Golf more exciting than Pool?

jaybanthony

jaybanthony

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I keep hearing that there's no money in Pool because the game isn't exciting enough, I guess they mean for the spectators. There's plenty of money in Golf and while I myself don't play it, though I watch it and understand it, There's no way anyone can tell me that Golf is more exciting than Pool!
So what's really wrong with our sport and why can't it thrive?

Great pool and success,
Jay
http://mypooljourney.blogspot.com/
 
Golf is totally different than pool.

In golf you call any and all fouls on yourself. How many pool players do you know that would do the same.

Kevin
 
Maybe I'm bias because I love the game of Pool but as a spectator, I find golf to be extremely boring. So how is it that they are able to generate so much viewership and Income? and why after a hundred years has pool failed to become relevant in sports circles?
 
Pool unfortunately still has a very negative image. When non pool players hear me talk about playing a pool tournament or pool in general they always say "Oh your a pool hustler". The big sponors wont support our sport because their customers are not asking them support our sport. The unsespecting wanna be pool player wonders in a pool hall with 50 bucks in his pocket to have a few drinks and play some pool gets hustled out of that 50 buck attaches that bad image to our sport. He tells his friends, hey lets go bowling instead. " I went played pool last week and lost money and didnt have that much fun doing it" Until someone figures out how to makover the image of pool, we will always be struggling for the big sponors and prime air time on ESPN. Just my humble 2 cents.

Frank C
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
In golf you call any and all fouls on yourself. How many pool players do you know that would do the same.
Click to expand...

You also hit the ball, then walk several hundred yards and get 4-5 minutes to take your next shot. Not to mention having a caddy carry your clubs and a notebook of the layout and slopes.

The only thing that makes golf exciting is TV where you can see (basically) every player making every shot on every hole.

So, maybe, if the TV would cover pool like golf and show every shot on every table, pool would be exciting for the viewers.
 
Can't see the forest for the trees.....

The reason that golf appeals to more people than pool is because MORE PEOPLE GOLF THAN PLAY POOL. Let's look at a revenue model, and then figure out where sponsors will spend their money.

POOL - requires a cue. That's it. The room provides the balls, and the table. So, at the least, a person wanting to play pool will have to buy a cue. As you get better, you may buy a cue, then ANOTHER cue, and then ANOTHER cue. However, you really aren't going to produce a lot of income for the sponsors.

GOLF - requires clubs. Not one, but 14. Putters cost serious dough. You also need to buy balls. Balls will degrade over a round, so even if you do not lose a ball, you will need to reload after a round or two. Then there's wardrobe. Golfers buy clothes. When this season's colours are "out", they buy new clothing. You need a bag to hold your clubs. I have a cart bag and a stand bag.

Average revenue for someone selling pool related goods - $200. Sure, there are snobs amongst the masses, but the average player will have a $200 cue/case investment.

Average revenue for someone selling golf equipment - $1000k+. Top drivers go for $300-$500 each. Putters - $200. Good balls - $40/dozen.

So, who has the money to sponsor events, and shell out big money? Predator cues, whose yearly profits wouldn't top $2M, or Taylor Made, who most likely sells $2M in golf balls per month, worldwide?

I play both games (better at pool than golf), and if you were to broadcast the World 9-ball Championships at the same time as the final round of The Masters was on, I'd be watching The Masters. Being honest, watching pool on TV, for the average sports fan, is like watching paint dry. It's only interesting if you actually like pool. My wife has never golfed in her life, but she'll sit down and watch golf on Sundays with me.
 
My theory is that ......

Long time ago, golf was known as a "wealthy persons sport" and to this day, still is.

Media covers money and money is in golf, not pool. If you consistantly hear about pool tournaments where people could win $400-$500k, I guarantee media would cover it and therefor be "more exciting".

Someone playing a $20 set, race to 7 isn't fun to watch. Add some zeros and a comma and see how many people gain interest...
 
jaybanthony said:
Maybe I'm bias because I love the game of Pool but as a spectator, I find golf to be extremely boring. So how is it that they are able to generate so much viewership and Income? and why after a hundred years has pool failed to become relevant in sports circles?
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For starters there are a great deal more people who play or played golf, thereby increasing the starting fan base.
I think the main reason however is that unlike pool tv coverage they can flip from match to match. In pool when there is dead time on tv you either watch it or get smacked in the face with a commercial. In golf when people are walking between shots or thinking for days about the next shot they just skip to another pair who are actually doing something. It is the unavoidable pool dead time that is the issue.
Personally I love to play pool, but find them both pretty boring spectator sports. I don't watch golf and if I wasn't a pool player I wouldn't watch pool.
 
jaybanthony said:
Maybe I'm bias because I love the game of Pool but as a spectator, I find golf to be extremely boring. So how is it that they are able to generate so much viewership and Income? and why after a hundred years has pool failed to become relevant in sports circles?
Click to expand...

Do you play golf? I took it up about 3 years ago...and even though I love pool...golf is much more interesting to me now. Even watching it on TV is fascinating now because I know how hard it is to do what the pros are doing. And believe me...it is so much harder to get a golf ball to bounce on a green, take one hop, and then zip back towards you...the equivalent of drawing the cue ball in pool. Especially when you're 120-140 yards away from your target!

Don't get me wrong...I love pool...I want it to become as big as any other sport. I'm just explaining that I completely understand why people love golf and don't find it boring...even on TV.

Melissa
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
The reason that golf appeals to more people than pool is because MORE PEOPLE GOLF THAN PLAY POOL. Let's look at a revenue model, and then figure out where sponsors will spend their money.

POOL - requires a cue. That's it. The room provides the balls, and the table. So, at the least, a person wanting to play pool will have to buy a cue. As you get better, you may buy a cue, then ANOTHER cue, and then ANOTHER cue. However, you really aren't going to produce a lot of income for the sponsors.

GOLF - requires clubs. Not one, but 14. Putters cost serious dough. You also need to buy balls. Balls will degrade over a round, so even if you do not lose a ball, you will need to reload after a round or two. Then there's wardrobe. Golfers buy clothes. When this season's colours are "out", they buy new clothing. You need a bag to hold your clubs. I have a cart bag and a stand bag.

Average revenue for someone selling pool related goods - $200. Sure, there are snobs amongst the masses, but the average player will have a $200 cue/case investment.

Average revenue for someone selling golf equipment - $1000k+. Top drivers go for $300-$500 each. Putters - $200. Good balls - $40/dozen.

So, who has the money to sponsor events, and shell out big money? Predator cues, whose yearly profits wouldn't top $2M, or Taylor Made, who most likely sells $2M in golf balls per month, worldwide?

I play both games (better at pool than golf), and if you were to broadcast the World 9-ball Championships at the same time as the final round of The Masters was on, I'd be watching The Masters. Being honest, watching pool on TV, for the average sports fan, is like watching paint dry. It's only interesting if you actually like pool. My wife has never golfed in her life, but she'll sit down and watch golf on Sundays with me.
Click to expand...

Homerun post right here!!
 
I am better at golf than pool, but if the US open 9 ball was on and the final round of the Masters, I would watch 9 ball every time.
 
Therin lies the difference..

Golf fans would just DVR the 9 ball event and watch the Masters LIVE on their 55 inch LCD HDTV. :p:D;)

metallicane said:
I am better at golf than pool, but if the US open 9 ball was on and the final round of the Masters, I would watch 9 ball every time.
Click to expand...
 
The simple answer is that no one knows the pool players...

jaybanthony said:
Maybe I'm bias because I love the game of Pool but as a spectator, I find golf to be extremely boring. So how is it that they are able to generate so much viewership and Income? and why after a hundred years has pool failed to become relevant in sports circles?
Click to expand...

People have gotten behind the players and or teams in other sports.

You have people from Philly who are 100% loyal Eagles fans. In Detroit, Tigers, in Golf, Tiger woods, or Phil mikelson...

The people get personally involved and motivated.

Like I said in the other thread, even though pool is played by tens of millions, no one would even recognise (except those in the serious pool community) if Efren Reyes walked in the room, or SVB, or a hundred other top players.

There's no personal motivation to get involved.

Why do you think the most popular event of the year is the Mosconi cup????

Because it's Europe vs. the USA, People in the USA can root for their team and people in Europe can root for their team.

I'm hoping to have the resources here in the near future to try a pilot program of setting up city based pro teams that will compete against each other in a similar to mosconi cup fashion. I will do local radio and print media advertising to sell tickets to the events and guarantee pay days to all team members, with 5 person teams, 3 of which will be picked by the team owners and 2 of which will be the top two finishers in a local qualifyer.

I'm planning on doing the pilot program with two teams. One from San Diego and one from Los Angeles.

They will be named teams and I'll use it to see if it will be a viable business enterprise.

Pool is in a low enough state that for any pro tour to become successful it's going to have to be built up over time in order to get corporate and network interest.

Football was around for years and years before it became a televised sport.

We have to get a setup that will give people something to get behind and root for in order for it to become successful and viable. I think having a city based team structure can provide that and I have some enterprises that are in the works that should hopefully give me the means to run the test pilot program to check it's viability.

Jaden
 
I would rather watch pool on tv than in person.

I will say that watching a pool match WITH GOOD COMMENTARY is one of my favorite things to do in life.

I went to the turning stone tournament and it was kind of boring to watch. You can't talk much, you have a bad angle lots of times. No commentary.
 
I watch Golf but I don't play simply because it never appealed to me. I personally enjoy watching a good pool match more than watching Phil or Tiger hit golf balls.....oh yea...so long as it's not the WPBA.....can't watch that!
 
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