We hear about pool rooms going out of business. We act as if this is just our sport having issues, well gof is having some issues as well. Here is a link to an article Golf Courses closing which show the same is happening with that sport as well.
Golf has its own problems
- Thread starter elvicash
- Start date
I don't mind golf seeing a respit in play, it'll keep the hacks off the course and maybe speed up play finally. Got tired of the 5 hour round.
Golf equipment got a little high priced IMO also. Just like pool cues, the price of clubs has got to come down a bit through lack of sales volume.
Golf equipment got a little high priced IMO also. Just like pool cues, the price of clubs has got to come down a bit through lack of sales volume.
Good point.
Where or when should hacks play? At what level of play should the hack be allowed to pay and play on a nice public course?
Kind of like pool bangers? Practice in the corner out of the way. Once you can run 3 balls, maybe enter cheap local tournaments.
How does somebody make that progression in a very specialized skill sport like golf? Is hitting balls at the range the equivalent of the 'out of the way corner table'? Taking that skill level to the course or the tournament table can be an embarrassing and humbling experience.
On the course-maybe you are invited to 'play through'. That helps a little. Golf is popular with the masses. Most of us masses make messes of many shots. We can't play too well. We slow things down. That's why there are marshalls on the course encouraging faster play by us hacks who have just paid $75-$100 to lose a dozen balls in 5 hours.
I don't have the answer. I sometimes feel the same way at the pool room when bangers don't know how to act or play.
Is the 'pitch and putt'/executive course sorta the corner practice table?
The irony is that our slow playing hacker foursome will complain about the slow play of the hacker foursome in front of us....
just another of life's aggravations and mysteries
Bounty Killer
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Everyone starts somewhere. My son is swinging the club now at age 5 and although he can make good contact and understands putting well enough, I still confine him to the par 3 courses. Even then, if we encounter a group waiting on the tee, we will allow them to play through. I won't consider taking him on a larger course for at least another couple of years or until he can hit a ball farther than 100 yards. I think this is both for his good for him (don't want to discourage him) as well as others (respect for the game and speed of play).
Paramount to both pool AND golf is understanding the rules written and unwritten (pool-dont slam the balls on the table when racking, respect the space of those on the table next to you, no sitting on the rails, etc and golf-keep pace with the group ahead, replace your divots, pick up your feet on the putting green, watch your partners putting lines and dont step on them, when holding a flag be aware of your shadow and stay on the high side of the break). Until he understands those nuances golf on a regulation course is out of the question. These are the things my father drove home when teaching me the game at my son's age and they serve me to this day.
Paramount to both pool AND golf is understanding the rules written and unwritten (pool-dont slam the balls on the table when racking, respect the space of those on the table next to you, no sitting on the rails, etc and golf-keep pace with the group ahead, replace your divots, pick up your feet on the putting green, watch your partners putting lines and dont step on them, when holding a flag be aware of your shadow and stay on the high side of the break). Until he understands those nuances golf on a regulation course is out of the question. These are the things my father drove home when teaching me the game at my son's age and they serve me to this day.
The buzz created when Tiger came on tour in around 1998 caused a spike in interest. New upscale daily fee golf courses were built and the existing ones saw an increase in demand. As it turned out though, it didn't last. Golf, like pool, is a very difficult game, so many of the people that took it up did not stay with it. It is one of those type games where people can play and practice for many years and just never become good at it, get frustrated, and quit.
As the buzz wore off it left excess capacity. Then the economy went in the pooper and that also really hurt. A round of golf on a decent course in my area never was cheap. Many that play golf have cut down on the number of rounds they play per year.
As the buzz wore off it left excess capacity. Then the economy went in the pooper and that also really hurt. A round of golf on a decent course in my area never was cheap. Many that play golf have cut down on the number of rounds they play per year.
A hack that moves along is fine, it's the slow playing on top the hackness that penalizes everyone behind them.
Time on the range is where they will overcome their hackness if, just like pool, their practice is productive and not a ball beating event that only reinforces the already bad habits the hack has.
There is nothing wrong with shooting one-hundred or more in a round, but moving along after a shot, and paying attention to where the hell the poor shot went in the first place is paramount in avoiding a marathon round.
When my wife learned how to golf, with my suggestion, I was smart enough to get her lessons. All she ever knew for 3 months was lesson, range work and putting green.
Her first hole ever was a 125 yd. bunt down the middle. She ended up making a legit triple bogey, and then a double. I was happy.
BTW, I have had some fun rounds of golf with hacks too, there is nothing inherently wrong with being a hack.
A great way to speed up play is to spend one hour on the putting green for every three putt on the course.
Time on the range is where they will overcome their hackness if, just like pool, their practice is productive and not a ball beating event that only reinforces the already bad habits the hack has.
There is nothing wrong with shooting one-hundred or more in a round, but moving along after a shot, and paying attention to where the hell the poor shot went in the first place is paramount in avoiding a marathon round.
When my wife learned how to golf, with my suggestion, I was smart enough to get her lessons. All she ever knew for 3 months was lesson, range work and putting green.
Her first hole ever was a 125 yd. bunt down the middle. She ended up making a legit triple bogey, and then a double. I was happy.
BTW, I have had some fun rounds of golf with hacks too, there is nothing inherently wrong with being a hack.
A great way to speed up play is to spend one hour on the putting green for every three putt on the course.
The economy really takes it's toll on these games. As annoying as they are, the hacks prob pay the majority of the bills in the pool hall and golf course. Just wish they understood the etiquette...
The topic of ways to speed up play could fry the server, but I agree that regardless of your skill level just "hit it and chase it".
The biggest culprit in my experience is the player that is not ready when it is his turn to play. How many times are you standing on the tee watching a guy hit his approach shot then hop in the cart and drive 20 feet to the other guy's ball? Now he has to get out, find a sprinkler head to check the yardage, go back to the cart to choose a club...:angry: Dude, it's really simple: If you're away, you get out and let the other guy take the cart to his ball where he can be prepared to hit when it's his turn. You hit and walk to the cart while he is preparing to hit. It should really not take more than a few extra seconds for both guys to hit their shots.
Same principle on the green. Player is inside his playing partner and doesn't even look at his putt until his partner has played and it's his turn. Now he is first plumb-bobbing, walking all around the hole, getting down to read the break, yada yada. Dude, no need to just stand around picking your nose until it's your turn. When you get to the green start looking at your putt. When it's your turn be ready to go.
Oh, one more thing - when you finish the hole get in the damn cart and drive to the next tee before you start cleaning your clubs, applying sunblock, and marking the scorecard. Told you I could go on and on. :grin-square:
The biggest culprit in my experience is the player that is not ready when it is his turn to play. How many times are you standing on the tee watching a guy hit his approach shot then hop in the cart and drive 20 feet to the other guy's ball? Now he has to get out, find a sprinkler head to check the yardage, go back to the cart to choose a club...:angry: Dude, it's really simple: If you're away, you get out and let the other guy take the cart to his ball where he can be prepared to hit when it's his turn. You hit and walk to the cart while he is preparing to hit. It should really not take more than a few extra seconds for both guys to hit their shots.
Same principle on the green. Player is inside his playing partner and doesn't even look at his putt until his partner has played and it's his turn. Now he is first plumb-bobbing, walking all around the hole, getting down to read the break, yada yada. Dude, no need to just stand around picking your nose until it's your turn. When you get to the green start looking at your putt. When it's your turn be ready to go.
Oh, one more thing - when you finish the hole get in the damn cart and drive to the next tee before you start cleaning your clubs, applying sunblock, and marking the scorecard. Told you I could go on and on. :grin-square:
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LuckedOut...Just so you know, to the good golfers YOU'RE the hack. We should not be "labeling" anybody. BTW, shooting 100 is a pretty good score for an amateur golfer, who doesn't play much.
On topic, there are 100x (at least) as many golf courses as there are poolrooms...it could even be 1000x as many. At every public and private golf course there is somebody who give lessons. In most cases, you cannot even find someone to get a lesson from at the poolroom. Golf courses are closing for many reasons listed. IMO there's a glut of golf courses anyway, that use up far too much of the available water.
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
On topic, there are 100x (at least) as many golf courses as there are poolrooms...it could even be 1000x as many. At every public and private golf course there is somebody who give lessons. In most cases, you cannot even find someone to get a lesson from at the poolroom. Golf courses are closing for many reasons listed. IMO there's a glut of golf courses anyway, that use up far too much of the available water.
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Bounty Killer
Registered
Lol, I agree. Another is guys parking their carts in FRONT of the green instead of the back (on the way to the next tee box). Not only do you have to wait for them to clear the green as they walk into your line of flight but you also have to wait for them to put each of their 5 clubs away, grab a beer from the cooler, pick up their hot dog, wait for their partner to do the same thing and THEN drive across the fairway to the next hole.
I would like to add two points:
1. At the now closed Deep Pockets the owner could 150 dollars in an envelope for a poker free roll and 200 people would show up on a week night to play poker. You would never be able to get that many people in a pool tournament. Everybody thinks the are "good" at poker and that they have a chance to win.
2. Video games offers hours of relatively cheap fun and instant gratification with little or no effort needed.
Bottom line is Americans want cheap thrills that require little or no discipline, effort, training etc.
1. At the now closed Deep Pockets the owner could 150 dollars in an envelope for a poker free roll and 200 people would show up on a week night to play poker. You would never be able to get that many people in a pool tournament. Everybody thinks the are "good" at poker and that they have a chance to win.
2. Video games offers hours of relatively cheap fun and instant gratification with little or no effort needed.
Bottom line is Americans want cheap thrills that require little or no discipline, effort, training etc.
Interesting about this. It is definitely easier for a person to believe they are good a poker than pool. I'm not sure if this is because many don't realize the skill involved in poker. I mean anyone who is around poker at all has "heard" that there is skill involved, but I wonder how many really understand that statement. It just seems like a lot of people are fooled into the idea that they have just as good a chance of getting the best cards and therefore winning the tournament, and that's why there are so many more takers for the poker free roll.
Almost any pool player understands the skill required and know they don't have near the chance to win a pool tournament as the best players in the field.
For many amateurs, the perception is there that you have a chance to get the best cards long enough to do well in a poker tournament but there is no illusion about getting enough lucky rolls to do well at the US Open 9 Ball.
Dalmuir Municipal Golf Course - Clydebank
I was about 9 when I first played there and me and my mate got our butts kicked for using the greens as putting greens.Went onto play the course regular and it was great fun but nowadays they seem to be making houses and building in towards the course.They even talk about turning the course into a nine hole venue and petitions get signed to prevent it but that seems to be the way it is going,every bit of spare land gets a private property house built on it .
I was about 9 when I first played there and me and my mate got our butts kicked for using the greens as putting greens.Went onto play the course regular and it was great fun but nowadays they seem to be making houses and building in towards the course.They even talk about turning the course into a nine hole venue and petitions get signed to prevent it but that seems to be the way it is going,every bit of spare land gets a private property house built on it .