For a league-grade table with the strongest cushion guarantee in the business, Olhausen. For furniture-grade custom finish work at a fair price, especially west of the Rockies, Connelly. These are the two closest-matched American table builders you can cross-shop, which is exactly why no neutral comparison of them existed until now. Every published take comes from a dealer showroom.
That’s the verdict up front. The rest is the construction detail and the warranty fine print, plus the freight math that actually separates them.
BilliardBeast does not retail either brand. We have no dealer relationship with Olhausen or Connelly.
Both brands sell through dealers at $3,000 and up, so before you visit a showroom, run your room through the free pool table room planner. It maps cue clearance for your exact dimensions, and the Table-Fit Shortlist there sends you 3-5 tables matched to your space and budget.
The verdict in one table
| Use case | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| League play (weekly) | Olhausen | Accu-Fast cushions with a lifetime guarantee; consistent rebound year after year |
| Custom finish / furniture room | Connelly slight edge | Deep custom stain and carving options at prices Olhausen charges more for |
| Buyers in the Southwest / West | Connelly | Tucson freight and regional dealer support beat shipping a Tennessee build west |
| Buyers in the East / Midwest | Olhausen | Larger national dealer network; faster delivery and easier service calls |
| Long-haul resale | Olhausen | Bigger brand recognition when the table hits the used market |
The honest summary: you are choosing between two versions of the same philosophy, solid American hardwood built by a family company. The tiebreakers are geography and cushion warranty, plus which showroom’s finish samples make you stop walking.
Construction: two brands, one philosophy
Both companies build the way furniture makers do, with solid North American hardwoods and no particleboard hiding under veneer. That sentence disqualifies most of the industry, so it’s worth sitting with.
Olhausen runs walnut, red oak, cherry, and maple through a single Portland, Tennessee facility. Every price tier gets solid wood. The company’s construction pitch hasn’t changed in decades because it hasn’t needed to: no engineered wood at any price point, roughly 25+ standard finishes, custom stains available.
Connelly has built in Tucson, Arizona since 1980 with the same solid-hardwood commitment on its core lineup. Where Connelly separates itself is the finish room. Distressed finishes and hand-carved leg work show up at price points where Olhausen’s equivalents cost noticeably more, and custom stain matching is table stakes. Models like the Catalina and Prescott are the reason Connelly owners tend to talk about their table the way people talk about a dining set they’ll hand down.
Slate is a wash. Both ship 1in three-piece slate on the tables you’d actually cross-shop. Neither plays games with 3/4in slate at the tiers where they compete, which you cannot say for the import brands one shelf down. If you want the background on why that inch matters, our slate vs MDF breakdown covers it.
Cushions: the one spec where Olhausen pulls ahead
Olhausen’s Accu-Fast cushions are the strongest single argument for the brand. They’re 100% gum rubber in a K-66 profile, and the lifetime warranty names them specifically. Cushion rubber is the component most likely to degrade on a thirty-year table, so a written lifetime guarantee on that exact part is not marketing filler.
Connelly ships quality K-66 gum rubber too, and in a blind session most league players would not pick one rail from the other. The gap is contractual. Connelly’s lifetime coverage centers on the table structure, and cushion terms have varied by era and model. Ask the dealer to put current cushion coverage in writing before deposit.
Play character, for what it’s worth: both rails sit in the same league-standard rebound family. Neither plays like the fast rail on a Diamond, and neither is trying to. For a home or league room, that family of rebound is exactly what you want under your bank shots.
Warranty and delivery, the fine print tier
Both brands sell lifetime warranties, but “lifetime” hides real differences that surface at year fifteen, not week one.
Olhausen’s warranty covers the cabinet and slate for life, and it names the Accu-Fast cushions specifically. Execution runs through the dealer network, and with dealers in most metro areas, a service call is usually local.
Connelly’s lifetime warranty covers the structure and workmanship. Execution runs through a thinner dealer network concentrated in the West and Southwest. If you live in Phoenix, that network is an advantage: shorter freight, installers who handle the brand weekly. If you live in Boston, ask hard questions about who services the table in year ten.
Delivery follows the same map. Connelly quotes shorter lead times near its Arizona base; Olhausen’s national pipeline is more predictable everywhere else. Neither brand has Diamond’s notorious months-long queue.
Cloth, pockets, and the order sheet
The order sheet is where these dealers earn their margin, and where an unprepared buyer leaves performance on the table. Olhausen ships Simonis 860 or comparable cloth on its upper models and offers Simonis 760 and Granito options at purchase, so you can spec league speed from day one. Connelly builds are dealer-configured, and cloth choice rides on what the showroom stocks. Either way, insist on a worsted cloth by name. A $6,000 table wearing fuzzy nappy cloth plays like a $2,000 one.
Pocket spec deserves the same attention. Both brands ship forgiving home cuts by default, in the 4.75in to 5in corner range, and both can go tighter on request. If league practice is the goal, say so at order time. Retrofitting tighter pockets later costs real money; specifying them up front often costs nothing.
The dealer-visit checklist
Walk into either showroom with these five items and you’ll buy better than 90% of customers.
Cushion coverage, in writing. Olhausen’s lifetime Accu-Fast guarantee is standard; make Connelly’s current cushion terms explicit on the invoice rather than assuming.
Slate spec, in writing. Confirm 1in three-piece on the exact model and trim you’re ordering, not the floor model you played on. Trim levels can change more than the badge suggests.
Delivery window and installer. Ask who physically installs, whether they’re factory-trained on the brand, and what releveling after settling costs. A great table with a sloppy install plays worse than a modest table set up right.
Pocket cut. Name your corner-pocket opening now (see above). This is the cheapest performance decision you’ll ever make on a table.
The walk-away number. Dealer margin on both brands has room in it, particularly on floor models and last year’s finishes. Quote each brand against the other and let the salesperson know you’re doing it.
What they cost
Plan on $3,000 to $7,000 for the heart of both lineups, with Olhausen stretching higher at the custom end.
| Tier | Olhausen | Connelly |
|---|---|---|
| Entry (solid wood, 1in slate) | ~$2,500-$3,500 (Aragon, Mavrik base) | ~$3,000-$4,000 (Catalina tier) |
| Mid custom | $3,500-$7,000 | $3,500-$6,500 |
| Full custom / flagship | $7,000-$20,000 | $6,500-$12,000 |
Two patterns matter in that table. Olhausen owns the sub-$3,000 solid-wood entry point, which is remarkable given what’s in the cabinet at that price; see the wider field in how much pool tables cost for context on what $2,500 buys elsewhere. And Connelly’s mid-custom tier delivers finish work that reads a tier above its price, which is where its loyalists come from.
Our own traffic data is what prompted this article, for full disclosure: readers of our brand guides kept leaving to both manufacturers’ sites in the same session, which means real buyers cross-shop this exact pair and had no neutral verdict to read. Now there’s one.
The used market, briefly
Both brands are quiet bargains used, for the same reason: buyers searching secondhand listings recognize Brunswick and not much else. A ten-year-old Olhausen with its lifetime cabinet warranty behind it typically trades at $1,500-$3,500 depending on model and region, and used Connellys often go for less than that against comparable build quality. If your budget stops at $2,500 and your heart wants solid American hardwood, a used example of either brand beats every new import at the price. The catch is logistics: you inherit the moving and releveling costs, so get a mover’s quote before you commit to a listing, and confirm the seller has the slate documentation if they claim a premium model.
The full spec comparison
| Spec | Olhausen | Connelly |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1972 | 1980 |
| Built in | Portland, Tennessee | Tucson, Arizona |
| Cabinet | Solid North American hardwoods, all tiers | Solid hardwoods on core lineup |
| Slate | 1in three-piece, no sub-1in models | 1in three-piece on cross-shopped models |
| Cushions | Accu-Fast 100% gum rubber, lifetime guarantee | K-66 gum rubber, unbranded; confirm coverage in writing |
| Finish options | 25+ standard, custom stains | Deep custom program; distressed and carved options priced aggressively |
| Warranty | Lifetime on cabinet, slate, and cushions | Lifetime structural; cushion terms vary |
| Dealer network | National, ~250 dealers | Regional, strongest in West/Southwest |
| Price band | $2,500-$20,000 | $3,000-$12,000 |
Common questions about Olhausen vs Connelly
Is Olhausen or Connelly better quality?
They’re closer than any other two American brands. Both build with solid hardwoods and 1in slate, both carry lifetime structural warranties. Olhausen wins the cushion warranty and the dealer network; Connelly wins finish-for-the-dollar, especially out West.
Are Connelly pool tables good?
Yes. Tucson-built since 1980, solid hardwoods, real slate. The brand is less famous than Olhausen mostly because its dealer footprint is smaller and western, not because the build gives anything up.
Which holds value better?
Olhausen, by a modest margin, because more used-market buyers recognize the name. A used Connelly is the sleeper deal for buyers who know what they’re looking at.
Where are these tables made?
Olhausen: Portland, Tennessee. Connelly: Tucson, Arizona. Both are fully USA-made with North American hardwoods.
What’s the difference between Accu-Fast and Connelly cushions?
Accu-Fast is Olhausen’s branded 100% gum rubber, named in the lifetime warranty. Connelly ships comparable K-66 gum rubber without the branded lifetime cushion guarantee. In play they’re peers; on paper Olhausen promises more.
If you’re still deciding whether either of these is the right lane, the Brunswick vs Olhausen verdict covers how Olhausen stacks against the heritage giant, and the same buyer logic applies here.
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For more on this topic, check out Brunswick vs Olhausen pool tables, best pool table brands, how much pool tables cost, slate vs MDF pool tables, and standard pool table sizes.