Golf vs pool

[Saijin]

So which game is harder do you think?

I know, they are different games. I think that pool and snooker are harder since you have to be not just precise but also able to manipulate the cue ball well.

[jdhallissey]

Billards is rough but the surface doesnt change on high end tables. No weather, no heat. I play a lot of pool but i do feel golf is harder.

[360_CS]

You have to be real good to play snooker unlike pool where anyone can just start playing. Like jdhallissey said it's in a pretty controlled environment unlike golf.

[GrAvEL_eXpReSs]

you play pool in a controlled enviroment. golf is played on many different surfaces and obstacles. golf is the harder game. hands down.

[Froth]

Pool is stupid easy. Golf is much more difficult on [i]every[/i] level. Pool has multiple holes to choose from for any given shot/combination, even level constant playing surface, no body twisting/no swing, clearly defined boundaries that allow shots to be figured out with simple geometry.

Playing pool well and Playing golf well are entirely different.

[Greenie]

I've found controlling a cue ball is easier than controlling a golf ball.

[Sawgrass]

Golf must be harder, otherwise they wouldn't outlaw a billiards-type stroke. ;-)

[b] 14-1/2[/b]

[b] Striking Ball with Billiard-Type Motion[/b]

Q.A player holed a short putt by squatting behind the ball (but not on an extension of the line of putt behind the ball) and striking the ball with the bottom of the clubhead, using a motion similar to that used in playing a shot in billiards or shuffleboard. Was the player in breach of Rule [url="http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-14/#14-1"]14-1[/url]?
A.Yes. Such a manner of moving the ball constitutes a push in golf.

[KjBowen]

I played 5 years on the local and regional level of pool.
Mainly 9 ball which is the hot high flying game.
Straight pool is for the strategic player
Straight 8 is your classic option
And billiards is a very difficult game.

Golf is hands down the hardest activity/game I have ever done. I was very athletic growing up and played multiple sports.

To me golf all day

[lumberman2462]

Hard to make a double bogey in pool.

[jdhallissey]

I will tell you this tho since I stopped playing competitive pool my mental game for golf has gone down. They have the same mental approach to a shot, there are sometimes the funky bounce off a slower rail. with that said I need to start playing more pool since it helped me focus a little better in golf. Also I am not saying pool is a pushover tho.

[TVGM]

I've noticed over the years that guys who shoot really well can usually putt very well also.

[jdhallissey]

You must just be watching the old guys LOL I can shoot pretty well but I still have my issues on the course putting lol

[R Hagan]

My dad and my brother are both really good pool players on the state level back home. My brother I think won the state championship one year. And my dad is really good at just about anything he does competitively. Put both of them on the first tee and it's like they've never done anything athletic in their life.

Golf, by far, is more difficult.

[Ty_Webb]

Pool you have to be much more precise with your direction. Hitting the cue ball in one of the pockets is trivial, but hitting it into another ball at just the right angle to send that ball into the pocket has accuracy requirements measured in millimetres. Hitting a golf ball into a hole has accuracy requirements measured in inches. Pool, with its large, forgiving pockets and small table is much easier than snooker, But, golf is played from off plane, which makes aiming harder and it's played over vastly larger distances (100s of yards versus a few feet) and the clubhead has to travel up to about 25 feet on the way to the ball, versus a pool cue that only moves maybe a couple of feet. That's a lot more room for things to go wrong.

Bottom line is I think golf is a lot harder than pool. Snooker is closer. I think breaking 70 is kind of like a century break in snooker. A 147 break is very hard indeed. Probably kind of like shooting 62 or 63 on a tour level course. Maybe even harder. It's hard to compare though because what's your measure?

Now three cushion billiards? That's just ridiculous.

[KjBowen]

This post made me think of the years I played pool..
Here is a video I made from a older practice session at my house

http://youtu.be/6q3r1s990cM

[jdhallissey]

Nice run and way to get out of position lol. Also was that recorded with a potato?

[KjBowen]

[quote name='jdhallissey' timestamp='1384612826' post='8157754']
Nice run and way to get out of position lol. Also was that recorded with a potato?
[/quote]

Yea little to much speed on the 8 ball shot for the 9
And yes.. I had a piece of crap blackberry lol

[Saijin]

I'm wondering about this because I'm definitely a much better golfer who shoots in mid to high 70s and my best areas are short game & putting followed by driving. (I'm a professional athlete)

I did play snooker when I was little and my grandpa was an excellent three ball player. 1 week ago, I started playing billiards again and I'm definitely a newbie. Miss long shots a lot, cut shots are non existent, bank shots are so so, etc.
I can still pocket balls from breaking most of the time and even acing the table, masse shots and jump shots are still there.

But other than that it feels like those millimeter misses and ball positioning strategy is gone from my head.

So I was thinking that accuracy wise billiards is harder, whereas athletic wise golf is.

But again, I'm not sure.


@KJbowen: If only I can play pool like you... that was a great cut shot on the 9

[Body_Visions]

I can take a beginner to a pool table and have him looking decent with a few hours of practice, not even close with golf.

Pool is a great game, and a joy to watch at a high level. I played at a reasonable level at a young age, until I got the golf bug. And I agree with the above posters that said pool players usually have a good short game, and playing pool can help your mental game for golf.

As I have said many times before- The difference between a players good and bad at golf is far greater than any other sport/game.

[doxtr111]

40+ years ago I changed to playing pool because golf was frustratingly more difficult for me. After many years of competitive pool I'm now back to golf and I see things haven't changed. Lol.

[Saijin]

I plan to get good enough to be able to run a table this will probably give me a better perspective comparing the 2.

@Doxtr111: That's funny lol.

@Body_vision: I agree... in golf it feels like either you can hit the ball or you can't. Nothing in between. Still surprised me that only what was it... 2% of golfers can break 80?

[Ballgofarboy]

Golf much harder as there are so many more variables than in pool. I played a number of years when I was younger and as long as you have steady hands and a smooth stroke, pool is nothing more than a game of angles.

One thing I would certainly say, both are great hand eye coordination games, I am not sure how many bad golfers I have played with that were good pool players.

[xxjonesyxx]

The frustrating thing in pool and snooker is, when your opponent is in there is nothing you can do to effect the outcome. There are few sports like this I can think of.

Neil

[Body_Visions]

[quote name='Saijin' timestamp='1384626909' post='8158462']
I plan to get good enough to be able to run a table this will probably give me a better perspective comparing the 2.

@Doxtr111: That's funny lol.

@Body_vision: I agree... in golf it feels like either you can hit the ball or you can't. Nothing in between.[b] Still surprised me that only what was it... 2% of golfers can break 80?[/b]
[/quote]

Pretty amazing.

[Body_Visions]

[quote name='xxjonesyxx' timestamp='1384627339' post='8158484']
The frustrating thing in pool and snooker is, when your opponent is in there is nothing you can do to effect the outcome. There are few sports like this I can think of.

Neil
[/quote]

And with pool, the "rolls" can make a difference in the outcome, at least over a short race.

In golf, if you shoot 66, I have the same opportunity to shoot 65.

[Saijin]

One of the things in pool that I hate: (I play 9 ball mainly to sharpen my control and skills). When I miss the 9 ball after running 1-8 balls, my opp wins by 1 shot.
OR, if my opp missed the 9 ball and I pocket the 9 ball in 1 shot, I still feel like a loser....no win win situation here.

3 days ago I got my fiberglass cue tip replaced with phenolic tip and my play cue got a Kamui Black SS tip. I was doing draws and masse like no tomorrow... pocketing the balls is a different thing though lol.
In that 2 hour practice time, not once was I able to run the table clean.

WHereas in golf, I hit 20 balls at the range and I'm done, dial in my putts and chips in 15 minutes, then go play. Again though, my skills in golf completely overshadows my billiards.

BTW, one time I was playing 18 holes for fun with friends and I used my butt end of the shaft as a cue stick and stroke the balls into the holes... I "putted" 14 balls in 1 stroke each. =D

[m5power]

i have found people that I golf with who are really good at pool/billiards exhibited great touch and creativity around the greens. As well as being excellent putters. FWIW

[Bogie_Nights]

[quote name='kjbowen' timestamp='1384611447' post='8157718']
This post made me think of the years I played pool..
Here is a video I made from a older practice session at my house

[media=]http://youtu.be/6q3r1s990cM[/media]
[/quote]

So you're good enough to handle a foged cue...

[Thrillhouse]

[quote name='kjbowen' timestamp='1384611447' post='8157718']
This post made me think of the years I played pool..
Here is a video I made from a older practice session at my house

[/quote]

I don't play pool, but that looked smooooooth to me!

[Guia]

My father owned a Snooker/Peel Hall when I was growing up (I thank my father for my misspent life of pool halls and card rooms). I have played a lot of snooker, pool, and some billards and a high level and done my share of road hustling. My best 14.1 run is 56 balls, not bad, but not Willie Mosconi. Golf is much, much harder.

Golf conditions change minute-to-minute because of many factors. I disagree with a previous post that pool requires more accuracy to the millimeter. The distance the pool ball travels makes some missed cued shots still be made, more room for error due to short distance. A golf shot off 1 - 3 degrees is multiplied many times at distances of 200 - 300 yards.

I love both games and through the years (74) both have been a constant in my life. But Golf is on a level by itself, maybe rivaled by only Chess (which I really suck at).

KJBOWEN: Nice run, good stroke. Your a player. +1