Golf and pool similarities.

D

Deadon

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This seems to come up often and I guess I am too old and/or senile to understand it.

I have played both since high school, tee fees were $1.50 if that gives you an idea how long ago that was.

Anyway, in another thread, and in many threads, some people tend to compare pool mechanics to golf mechanics. I don't see any similarities, with the exception of the game being played with a round ball.

So I have come to believe that some people can't help themselves and just want to talk about golf, even on a pool forum. But I want to give them the chance to step up and explain their thoughts.

Can one you golfers/pool players step up and tell me where the similarities are? Were talking mechanics here, not mindset etc.
 
You must develope a repeatable stroke/swing to make the ball go in the hole.
 
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Deadon said:
This seems to come up often and I guess I am too old and/or senile to understand it.

Anyway, in another thread, and in many threads, some people tend to compare pool mechanics to golf mechanics. I don't see any similarities, with the exception of the game being played with a round ball.

Can one you golfers/pool players step up and tell me where the similarities are? Were talking mechanics here, not mindset etc.
Click to expand...

Pool/billiards and golf for one thing have the same origin. Also, golf and pool both come under the set of non-reaction sports where all of the motion of the ball(s) in play are powered by the individual from a stationary stance using a striking instrument. That is, the balls aren't in motion. Nobody is throwing or tossing a ball at you. It's just the ball, you, and all the time in the world to set yourself.

So, technique, instruction, video taping, mental studies, and basic motions are grouped (can be grouped) under the same umbrella. There are no other major sports that really belong to this group (apologies to the croquet club).

I think instructionally speaking, we can thank the work of the golfing world since much of the same techniques in instructing/learning can be transfered.

So, there are definitely similarities, especially with putting. But, obvious, they're just similar in some respects, but very different in others. Specifically, there are more targets in pool, and the line of site is completely different.

Fred
 
One thing similar is that, in both pool and golf, you are hitting a ball that is not moving. So, you have a lot of time to think about it before execution of the shot. This differs from sports like tennis (or baseball) where you have to react very quickly to a moving ball. This timing factor, I think, makes some of the mental or concentration aspects of the games similar.
 
rackem said:
You must develope a repeatable stroke/swing to make the ball go in the hole.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily true. In pool, almost always yes. In golf, only on the same type of shot and club.

Lets speak mechanics. No question, the game is with a ball and you have to hit it. What I'm curious about is how people are able to compare golf mechanics to pool mechanics? Body movements etc.

C'mon you closet golfers, chime in.:)
 
Cornerman said:
Pool/billiards and golf for one thing have the same origin. Also, golf and pool both come under the set of non-reaction sports where all of the motion of the ball(s) in play are powered by the individual from a stationary stance using a striking instrument. That is, the balls aren't in motion. Nobody is throwing or tossing a ball at you. It's just the ball, you, and all the time in the world to set yourself.

So, technique, instruction, video taping, mental studies, and basic motions are grouped (can be grouped) under the same umbrella. There are no other major sports that really belong to this group (apologies to the croquet club).

I think instructionally speaking, we can thank the work of the golfing world since much of the same techniques in instructing/learning can be transfered.

So, there are definitely similarities, especially with putting. But, obvious, they're just similar in some respects, but very different in others. Specifically, there are more targets in pool, and the line of site is completely different.

Fred
Click to expand...

Fred;

Pretty vague, and general. Yes, everyone needs to practice hard and learn the same way. Both games are with stationery balls and each game is mentally trying. Blah Blah:)


Specifics, if you(anyone) can.......

But this started from another thread and body movement in pool was being compared to golfers body movement. So I just had to ask... How?


Mike

BTW, stationary stance in golf..mmmmm every part of the body moves, except the head hopefully, but I guess they don't go anywhere.
 
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Deadon said:
This seems to come up often and I guess I am too old and/or senile to understand it.

I have played both since high school, tee fees were $1.50 if that gives you an idea how long ago that was.

Anyway, in another thread, and in many threads, some people tend to compare pool mechanics to golf mechanics. I don't see any similarities, with the exception of the game being played with a round ball.

So I have come to believe that some people can't help themselves and just want to talk about golf, even on a pool forum. But I want to give them the chance to step up and explain their thoughts.

Can one you golfers/pool players step up and tell me where the similarities are? Were talking mechanics here, not mindset etc.
Click to expand...
How about the back swing and follow through? The more you stay on plain the straighter the ball goes with less force. If you have a long back swing with a jab stroke, you get less accuracy and certainly no power.

Just a starting point.
 
Deadon said:
Fred;

Pretty vague, and general. Yes, everyone needs to practice hard and learn the same way. Both games are with stationery balls and each game is mentally trying. Blah Blah:)


Specifics, if you(anyone) can.......

But this started from another thread and body movement in pool was being compared to golfers body movement. So I just had to ask... How?


Mike
Click to expand...
Okay, forget about practicing hard. I was specifically talking about approaches and learning, since they both are stationary ball striking. You asked for why the comparisons... that's why.

Are the motions similar? When, again, if you examine the instruction (and all of this "pool is like golf" is coming from people trying to explain technique and instruction), then the similarities are obvious.

They both perform a stroke that start with warm ups, an address right at or near the point of contact, a controlled draw back of the striking stick, a final back position, a forward stroke, a high emphasis on hitting the ball at the intended target, and and emphasis on following through rather than checking up.

They both undergo a pendulum arc, though the golf swing plane is different than the billiard stroke.

There are several freeze frame areas during this stroke/swing that an instructor can use as analysis, most often watching areas of relative body motion where it should or shouldn't be. Specifically for pool, the head and the elbow. Speficially for golf, the hands, arms, knees, etc.

In pool and golf, you strive for a repeatable stroke/swing in most normal stroke/swing situations, while you have specialized techniques for other situations like being jacked up, having your ball higher than your feet, bridging off a rail, putting from off the green, breaking, driving, jump shots, sand shots.

Of course there are more, but other than marbles, there aren't other games that billiards can properly be compared.

Fred
 
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Why are you comparing?

I don't why you want to even correlate the 2, they are different sports, and they don't share anything other than a couple of similiarities for basic functioning in trying to achieve a high level of play, no more than when comparing any 2 sports.

So what if quite a few Pool players also enjoy Golf. I have heard many Pool players complain about their Golf game is good, but threw their Pool game off, much like a woman will throw a Pool player off his game ... LOL

I can not understand this almost obsession with Pool players trying to match Golf up with Pool. Why not Baseball? Let's see, you swing a bat, and you swing a golf club, so they are closely related, right? (meant to be sarcastic).
 
this is easy

why has no one mentioned that in both games you're contacting
the white with your "stick" and trying to pocket the colors?
 
Snapshot9 said:
I don't why you want to even correlate the 2, they are different sports, and they don't share anything other than a couple of similiarities for basic functioning in trying to achieve a high level of play, no more than when comparing any 2 sports.

So what if quite a few Pool players also enjoy Golf. I have heard many Pool players complain about their Golf game is good, but threw their Pool game off, much like a woman will throw a Pool player off his game ... LOL

I can not understand this almost obsession with Pool players trying to match Golf up with Pool. Why not Baseball? Let's see, you swing a bat, and you swing a golf club, so they are closely related, right? (meant to be sarcastic).
Click to expand...

That is why I started the thread. I just wondered why people kept doing it, comparing them, and thought it would make an interesting and insightful thread. And frankly, some of the answers and thoughts that have been tendered so far are very good, OK, a couple aren't but its nice to see people thinking on Friday and not about work.

Mike
 
Cornerman said:
They both perform a stroke that start with warm ups, an address right at or near the point of contact, a controlled draw back of the striking stick, a final back position, a forward stroke, a high emphasis on hitting the ball at the intended target, and and emphasis on following through rather than checking up.

They both undergo a pendulum arc, though the golf swing plane is different than the billiard stroke.

There are several freeze frame areas during this stroke/swing that an instructor can use as analysis, most often watching areas of relative body motion where it should or shouldn't be. Specifically for pool, the head and the elbow. Speficially for pool, the hands, arms, knees, etc.

In pool and golf, you strive for a repeatable stroke/swing in most normal stroke/swing situations, while you have specialized techniques for other situations like being jacked up, having your ball higher than your feet, bridging off a rail, putting from off the green, breaking, driving, jump shots, sand shots.

Of course there are more, but other than marbles, there aren't other games that billiards can properly be compared.

Fred
Click to expand...

Fred;

Good thoughts. Certainly the preshot ideas and timing are the same conceptually. Basic elements of swing are the same. But the elements of the swing are executed differently which separates the comparison. The resultant club head accelerating through a large elliptical arc is mechanically different from the forward movement of the cue in a straight line to contact the ball.

The swing in golf, notice we call it swing, is smooth and fluid with the entire body involved. Difficult to say the least. Pool, the stroke, as we pool players call it, any movement beyond the elbow, is usually the road to problems. Different goals for each, while executing the same basic sequence of backswing, pause, follow through.
 
back on topic

at some of the bars our league goes to, the tables roll like the green. :mad:

HERE COMES THE BREAK............. AND IT'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
 
Just a thought but why has no one mentioned the harm of slice/hook, the value of draw/fade and the similar mechanical properties they have on the ball to inside/outside english. Not to mention the fact that people use a different swing for a drive often times because they are thinking about applying top spin to get a better bounce and add 10 yards or how about the idea of getting your pitching/chipping/sand wedges all ridiculously clean so they can properly grip the ball and provide the backspin you need to not roll off the green. Sounds kind of like bringing the cueball to center with a draw doesn't it.
 
lak833 said:
Just a thought but why has no one mentioned the harm of slice/hook, the value of draw/fade and the similar mechanical properties they have on the ball to inside/outside english. Not to mention the fact that people use a different swing for a drive often times because they are thinking about applying top spin to get a better bounce and add 10 yards or how about the idea of getting your pitching/chipping/sand wedges all ridiculously clean so they can properly grip the ball and provide the backspin you need to not roll off the green. Sounds kind of like bringing the cueball to center with a draw doesn't it.
Click to expand...


sounds pretty much the same to me.
what about the traditional green cloth?
didn't pool originate as a lawn game?
 
I'll add one more similarity that I haven't read yet. In both games, it's important to strike through the ball, not at the ball. Failure to do so will cause poor performance. The follow through is key to success.

I would also add that while it's called a stroke of the cue, I tend to think of my lower arm swinging into and creating the shot much like my arms swinging the golf club through the hitting zone.

I also think that keeping the head absolutely dead still provides for far more accuracy in both games, especially when the player is down to the little strokes in golf, chipping and putting. While my golf game has gone away, I'm still an excellent putter because of my ability to keep my head still when putting.

Now if I can just learn to do that when shooting pool.....

Brian in VA - former 3 handicap golfer, working to get to that level on the pool table.:D
 
there is one thing that is consistent with both games. a deliberate and confidant strike is necessary for a good shot.

M.C.
 
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