I don't believe that horseback riding stat in the slightest, more people rode horseback within the last year then jogged? Yeah bloody right... The whole list is worth ignoring due to that oh so clearly wrong claim.
Pool Will Never Be Big Like Golf
- Thread starter Johnnyt
- Start date
I don't believe that horseback riding stat in the slightest, more people rode horseback within the last year then jogged? Yeah bloody right... The whole list is worth ignoring due to that oh so clearly wrong claim.
We don't really have to look so far back in time. After all, Nick Varner was an NCAA Champion one year and runner up another year.
About the same period, the US Open weas at the Stardust and paid more than the US Open in Augustas.
This business is headed the wrong direction. I keep hearing about unified rules and governing bodies? The rules and formats aren't the problem. There really is no body to govern. Who would we appoint to do that? Who would see it from both sides? Nothing has gone right for pool since the Mackey BS. That fat POS ruined a lot for many! Then along came Lebron and his crew!
Many major universities have pool tables in the student union halls. With that a program for teaching and promoting pool could be implemented. Any colleges without could probably be persuaded easily into getting some put in to whatever area they use as a place for leisure.
The sports you listed have a support structure that pool does not. It's called schools and after school leagues. My first expernces with pool was at the town rec center.
But they thing about pool is you can keep at for alot longer time as you get older.
The sports listed all have had their scandals, more so than pool.
Get the schools and city involved.
In many areas the only place around with a pool table is a bar and many parents don't want their kids hanging out in bars. In fact many adults who would like to play pool don't want to do it in a bar.
Take a look at the recent thread "the worst thing you've ever seen in pool". Tons of stories about people getting hurt or killed playing pool. Add to that the high profile pool players who are or have been in prison and no, pool will never be big like golf.
Take a look at the recent thread "the worst thing you've ever seen in pool". Tons of stories about people getting hurt or killed playing pool. Add to that the high profile pool players who are or have been in prison and no, pool will never be big like golf.
Pool beats golf because, as much as I love golfing, I must say pool trumps it in so many ways...
Don't have to bring my own ball(s)
Dress code is more chic
Fewer are allergic to felt than mowed St. Augustine grass
I can shoot pool when it snows or sleets and I hardly ever lose a ball in the water
No out-of-bounds stakes
Player/jumper/breaker cue, not 14 different clubs
Open late, not waking before dawn
Pool: As little as $3 per hour; Golf: $5,000 (or more) per membership
Pool: The higher the score the better you scored
vs 
Don't have to bring my own ball(s)
Dress code is more chic
Fewer are allergic to felt than mowed St. Augustine grass
I can shoot pool when it snows or sleets and I hardly ever lose a ball in the water
No out-of-bounds stakes
Player/jumper/breaker cue, not 14 different clubs
Open late, not waking before dawn
Pool: As little as $3 per hour; Golf: $5,000 (or more) per membership
Pool: The higher the score the better you scored
vs 
IMO (in the USA) I would wager that more money is bet on weekend foursomes over 52 weekends than the entire year of pool tournament's prize funds.
One Pro tournament has more money than the last 5 years worth of pool tournaments prize funds.
Golf is backed by many more well funded industries than pool.
Payouts are much better % wise and $ wise than pool.
Golf is learned and competed in Jr High, High school and college (many times men's and women's teams).
The cost to play a round of golf (18 holes) on a public course plus a cart is still around $50 for the national average.
Equipment is just as costly and usually as predictable. New equipment usually improves the game untill you get use to it, then your skill goes back to what it was prior to the new equipment.
One Pro tournament has more money than the last 5 years worth of pool tournaments prize funds.
Golf is backed by many more well funded industries than pool.
Payouts are much better % wise and $ wise than pool.
Golf is learned and competed in Jr High, High school and college (many times men's and women's teams).
The cost to play a round of golf (18 holes) on a public course plus a cart is still around $50 for the national average.
Equipment is just as costly and usually as predictable. New equipment usually improves the game untill you get use to it, then your skill goes back to what it was prior to the new equipment.
People often compare pool to golf because of the precision and fine coordination required. However, to me it is as close to chess as it is to golf. For example, in golf you rarely think 1 shot ahead, let alone 5 shots ahead as in pool and chess. The beauty of pool lies in it's sophisticated strategy and subtley of spins, touch, and position. Like world class chess, it takes an experienced player and sophisticated mind to truly appreciate the game. This is the fundamental barrier for it to become a big time mainstream sport. The average pea-brained fan will never appreciate it. That is why we have Nascar And WWE 
.
Glen
.Glen
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billiards/pool and golf....
both SUCK and are TOO HARD! I think that about covers it, and that's all I have to say about that.
both SUCK and are TOO HARD! I think that about covers it, and that's all I have to say about that.
Pool is played in smoky bars with loud music and questionable clientele. That eliminates the kids and many of the older crowd with disposable income. I'm part of the second group and I play because I love the game. I would really like to see more classy pool rooms open up but it's apparently a bad business model.
Pool is a beautiful game and deserves better...
Pool is a beautiful game and deserves better...
Yeah, there seems to be a definite upper limit to how much you can charge for table time. What that means is that for a square footage intensive business like pool it is tough to make it a go in more upscale areas where the clientele could otherwise support such an establishment. Places like Dave & Busters can do it but they have so much more going on I wouldn't really call it a pool room.
The list is from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA).
http://www.doubledonut.com/2006/08/14/top-25-most-popular-sportsrecreational-activities-in-the-us
Do you live in the East? A lot of people out West still ride horses.
Professional golf used to pay as poorly as pool. Arnold Palmer turned all that around. The reason pool tournaments will never be as big as golf is simple. You can easily fit 50,000 people on a golf course and everyone will see a good show. You can't do that in a pool hall.
that is way it really is,pool does not sell tickets.
Curly Howard
Banned
No pool will never be as big as golf, it was a stupid question, in the first place.