fred bentivegna
Verified Member
Almost every post in this thread has some very factual insights into the game of golf. It has always been one of my favorite games. It tends to be a lousy ring game, for the most part, unless the stakes are high enough, and the skill levels are fairly close, AND you are quite sure there is no 'funny business' going on. I much prefered head-up, or partners, even if I had to give up a little weight.
The variance in rules, can be a huge distraction. Most smart room owners try to keep them oriented toward playing safe (easily) and amassing dozens of hickeys, and 5 or 6 handed games can go on for hours, specially on a fairly tight 6 X 12.
Where there are plenty of good player's, they usually establish a good, workable set of rules........(unfortunately Hendy, LA
is NOT one of them)....The rules quite often will vary (in the same room) from a head-up game, to a ring game...The reasons for that, should be quite obvious...The other 'house rule' in many places was, (if they had enough tables) there would be an "open table" and a table where the 'A' players were NOT welcome. The pecking order was usually well established.
I became quite proficient at the game, at a fairly young age, mostly due to geography. Where I was raised, it was only a tank of gas or so, to Alburquque, Denver, or Salt Lake City..where, in my younger days, Golf was the established game of choice..
I easily converted to one pocket, on a snooker table, when it started becoming popular, but it was some time before I finally learned to defend myself at it on a pool table..Believe me,They are two COMPLETELY different games...Running more than
3 or 4 balls, is a rarity, 8 and out, is almost non-exsistent.
I never cared much for ring games (unless I was stealing) Also, golf is really best played on a 6 X 12, which started to become quite rare some years ago...There used to be one or two in almost every room.. However, where I live now (Phoenix) with a metro area of over 3 million, and several dozen pool rooms, there are now ZERO 6 X 12's and only two, 5 x 10 snooker tables in the whole city.
I gotta go now..I will close with a slight brag, (one for you Fred, only 2 witnesses still above ground though) ...I have run six pockets more times than I can remember, but my real high point occured in the late 50's, in SLC...Fairly early in the match, I ran six pockets, on a fairly snug 6 X 12..."back to back". I think John Henderson may be the only one on here, who may recognize the difficulty factor in that. Probably similar to rolling two 300 games in a row...By the way, the guy I was playing (head-up) didn't quit..We played for about 8-10 hours, for $50/5, then $100/10 and broke DEAD EVEN..His name was "Popeye" Archuleta, from Alburqurque...He golfed his ball pretty good too ! ...I got me some Golf stories..more later..Please save them!
You want to talk about a "niche" game? Golf? gag, choke, puke. I have a hunch that your brag, Johnston City encounter with Eddie Kelly was probably a nice, safe Golf game. How about it? Right? I had three matches with Eddie Kelly in Johnston City and Stardust tournaments. Two one pocket and one 9 Ball. Kelly is 0 for 3 with me. In the 90s we played even 1 pkt in Chicago and I lost. That is real pool no matter how you want to look at it. Do you want to use that phone number you have to call Kelly for verification? :lol
Beard