Golf & pool.
- Thread starter Jodacus
- Start date
I would think pool because you don't really have a chance to make up for bad shots as much. In golf you can have three crappy shots and one perfect shot and still walk away with a birdie (it's happened to me!). In pool, if you're playing at a high level, one crappy shot and there is a good chance you've given the game away. Do it three times and it's pretty much guaranteed that you have, you don't necessarily get the chance to make up for those mistakes if your opponent can capitalize on them.
Nerves?
Either you can handle them or you can't. Doesn't matter your doing.
Either you can handle them or you can't. Doesn't matter your doing.
I disagree. You can be nervous to the point where your hands shake and play football just fine, where as if your playing pool and your hands shake then your in trouble.
This is why I answered golf. Golf is more forgiving when it comes to tremors.
Nerves... eh... all the same I think. As far as sport, as an avid player of each and fairly competitive player of each, I can safely say that billiards is far more difficult to master....IMO
You must not have the experience of trying to hole a 5 foot par putt under a lot of pressure. Putting with shaky hands is just as hard as shooting pool with shaky hands.
I would say that both are pretty equal. In either sport, if you let the pressure get to you, it will cost you. What it costs you all depends on the game you are playing.
Golf: Will it cost you a stroke or two on that hole? If match play, will it cost you loss of the hole? If you miss a putt to make the cut, it could cost you 2 extra day's play... plus a paycheck. It all depends on the course you are playing, the format you are playing and when you let the pressure get to you.
Pool: Does it cost you a rack, a match, a cash or a tournament? I guess it depends on when and how you miss, and also who you are playing. It could cost you big, or it could cost you nothing at all.
If I was playing a weak opponent in the pool room, it would be easier for me to handle the pressure playing pool. The simple fact of knowing that I won't pay for every mistake I make takes quite a bit of the pressure off.
If I am playing a strong opponent on the pool table, it would be easier for me to handle the pressure on the golf course. If I make a mistake on the course, I have the opportunity to make up for it, to a certain degree. If the pressure gets to me against a strong opponent on the pool table, I might be sitting there watching them move beads for a while. This increases the pressure.
OP - In response to your original question, the answer is clearly: "It depends."
<<<pool ? >>>>
Played Golf for 40 years and have been scratch at one time or another. I believe Golf is a much tougher sport due to having so many different strokes and club choices involved not to mention the 3' putt for all the $20 skins on the table. That can get your blood flowing and heart pumping. Oh yea and nervous .
BUT....I can get more nervous playing pool if, that's if, I we have a gallery of the local 'experts' around the table watching your every move and talking out loud about why they would have taken the 7 and making sure you are within 'ear shot'. That tends to make me rush and force shots I would normally take a moment more to look at and drop. Hard for me to block it out for some reason. Working on it.
Love playing both games more pool now and in future due to shoulder issues. My golf days might be over at 55. Not happy. My Dad played golf and pool till 78. That was cool.
Late,
Kat
Played Golf for 40 years and have been scratch at one time or another. I believe Golf is a much tougher sport due to having so many different strokes and club choices involved not to mention the 3' putt for all the $20 skins on the table. That can get your blood flowing and heart pumping. Oh yea and nervous .
BUT....I can get more nervous playing pool if, that's if, I we have a gallery of the local 'experts' around the table watching your every move and talking out loud about why they would have taken the 7 and making sure you are within 'ear shot'. That tends to make me rush and force shots I would normally take a moment more to look at and drop. Hard for me to block it out for some reason. Working on it.
Love playing both games more pool now and in future due to shoulder issues. My golf days might be over at 55. Not happy. My Dad played golf and pool till 78. That was cool.
Late,
Kat
Blah....
A whole multimillion dollar industry has taken over golf to combat that very problem.... the long putter.
The question was pool and golf BTW.
In fact in pool you can actually rest one hand (arguably the more important one tremor wise) firmly on the table.:grin-square:
You guys should check out a book called "Combat Golf"
it's very useful, in a mental side of the game sort of way
it's very useful, in a mental side of the game sort of way
You can play safe in pool and control the table until you calm down a bit. When your cage is rattled in golf.... the wheels come off lightening fast. Sure... if you miss with pool you might not get another shot. However, the same can be said with golf... if you shoot a balloon score on a hole or two against a good player... you're just as fried. Golf isn't as forgiving. You can "punt" in pool.
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I think pool makes me more nervous, but golf is much harder to play well.
Pool is full of easy shots. Sure, they demand focus. But they're easy. There are no easy shots in golf, except short putts, and there's at most one of those per hole. It's quite a feat of coordination just to strike the ball before the ground, much less control your swing path and face angle within a fraction of a degree while using practically every muscle in your body in concert.
But on the other hand, in golf you're going to get to shoot again, even if you screw up. In pool, there's the threat of being stuck in the chair while your opponent runs the racks that should have been yours if you fail to execute. So I'd say it's physically much easier and mentally a little tougher.
-Andrew
Pool is full of easy shots. Sure, they demand focus. But they're easy. There are no easy shots in golf, except short putts, and there's at most one of those per hole. It's quite a feat of coordination just to strike the ball before the ground, much less control your swing path and face angle within a fraction of a degree while using practically every muscle in your body in concert.
But on the other hand, in golf you're going to get to shoot again, even if you screw up. In pool, there's the threat of being stuck in the chair while your opponent runs the racks that should have been yours if you fail to execute. So I'd say it's physically much easier and mentally a little tougher.
-Andrew
jtarewicz15
Registered
Pool is def more punishable with a bad shot. I will not underplay how stressful the 5ft kneekockers in golf can be. But I don't think they will ever compare to a pressure pool shot. In my experience pool just requires more precision. And my experience is 20+ years with each.
To me, golf is like playing the ghost....the pressure is relentless.
...but you acquire a relationship with it.
To me, pool is like a boxing match....your opponent can take all the heat
off you.....or he can put you under much more pressure than golf.
Even in match play golf, your opponent is mostly the course.
..if you play well, your score will reflect your play.
You can be in dead stroke at pool...and sitting in your chair.....
...or you can be in such a trap, you wish you were sitting in your chair.
...but you acquire a relationship with it.
To me, pool is like a boxing match....your opponent can take all the heat
off you.....or he can put you under much more pressure than golf.
Even in match play golf, your opponent is mostly the course.
..if you play well, your score will reflect your play.
You can be in dead stroke at pool...and sitting in your chair.....
...or you can be in such a trap, you wish you were sitting in your chair.
I'm going to say pool is tougher with nerves. I have far more trouble closing out a pool match, when my nerves get jangly, than I ever did on the golf course. (Some of my friends would say I wait for the other guy to screw up badly enough for me to win.)
It might be interesting to look at this at the pro level and amateur level. In pro golf, medal play is the norm and the pros have 72 holes to bring it home. When they're in a match play situation, it gets a bit more exciting. I also see first time winners shaking when coming down the last few holes of a tournament. For that matter, not just first timers. Greg Norman through off a 7 shot lead in only 8 holes at the Masters against Faldo that one year and he'd won all over the world!
Amateur golfers are usually playing head to head and that pressure can get to them pretty well but I think you only notice it when it's a putt that "should" be made (like a 3 or 4 footer). If it's a 20 footer for the win, everyone is a little calmer - lower expectations for success.
Pool pros get a second chance in a double elimination format but they're always playing head to head. So are the amateurs.
Interesting question. I may consider further.
Brian in VA
It might be interesting to look at this at the pro level and amateur level. In pro golf, medal play is the norm and the pros have 72 holes to bring it home. When they're in a match play situation, it gets a bit more exciting. I also see first time winners shaking when coming down the last few holes of a tournament. For that matter, not just first timers. Greg Norman through off a 7 shot lead in only 8 holes at the Masters against Faldo that one year and he'd won all over the world!
Amateur golfers are usually playing head to head and that pressure can get to them pretty well but I think you only notice it when it's a putt that "should" be made (like a 3 or 4 footer). If it's a 20 footer for the win, everyone is a little calmer - lower expectations for success.
Pool pros get a second chance in a double elimination format but they're always playing head to head. So are the amateurs.
Interesting question. I may consider further.
Brian in VA