Feather played cock

A proper shuttle will generally travel from the back line of the court to just short of the long doubles service line on the opposite side of the net, with a full underhand hit from an average player. Name[ edit ] The name 'shuttlecock' originates in Victorian times, when Badminton first became popular. This video shows the situation perfectly: The fletches feathers are indexed on the arrow so that when they pass the bow they will hopefully clear it completely without touching the shaft see Slo-mo video. Shuttles are easily damaged and should be replaced every three or four games, and sooner if they are damaged and do not fly straight. While feathers tend to drop straight down on a clear shot, plastics never quite return to a straight drop, falling more on a diagonal. The "shuttle" part of the name was probably derived from its back-and-forth motion during the game, resembling the shuttle of a loom , while the "cock" part of the name was probably derived from the resemblance of the feathers to those on a Rooster.

For this reason, synthetic shuttlecocks have been developed that replace the feathers with a plastic skirt. Plastics fly more slowly on initial impact, but slow down less towards the end of their flight. A proper shuttle will generally travel from the back line of the court to just short of the long doubles service line on the opposite side of the net, with a full underhand hit from an average player. Players often refer to synthetic shuttlecocks as plastics and feathered shuttlecocks as feathers. Both humidity and height above sea level affect shuttle flight. While feathers tend to drop straight down on a clear shot, plastics never quite return to a straight drop, falling more on a diagonal. Shuttles are easily damaged and should be replaced every three or four games, and sooner if they are damaged and do not fly straight.

Plastics fly more slowly on initial impact, but slow down less towards the end of their flight. Saturated feathers are 'mushy', making the feather cone narrow too much when strongly hit, which causes the shuttle to fly overly far and fast. This interferes with the game, as the impairment on the flight of the shuttle may misdirect the direction of the shuttlecock. Water should never touch the cork of the shuttle. For this reason, the feather shuttle makes the game seem faster,[ citation needed ] but also allows more time to play strokes.