Of course. That's why they chose a game where there might be 100 people worldwide that earn a comfortable living doing
Or Earl The Pearl.The smartest?
I'm with Superstar. How, for instance, would you explain Detroit Whitey? GF
One qualification I'd put into that is that golfers can call on advisors (caddies) before attempting a difficult shot. That sort of thing is a no-no among top pool players.Golf requires greater intelligence than pool ever will. Golf is played in three dimensions on every shot. Shots can be shaped. There are uneven surfaces to land the ball. Trajectory has to be accounted for. There are also outside interferences, such as wind, rain, etc..
Not to take away from pool, but to be played at a very high level, there is much more to the game of golf than pool. There are a few players that have become great at pool in a few years time. This cannot be done at golf.
I wouldn't say that mastering golf on the highest level isn't more difficult than mastering pool, for some of the reasons you mention, particularly the weather factor, which doesn't usually enter into pool events on the top level.Seriously? Look at Phil Mickelson vs Dustin Johnson. Dustin is CLEARLY the superior athlete, yet Phil places higher on a consistent basis. Tom Watson, at age 59, placed 2nd in the British Open in 2009. Athletic ability?
Single ball, single hole. Yet, the surface of play is 10+ yards wide. Where's the right place to put the ball for a flat stance, and best approach to the pin? If I want to shape the ball, where do I want to play my second shot from? The green has slope. Where do I want to land my ball to give me a flat putt? Is it best to hit a high, soft ball into the green, or do I hit a flatter shot, and chase the ball onto the green.
Yeah, single hole, single ball. Except there's 100 alligators between the ball and the hole. Pool table - 6 pockets that never move. Flat surface with no obstacles. Uniform climate. Two dimensions of analysis only. You typically hit the ball in a straight line, except for the odd swerve shot. You usually roll the ball on the surface of the cloth, except for the odd jump shot.
As a player of both games, I am intrigued by the inner game in pool, but golf is MUCH more demanding, physically and mentally, when played at the highest level. I'm on a quest to break into the 70s, and that is taking years, and incredible mental discipline. You MUST make the right decision, from shot to shot, in golf. Pool doesn't punish you the same way for mistakes.
I had a very successful career as a secondhand bookseller, and I've always told people that the best insight I ever had about myself, which occurred at some point in my mid-20's, was to realize that I was never going to be able to make a living shooting pool.I will say that JA is one of the most determined people I have ever met. He has a will to win that is beyond my brains ability to compute. He is a "genious at gemoetry". That is what he has needed to be successful and led him to the HOF.
Now he is becoming a biz man, its taking him longer than it took me, but I still cant play like he does, duh?? We all have talent for something. The great players-Alex, JA, SVB, are in a different world and they keep their focus one one thing only-being the best. They have all told me that or I wouldnt have mentioned their names. When you focus that hard on something narrow as pool you dont become a rocket scient <----i cant even spell it right LOL.
So my point is no the greaat players arnt the sharpest guys because they stay focused on one thing pool. Now when pool is done and they get older then they get educated in other areas of life.
But this is kinda over generalizing, Corey Deuel is very smart on lots of topics. so its not how sharp they are as much as it is how they choose to spend their time. I think thats the right answer.
I have talked to the best of the best and they all knew within a few months or less they could play, I mean really play. I knew I couldnt. If I knew I could have played and had a chance to be a world champion-I guarantee you I wouldnt be half an smart/experienced as I am now because I would have used my time getting the most out of my talent. Thats the right ansewer.
Re: pool vs golf-
A looong time ago i read a snippet that quoted Niels Bohr as stating (in favor of pool) that "Pool is the golf of intellectuals"
Since the internet came along, i have not been able to find or substantiate that; or even whether he played any cue sports.
Niels and his brother Harald (also famous scientist) were both top soccer players in their school days. Harald might have even been world class/national team level for a while.
Maybe or maybe not book smart, but real smart about patterns, percentages, game theory.
All the good ones I know are sharp.
I tried to find out [Wikipedia website and a "google" search] to see what I could find on him [I'm interested in this thread's subject area ... I pretty much struck out. Did you know him? Went to school with him?I believe one of the smartest pool players would have to be Jimmy Reid. He scored a perfect SAT in high school and was offered free rides from all the top universities. However it came about, playing pool was his passion and his life. You can see it when he explains the diamond system in his training videos and dvd's, just how simple the math is to him. He runs through his explanations and calculates the shots at the speed of light... RIP Jimmy Reid
try googling- Jimmy Reid poolI tried to find out [Wikipedia website and a "google" search] to see what I could find on him [I'm interested in this thread's subject area ... I pretty much struck out. Did you know him? Went to school with him?
^^^^^^^^Absolutely 100% NO!!!
You are flattering yourself.
<snip>But getting back to my point, seems to me that the best players I've known were also shrewd debaters of any subject that involved odds or math problems.
Earl was never considered "that bright".But like I said, maybe I'm flattering myself. Your thoughts?
It's an intelligent man that knows his strengths ....and his weaknesses. You are "The One Armed Bandit"I think an accurate description would be that great pool players..... are obsessive and wake up wanting to crush the opposition. Some of them are smarter than average, but the defining characteristic is a single minded desire for greatness bordering on personality disorder.
Wait, what was the question? Oh crap, I was talking about myself....description of a shortstop that is!
Well that's cool.... Neils is my scientific great great great grandfather or great great grandfather, depending on which path you take.Re: pool vs golf-
A looong time ago i read a snippet that quoted Niels Bohr as stating (in favor of pool) that "Pool is the golf of intellectuals"
Since the internet came along, i have not been able to find or substantiate that; or even whether he played any cue sports.
Niels and his brother Harald (also famous scientist) were both top soccer players in their school days. Harald might have even been world class/national team level for a while.