Pool is not Golf, But………………….what if!
We could learn something from the business model the PGA tour uses, what the USGA uses and apply those to the Billiard/Pool industry. I am writing this little article with extreme bias because of what I believe can be done and has drawn interest from outside the billiards industry.
Golf is a sport where the player has their personal equipment supplied by a sponsor and he or she is playing on a Golf course competing against usually another 128 players on the PGA Tour to shoot below par on every hole to post the lowest score possible in 72 holes.
Golf has a farm system where kids start playing in high school, get scholarships to play in college and go from there. Same game, same rules same format as the pros on the PGA tour.
On the PGA tour they have 1 game they play at every tournament (Golf) throughout the season with 1 set of rules. Golf has no defense because 2 players never hit the same ball so every player has to live with their own mistakes. Every time you get to hit your ball, I get to hit mine and no matter where your ball goes, it has no effect on mine. It’s me with my equipment playing the course.
To play on the PGA tour you first must be a member of the PGA and prove you are qualified to play on the tour by going through qualifying school. There is a serious difference between a touring pro and a club pro although both have to be a member of the PGA.
On the PGA tour, if you drop out of the top 120 (I think) players on the money list, you have to go back through Q school to qualify to get back on the tour.
The PGA tour has a dress code, a code of ethics, a standard they expect you to live up to as well as a prestigious image you are responsible to represent when you where their emblem.
One of the reasons Golf is so popular is because it’s simple to understand and an amateur can watch the pros on TV shoot a super low score and when the amateur goes out and shoots a score in the 90’s/ 100’s, what do they have? “The amateurs now have a way to compare how their scores measures up to how good the pros really are”. “A MEASURING STICK” How many times have you heard an amateur say this when you introduce a pro to them, “You ought to see my uncle play, he never misses”. You don’t hear that in Golf.
Because Golf has a point/score based method of determining a player’s skill level you can now get very accurate players handicaps. No, it’s not perfect but it is accepted. (Of course there is sandbagging in golf)
You can’t argue with the success of the Golf industry, they have got it right. They attract big sponsors, their on TV almost every week, they pay out big purses, they support many charities and they sell lots of products related to the golf industry with this business model.
QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE DO INCORPORATE THIS BUSINESS MODEL INTO THE PROFESSIONAL POOL INDUSTRY?
We pick a game where the player has their equipment and he or she is playing on whatever table is chosen for the event and they are competing with another 64 – 128 players playing on the same tables to post the highest score possible.
We play the same (1) game throughout the season that has the same format with 1 set of rules for every tournament. The table could be different but not the game or rules.
We set up a qualifying school where everyone plays on the same equipment and you must post an average score of a certain standard to qualify to play on a professional tour. This sets the benchmark to separate amateurs from the pros.
We form an association that requires anyone that wants to play on this tour to be a member of with strict rules regarding dress codes, conduct and ethics. This same association must be partly owned by the players and provide both health benefits and retirement.
We pick a game that has a measuring stick “Point Based” that is easy to learn, that will measure your progress and gives you an accurate skill level. This game can be introduced in to the school system for beginners to develop a farm system for a professional tour. The game must be easy to incorporate into a team sport for colleges.
We pick a game that is fast, flexible, fair to everyone, easy to learn and you can build the Golf business model around it. You can play this game as a single, or a team competition, as a scramble, individual match play or metal play.
The hardest part of all of this is “Everybody loves the most popular games today- but you can’t build this Golf model around them”. I would guess there are 25+ tournaments held around the country that offer different games, different rules, and different formats to determine a winner and how they determine who’s a pro and who’s not.
I’m not suggesting I want to steer this monster (billiards industry/current games) ship off its current course; I want to build a new ship that looks different, sleek, pretty, fast and draws interest from people that never looked at this kind of ship before.
It all has to be done with the objective to get this game/tour on TV. It’s a challenge but not impossible. According to my research, pool players do the following as well – Fish – ride motorcycles – use cell phones – buy lawnmowers – like new electronics/gadgets – play golf and the average recreational pool player in the USA makes over $48,000.00 a year.
I believe the PGA Golf model can be done using the game & concept of 6 Pocket. I have seen the results of people playing 6 Pocket on all levels over the past 4 years and 1 thing is clear to me, most players think they play better than they really can. I challenge any 6 in the APA to shoot a score of 75 or better on a 9’ table.
I’m open to all criticism, knockers; hard core “I don’t want to change anything” players and any supporters as well. It can’t be done overnight or by 1 person but it can be done………..……any takers?
We could learn something from the business model the PGA tour uses, what the USGA uses and apply those to the Billiard/Pool industry. I am writing this little article with extreme bias because of what I believe can be done and has drawn interest from outside the billiards industry.
Golf is a sport where the player has their personal equipment supplied by a sponsor and he or she is playing on a Golf course competing against usually another 128 players on the PGA Tour to shoot below par on every hole to post the lowest score possible in 72 holes.
Golf has a farm system where kids start playing in high school, get scholarships to play in college and go from there. Same game, same rules same format as the pros on the PGA tour.
On the PGA tour they have 1 game they play at every tournament (Golf) throughout the season with 1 set of rules. Golf has no defense because 2 players never hit the same ball so every player has to live with their own mistakes. Every time you get to hit your ball, I get to hit mine and no matter where your ball goes, it has no effect on mine. It’s me with my equipment playing the course.
To play on the PGA tour you first must be a member of the PGA and prove you are qualified to play on the tour by going through qualifying school. There is a serious difference between a touring pro and a club pro although both have to be a member of the PGA.
On the PGA tour, if you drop out of the top 120 (I think) players on the money list, you have to go back through Q school to qualify to get back on the tour.
The PGA tour has a dress code, a code of ethics, a standard they expect you to live up to as well as a prestigious image you are responsible to represent when you where their emblem.
One of the reasons Golf is so popular is because it’s simple to understand and an amateur can watch the pros on TV shoot a super low score and when the amateur goes out and shoots a score in the 90’s/ 100’s, what do they have? “The amateurs now have a way to compare how their scores measures up to how good the pros really are”. “A MEASURING STICK” How many times have you heard an amateur say this when you introduce a pro to them, “You ought to see my uncle play, he never misses”. You don’t hear that in Golf.
Because Golf has a point/score based method of determining a player’s skill level you can now get very accurate players handicaps. No, it’s not perfect but it is accepted. (Of course there is sandbagging in golf)
You can’t argue with the success of the Golf industry, they have got it right. They attract big sponsors, their on TV almost every week, they pay out big purses, they support many charities and they sell lots of products related to the golf industry with this business model.
QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE DO INCORPORATE THIS BUSINESS MODEL INTO THE PROFESSIONAL POOL INDUSTRY?
We pick a game where the player has their equipment and he or she is playing on whatever table is chosen for the event and they are competing with another 64 – 128 players playing on the same tables to post the highest score possible.
We play the same (1) game throughout the season that has the same format with 1 set of rules for every tournament. The table could be different but not the game or rules.
We set up a qualifying school where everyone plays on the same equipment and you must post an average score of a certain standard to qualify to play on a professional tour. This sets the benchmark to separate amateurs from the pros.
We form an association that requires anyone that wants to play on this tour to be a member of with strict rules regarding dress codes, conduct and ethics. This same association must be partly owned by the players and provide both health benefits and retirement.
We pick a game that has a measuring stick “Point Based” that is easy to learn, that will measure your progress and gives you an accurate skill level. This game can be introduced in to the school system for beginners to develop a farm system for a professional tour. The game must be easy to incorporate into a team sport for colleges.
We pick a game that is fast, flexible, fair to everyone, easy to learn and you can build the Golf business model around it. You can play this game as a single, or a team competition, as a scramble, individual match play or metal play.
The hardest part of all of this is “Everybody loves the most popular games today- but you can’t build this Golf model around them”. I would guess there are 25+ tournaments held around the country that offer different games, different rules, and different formats to determine a winner and how they determine who’s a pro and who’s not.
I’m not suggesting I want to steer this monster (billiards industry/current games) ship off its current course; I want to build a new ship that looks different, sleek, pretty, fast and draws interest from people that never looked at this kind of ship before.
It all has to be done with the objective to get this game/tour on TV. It’s a challenge but not impossible. According to my research, pool players do the following as well – Fish – ride motorcycles – use cell phones – buy lawnmowers – like new electronics/gadgets – play golf and the average recreational pool player in the USA makes over $48,000.00 a year.
I believe the PGA Golf model can be done using the game & concept of 6 Pocket. I have seen the results of people playing 6 Pocket on all levels over the past 4 years and 1 thing is clear to me, most players think they play better than they really can. I challenge any 6 in the APA to shoot a score of 75 or better on a 9’ table.
I’m open to all criticism, knockers; hard core “I don’t want to change anything” players and any supporters as well. It can’t be done overnight or by 1 person but it can be done………..……any takers?
