Golf vs pool

[scotto69]

Ladies pool had a good run but that appears to be over. ESPN seems to have lost interest in it.

Americans were excellent at three cushion for a long time, but that time is long over. A transplanted Korean named Sang Lee (special player, worth checking out on youtube) was the only US player to win the world title in decades.

Jim Rempe was a fantastic pool player, tried to play snooker against European pros and never got anywhere close. 14 year old kids there would smash him. Watch some Ronnie O'Sullivan videos if you want to see what snooker is all about at the highest level. Ronnie is so damn good he might be top 5 in the world...WITH HIS OPPOSITE FREAKING HAND. Forger Notah Begay switching sides on putts, this is orders of magnitude harder to do.

While pool is much easier to not look like a fool at, beating the top players is just as hard.

The best hustlers in pool were so good they could watch a player practice for a half hour, and if the guy missed more than one or two balls, they knew could beat him for as much as they could get him to bet.

[Guia]

Rempe had drug problems was what I was told. I think he still did pretty well hustling. Of course now he is a has been and too old to compete. I am not even sure he is still alive?

I totally agree that snooker is a harder game, smaller pockets, rounded t****, a lot of defense, more demand on consistent ball speed, and position. Snooker is (was) my favorite, but 9 ball (or 6 ball) is a great money game. I have never played 3 cushion, only watched.

Even at my age when I hear the click of the balls it feels like home. I wish that I could have had the game of our video buddy. If so, I would still be out there. An honor to watch him play. The best player I have witnessed was Ronnie Allen. I spent 8 years in the Philippines and knew Bustamante and Jose P. They played a lot of pool around Clark AB (Angeles City & Subic Bay). I was once setup for a game with Bustamante, but watched him practice and bowed out.......but bought him a San Miguel for coming bye.

Darts were also a big hustle game in the Philippines in the 70s & 80s. I played a lot but never got very good. A lot of great golf courses there.

[Saijin]

well, I don't want to spend more money, so I stopped buying stuff =P

But cue sticks actually gain in value?

I do love my Predator Z2 shaft though

[scotto69]

Rempe was never known for being a big drug user. I don't think he hustled much for most of his career either. He was more of a tournement player and played excellent straight pool as well as games like nine ball. An old school classy pro.

He's completely retired from pool and spends time fishing for striped bass...they posted a pic of him with a huge one maybe a year or two ago on azbilliards.

[Guia]

glad to hear he is alive and doing well. I do believe he did a lot of green room hustling and was known to go on the road. I am sorry to hear he is one of the OLD school players, since he was more of my era.

[HR Dave]

I'm with most everyone else, Golf is much harder. I've been working on Golf for years and still suck, hell, I got good at pool while playing drunk all the time. hmmmmm... maybe on not drinking enough while I'm golfing?

[Saijin]

I want a cheap table for my home to practice.

I saw some on craigslist for $50-$100.

THing is I don't think I have the space, unless I take it completely apart and put it in basement.
Would a table be ok put in my yard and covered in the winter / snowy / rainy season?

[Mikey Town]

[quote name='Saijin' timestamp='1391741561' post='8613573']
well, I don't want to spend more money, so I stopped buying stuff =P

But cue sticks actually gain in value?

I do love my Predator Z2 shaft though
[/quote]

Cue sticks do not gain in value... the [i]right[/i] cue sticks gain in value.

Many custom makers have waiting lists of 3-5, or even 10, years. If you are able to buy a cue directly from one of those makers, you can usually sell it for an instant profit to players, or collectors, that don't want to wait that long.

[quote name='Saijin' timestamp='1394177659' post='8817721']
I want a cheap table for my home to practice.

I saw some on craigslist for $50-$100.

THing is I don't think I have the space, unless I take it completely apart and put it in basement.
Would a table be ok put in my yard and covered in the winter / snowy / rainy season?
[/quote]

When it comes to pool tables, you get what you pay for. If you are looking to spend $50-$100, you won't get anything worth playing on and it definitely won't last. The cheap ones usually don't have a bed made of slate. The good tables that will last, have beds made of 1" thick slate.

Any quality pool table must be taken apart to be moved anyway. This is something best left to a table mechanic. That alone will cost $300-$500.

If you just want something to stick outside, get a table that is specifically made to be outside. There are companies out there that make tables out of materials that hold up to weather. If you put one of the cheap tables outside, it probably won't be level for long.


Cheers,

Mike

[Saijin]

The ones I saw on craigs apparently have 1 upto 3 slates and they are just old and used.

But I'll look into the outdoors table and see how much they are. I really don't want to pay much at all, since I can go to a pool hall for $2/hour .

I just thought it'd be nice to have one at home to practice from time to time when I'm not feeling well etc.

[farmer]

Another niche I know nothing about. Cue's for five figures!? Cannot imagine that.

[Saijin]

I saw some at $5k and when I did, I immediately thought... "If it rolls down and hits something... causing a dent, it's done for."

Heck, I dropped my $400 cue and I was like... crap...


OH, mikey, another question: I am going to get that very nice Aramith Tournament pro balls that have the extra black circles on the numbers. These are suppoed to be best of the best. Now... if the balls fly off the table and hit concrete ground, would they chip?

[Saijin]

One thing slipped thru my mind... I have the smallest kamui tip... does a bigger tip makes a huge difference in error forgiveness?

[fore]

[quote name='Saijin' timestamp='1395288604' post='8909207']
One thing slipped thru my mind... I have the smallest kamui tip... does a bigger tip makes a huge difference in error forgiveness?
[/quote]

Like the new oversized cavity back tip.

[Sean2]

I wish golf came to me as easy as pool did.

[Saijin]

[quote name='fore' timestamp='1395307734' post='8909617']
[quote name='Saijin' timestamp='1395288604' post='8909207']
One thing slipped thru my mind... I have the smallest kamui tip... does a bigger tip makes a huge difference in error forgiveness?
[/quote]

Like the new oversized cavity back tip.
[/quote]


Gah,.... but making masse shots are tougher with those bigger tips I tried. Dang it... maybe I need to buy another cue shaft + tip.

[quote name='Sean2' timestamp='1395314540' post='8909757']
I wish golf came to me as easy as pool did.
[/quote]

LoL, at least in golf , you have wider areas to hit to =P

[Sean2]

That may be Saijin, but in my misspent youth I was probably the equivalent of a +3 in pool (and I never lost a ball!). In golf? Not so much. :-)

[Saijin]

Damn.... that's impressive... wish I could do that.

[Sean2]

And I wouldn't mind being a 3 HI in golf. :-)

[Saijin]

You should check out my new made thread "one of those days" . Apparently I'm still able to shoot in double digits, LOL

[scotto69]

I really wish all these guys saying they got good at pool gambled at my local pool hall.

RRfireblade might be the one stud on this site at both games...+6 at golf and I have a feeling he knows what quality pool really means.

Sean2 might be good. What does a +3 equate to in high run at straight pool, tourney wins in open events,etc...? My buddy was a junior national champion, ran 125 at straight pool when he was 16 and had no chance to make a living at the game.

[Sean2]

When I was a kid I LIVED at the local pool hall. Started at nine years old at our local boys club and it went from there. Straight pool and 9-ball, mostly straight pool though. Never had any aspirations. My best run was 98 in straight pool...playing to 100. You would get in a zone, tune everything out, and just go. I haven't played in 30 some odd years.

As good as I was at pool, I am as bad at golf. :-)

[Saijin]

lol, 9.8 HI is bad? uh huh...

What does 100 straight in pool mean?

I play mainly 9 ball to polish my skills... but it gets frustrating when I can't pocket the same ball after 3+ tries

[Sean2]

Each ball made counted as one point. We would play to 100.

That 9.8 was at the end of last season. I haven't played in four months. Longest. Winter. Ever.

I will look for your thread. :-)

[scotto69]

98 at straight pool is pretty damn good. You might be spot on about the +3. I'm guessing you didn't get a decent break shot at 99? There is a funny fictional book about two guys who played straight pool for years and one guy is almost at 100...the other guy sweeps all the balls on the table and says "You won...but you STILL didn't run 100!"

I don't play straight pool much, my high runs are only in the 60's, but I do ok at most of the other games.

As far as buying a pool table goes, anyone with patience can almost steal one from craigslist. People have to move and run out of time trying to sell their table for way higher than the market will bear. Olhausens with accu-fast cushions can be bought for less than a grand all the time. Factor in at least another 3 or 4 hundred for setup and move though.

I'm friends with a guy who owns a billiard room and supply store, Buffalo Billiards in CA, and listen to him explain to people that it doesn't matter that they payed 3 grand for a table and never used it. He offers them something like 500 bucks for it.

[Saijin]

100 straight pocketed balls.... LOL, the most and rare I've ever done was 6 and I was so damn happy.

[sompin2do]

[quote name='scotto69' timestamp='1395409051' post='8917381']
98 at straight pool is pretty damn good. You might be spot on about the +3. I'm guessing you didn't get a decent break shot at 99? There is a funny fictional book about two guys who played straight pool for years and one guy is almost at 100...the other guy sweeps all the balls on the table and says "You won...but you STILL didn't run 100!"

I don't play straight pool much, my high runs are only in the 60's, but I do ok at most of the other games.

As far as buying a pool table goes, [b]anyone with patience can almost steal one from craigslist.[/b] People have to move and run out of time trying to sell their table for way higher than the market will bear. [b]Olhausens with accu-fast cushions can be bought for less than a grand all the time[/b]. Factor in at least another 3 or 4 hundred for setup and move though.

I'm friends with a guy who owns a billiard room and supply store, Buffalo Billiards in CA, and listen to him explain to people that it doesn't matter that they payed 3 grand for a table and never used it. He offers them something like 500 bucks for it.
[/quote]

Just sold my 8 foot Olhausen Southern a few weeks ago for $1000 on CraigsList and that included all the accessories, about 6 cues, a corner cue rack and 2 nice chairs. Took over a year and had some stupid low offers. I had it 6 years and luckily didn't buy it new. Didn't get all my money back but did much better than those trying to sell the table they paid retail for. Nobody in their right mind would buy a brand new table if they spent 5 minutes searching CL.

Still have the Super Aramith Pro balls to sell, a hand made custom cue, JB cue and one of a kind case but just don't have the time for pool these days.

[Saijin]

Somp, you still have those for sale? Do they happen to be the balls that have the black circle on the numbers? Or the regular ones?

Send me a PM, I may be interested in them all.

[Sean2]

[quote name='scotto69' timestamp='1395409051' post='8917381']
98 at straight pool is pretty damn good. You might be spot on about the +3. I'm guessing you didn't get a decent break shot at 99? There is a funny fictional book about two guys who played straight pool for years and one guy is almost at 100...the other guy sweeps all the balls on the table and says "You won...but you STILL didn't run 100!"

I don't play straight pool much, my high runs are only in the 60's, but I do ok at most of the other games.

As far as buying a pool table goes, anyone with patience can almost steal one from craigslist. People have to move and run out of time trying to sell their table for way higher than the market will bear. Olhausens with accu-fast cushions can be bought for less than a grand all the time. Factor in at least another 3 or 4 hundred for setup and move though.

I'm friends with a guy who owns a billiard room and supply store, Buffalo Billiards in CA, and listen to him explain to people that it doesn't matter that they payed 3 grand for a table and never used it. He offers them something like 500 bucks for it.
[/quote]

Sounds like golf club trade-in values. :-)

[Sean2]

[quote name='Saijin' timestamp='1395422517' post='8919011']
100 straight pocketed balls.... LOL, the most and rare I've ever done was 6 and I was so damn happy.
[/quote]

That was a loooong time ago Saijin. And I don't hit it miles off the tee. :-)

[Saijin]

But still... that's impressive. I use the smallest and softest Kamui tip on my predator shaft. I feel that it's making me miss a little more.

But then again, I don't have the ability to forsee beyond 3 shots.