are paying for the shuttles so there's no reason to use the wrong speed. If people just accept it then it's not going to change.

I get that not everyone has the option but it's a better solution to try and avoid this and get into league or group of players where it's not acceptable than to plan tactics for it. In India they use plastics a lot, that's fair enough there's an economic reason for that, but slow shuttles, feather or plastic, is just a pointless waste that doesn't have any economic reasoning behind it. If you're just buying 1 speed in bulk to save money, players are gong to be turned off your club so it has no benefit.

 

Slow shuttles and slippery floors. The bane of league badminton....in which some folk take it w..a..a..y..y.. too seriously.

 

I could accept slower or faster shuttle. Adapting to it, somewhat anoying but the games goes on.
Slippery floors is different story. I wont risk myself having a funny slide which might injury myself & not to mention the humiliation getting laughed by other as a bonus. No no no...

 

Yes some of us take badminton seriously, why wouldn't we if we spend huge amounts of time and thousands on it a year? How silly of of people to take injury risk seriously? Really? I don't think you can take that seriously enough.

If you spend hours training every week you don't train to play to 11 points, on a court with no tramlines, and a 4 foot net. There are rules to the game for all these things which include what speed the shuttle should be.

How would people react if they show up to a match only for the opposition to say you're going to play doubles on half a court because they only book a court for an hour and that's how they do things? What's the difference between that and playing with slow shuttles? You're still playing badminton after all. Are we going to see questions on here on what tactics to use when you're only allowed to play doubles on half a court?

It's not actually that difficult to buy different speeds of shuttle and sweep the floor before the match. Why would anyone accept otherwise? Why not just play with cheaper plastic shuttles if you don't care about the shuttle you're using or you can't afford correct speed feathers?

Players shouldn't accept shuttles of incorrect speed when playing competitively, and inform their clubs and leagues it's against the rules of the game.