Shuttlecock

A shuttlecock (often abbreviated to shuttle; also called a birdie) is a high-drag projectile, with an open conical shape. The cone is formed from sixteen overlapping feathers embedded into a rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather or synthetic material. A Shuttlecock shall have 16 feathers fixed in a cork base covered in kid leather. Interestingly, the best Badminton Shuttlecocks are made from feathers from the left wing of a goose. The feathers shall be measured from the tip to the top of the base and each shuttle shall be of the same length. This length can be between 62mm and 70mm. The shuttle shall weigh between 4.74 to 5.50 grams. Shuttles are usually graded according to speed. If you have reached a certain level and can hit from baseline to baseline, use standard speed shuttlecocks. If your strength is not there yet, you can use shuttlecocks of a slightly faster speed. If you find the shuttle is too fast or too slow but you don’t have shuttles of different speed, you can try tipping the shuttlecock. Tipping the feathers of the shuttles outward will slow it down. Tipping the feathers of the shuttles inward will speed it up.​​​​​​​