Golf

darmoose said:

There are many ways to play Golf. Some play with one OB to each player, some play with two OB's to each player, and some even play with each player having his own CB.

The SVB video shows them playing with one OB each, and they both use the same CB. This is the simplest way to play.

The rules can vary a lot also. Here are some we used in FT Lauderdale for many years:

Each player enters the game by banking his ball off the six ball spot on a snooker table, going for the bottom right side hole. From there the holes are numbered 1 thru 6 going clockwise around the table.

All fouls cost one hickey, same foul rules as in one pocket.

If you hit the wrong ball first, that ball gets replaced, and you owe three hickeys.

We played "paint" which means if you can see the paint on your ball, you must hit it or take a hickey. If you can't see paint you are free to lag anywhere on the table free.

Each time your ball is made in the proper hole you proceed to the next hole, shotting your OB off the six ball spot.

Two fouls in a row by a player, you go back a hole.

There may be a few more rules, I can't remember. It is an absolutely great addictive game even played one on one, but a six or seven man game is the bomb.

Lots of defense, lots of kicking. Nothing like a six man game and everyone is going for the six hole at the same time, talk about tension.

If our tournament gets played in Chicago this year, I plan to go. Chris's has a 6x12 snooker table, and I would hope we could get some really good GOLF games going. This is a great game and should be promoted and saved.

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cincy_kid said:

I am sure we will play golf in Chicago if we go as there are several of us here who have played it and enjoy it including myself.

We always played each man has their own OB and uses the same CB as everyone else. Some of the rules you mentioned are the same way we played but here are some of the differences or additional info:

We never played paint. If you couldn't see your ball you had to kick at it. As far as hickeys (which is what we also called them), we played by the snooker rules meaning you could kick to a rail and then hit your ball and not have to drive that ball or the CB to a rail after and it was a legal shot.

Your ball spotted up on the 6 ball position for every hole except when you are on the 5 hole. Then your OB spots on the 4 ball position.

If you make an opponent's ball in the hole they are going for, it count for them and you take a hickey. When you foul, your ball comes off the table until your next turn.

I am not 100% sure on this rule but it seems like we played this way. If you foul while moving an opponents ball away form the hole, your opponent has a choice to move it back to where it was or play it where it is. Typically you would have to go mark your ball before the shot takes place if you think it could affect your position. Place your finger on your tongue and then on the table right next to your ball and now you have place of reference.

We never played going back a hole for 2 consecutive fouls. Heck, some guys wold foul 3, 4 times in a row adding to their hickey count is nice.

We played 4, 5 6 handed, good fun. We usually played 10/1 or 20/2, This means it's $20 per man and then each of their hickeys cost $2 each. SO if you had 5 hickeys in a game, you owe $30. Winner of the game collects from all of the other players in the game. The winner of the game gets all the cheese. So it's a good game, if you win 1 out of 6 games you break even (if playing 6 handed).

The worst part about the game, imo, is that the weakest player in the game will usually let the person following him win the game. So, even though you may play perfect, if someone doesn't play a good defensive shot, they cost everyone the game.

One thing we used to do was whoever lets the person out has to pay double. So that way, it provides extra incentive for people to play tight when they guy following them is close to getting out.

I know hendy has played quite a bit of golf so I m not sure what rules they have that are different than the ones we have talked about already, would be curious to know. Also Steve has played it as well.

How have others played the game?

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NH Steve said:

Actually I have never played the real game on a large table. What I have played a lot of, and still do because it is very popular locally, is an odd variation of golf on a 9' table that is called "Around the World".

"Roundy" begins with all 15 balls on the table, with the 1-ball racked in the middle. The break is required to be hard enough for 6 balls to hit the rail (to prevent safety breaks), and if you make any ball you keep shooting. You can pocket the 2 through 15 balls, any ball in any pocket (call shot) to get position, but the only thing that actually matters is to pocket the 1-ball in all six pockets (in order, like golf -- but we have the order wrong, lol). Every time the 1-ball goes in, it comes back out on the spot. Good shooters run all six pockets fairly often. It has some other quirks to the rules but that is the gist of it.

But I am very interested in real golf, so I am looking forward to seeing that played.

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jrhendy said:

I have played golf for over 60 years. Grew up just outside Los Angeles and in the 50's/60's almost every pool room had 5 x 10 snooker tables and a few had 6 x 12's. It was a great gambling game and ring games were common and a boon to the pool rooms because multiple players would play and many rooms had an "A" and "B" player table going all day.

One pocket players picked up the nuances of the game fairly quickly. Ronnie Allen was a very good golf player, especially on a 5 x 10. Most do not know he was a snooker and golf player before he became a legend at one pocket.

There are of course many different rules and ways to play, but the most common is one cue ball and an object ball for each player. I still play when I can at California Billiards in Fremont, CA. They have two 6 x 12's and a few golf players. We generally play $20/2 in ring games and more in heads up games.

In the early 80's I took a little road trip with my old friend Poker Paul from San Jose, CA. It was summertime with almost no decent action so we decided to take a trip. Paul knew the spots we might find some golf action(My best game then), so off we went in Paul's brand new Camero.

We made a couple nice little scores around Phoenix and headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Golf, like one pocket is a game you can hide your skill level and take your time feeling out the competition. Our first stop in New Mexico was The Corner Pocket where Cowboy Jimmy Moore was the house pro.

I made a game with one of the locals, a Mexican guy named Wilford for $10/1. I was stalling and did not know it at the time, but he was too. The table was awful with a loose bottom rail and any ball that hit it would bounce. A guy was sweating the game who had on a uniform that had a patch that said Animal Control on it. I quit because of the table and he asked me to play. I said not on this and he said there was a good table nearby. Paul and I followed him to room downtown and we kicked it off for $50/5.

We played several hours and when the room closed we were down $750. Paul never said a word until we got back to the motel. He turned and looked at me and said 'I got me a hell of a road man The ******* dogcatcher beats him for $750'.

Turns out the guy could play and we saw him in action all over town. Whenever he matched up his partner would go out and catch the dogs or whatever. We finally got the $ back off him and a little more but it took a couple trips.

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jrhendy said:

I have played golf for over 60 years. Grew up just outside Los Angeles and in the 50's/60's almost every pool room had 5 x 10 snooker tables and a few had 6 x 12's. It was a great gambling game and ring games were common and a boon to the pool rooms because multiple players would play and many rooms had an "A" and "B" player table going all day.

One pocket players picked up the nuances of the game fairly quickly. Ronnie Allen was a very good golf player, especially on a 5 x 10. Most do not know he was a snooker and golf player before he became a legend at one pocket.

There are of course many different rules and ways to play, but the most common is one cue ball and an object ball for each player. I still play when I can at California Billiards in Fremont, CA. They have two 6 x 12's and a few golf players. We generally play $20/2 in ring games and more in heads up games.

In the early 80's I took a little road trip with my old friend Poker Paul from San Jose, CA. It was summertime with almost no decent action so we decided to take a trip. Paul knew the spots we might find some golf action(My best game then), so off we went in Paul's brand new Camero.

We made a couple nice little scores around Phoenix and headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Golf, like one pocket is a game you can hide your skill level and take your time feeling out the competition. Our first stop in New Mexico was The Corner Pocket where Cowboy Jimmy Moore was the house pro.

I made a game with one of the locals, a Mexican guy named Wilford for $10/1. I was stalling and did not know it at the time, but he was too. The table was awful with a loose bottom rail and any ball that hit it would bounce. A guy was sweating the game who had on a uniform that had a patch that said Animal Control on it. I quit because of the table and he asked me to play. I said not on this and he said there was a good table nearby. Paul and I followed him to room downtown and we kicked it off for $50/5.

We played several hours and when the room closed we were down $750. Paul never said a word until we got back to the motel. He turned and looked at me and said 'I got me a hell of a road man The ******* dogcatcher beats him for $750'.

Turns out the guy could play and we saw him in action all over town. Whenever he matched up his partner would go out and catch the dogs or whatever. We finally got the $ back off him and a little more but it took a couple trips.

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NH Steve said:

I have a hard-cover copy of a self-published rule book for Golf!! It was by some guy from Florida where the game was popular, and obviously, it was their local rules. It does include rules for both one and two ball versions. It's like 80 pages long so it goes to show how much of a tangle golf rules can be, lol. If I could figure out how to scan some of it without ruining the binding then I would.

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NH Steve said:

I have a hard-cover copy of a self-published rule book for Golf!! It was by some guy from Florida where the game was popular, and obviously, it was their local rules. It does include rules for both one and two ball versions. It's like 80 pages long so it goes to show how much of a tangle golf rules can be, lol. If I could figure out how to scan some of it without ruining the binding then I would.

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chief said:

I believe the guy who wrote the book is Kenny Labar. He worked in several pool rooms around Miami. I also would like to add that one of the best golf players down there at the time was Carlos Hallon the billiard player. He didn't play much golf been when he did he was getting the cash.

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Interesting you say that. In the late '60s at Tiff Payne's North Hollywood Billiards --which was the best 3C room in the Southwest-- there was a top shortstop 3C player named Howard _____ (can't think of his last name). He didn't play any pool, but he loved the golf games on a pool table. He usually got the cash.

~Doc

gulfportdoc said:

Interesting you say that. In the late '60s at Tiff Payne's North Hollywood Billiards --which was the best 3C room in the Southwest-- there was a top shortstop 3C player named Howard _____ (can't think of his last name). He didn't play any pool, but he loved the golf games on a pool table. He usually got the cash.

~Doc

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gulfportdoc said:

Interesting you say that. In the late '60s at Tiff Payne's North Hollywood Billiards --which was the best 3C room in the Southwest-- there was a top shortstop 3C player named Howard _____ (can't think of his last name). He didn't play any pool, but he loved the golf games on a pool table. He usually got the cash.

~Doc

Click to expand...

chief said:

I believe the guy who wrote the book is Kenny Labar. He worked in several pool rooms around Miami. I also would like to add that one of the best golf players down there at the time was Carlos Hallon the billiard player. He didn't play much golf been when he did he was getting the cash.

Click to expand...