Snooker table golf

[peterw 10]

WHEN I was about twenty years of age I once went into a pub at Millhouses where I was invited to play what to me was a new ‘game’, strictly for the snooker table. They called it golf. I wonder, does anyone recall this seemingly popular Saturday afternoon sport, and the rules.I can remember the rules, so if anyone wants to try their hand at it I will come back to this thread and explain them in detail. Good game — but you need to have patience.

 

 

Incidentally, it was one of those things that one remembers the day and date. We went in the pub about one hour before the start of the Manchester November Handicap. I had £1 on Regret, the winner which came in, I think, at 40-1. On the pub radio (no telly then) the commentator told us the entire racecourse was foggy, but he was certain that Billet had won. He changed his mind hastily!

 

The bookie’s runner was across the, roadmfrom the pub and I picked up my winnings later that evening..

[Allen 38]

I remember playing golf on the snooker table, although it's a very vague memory from years ago.

 

Didn't you have to pot your object ball in every pocket in turn?

Others would do their best to prevent you, whilst attempting the same.

[matsalleh 10]

Used to play this years ago in the snooker hall on catchbar lane.Some hot games on table 13 in the afternoons.

Spoof was another game we played a lot,draw a number 2-7 for your colour,don't tell anyone.Pot a red and your colour to win.

Edited December 27, 2010 by matsalleh

[matsalleh 10]

I remember playing golf on the snooker table, although it's a very vague memory from years ago.

 

Didn't you have to pot your object ball in every pocket in turn?

Others would do their best to prevent you, whilst attempting the same.

 

That's about right we used to play 2 players on each side.

1white/red ,1yellow/green,1brown/blue,1pink/black.Can be played as singles.

[arrodbo 10]

Good technical game...played in pairs, your partner would go for pottting and you would try and play your ball to block the oppositions ability to pot theirs.

Object ball on blue spot, you would the cue from the D and pot your ball in sequence of holes ie. green pocket 1st hole middle 2nd black corner 3 other corner 4 middle 5 and then finish on yellow pocket as hole number 6.

It teaches pace and potting etc. Can be a long game but its a change from snooker.

you stay on the table until you miss a shot then opposing side take their shot.

[peterw 10]

You are all so right! I’ve asked this same question about the game many times but no-one I knew had ever heard of it - and that includes practically every sports desk on every daily newspaper and a fair number of evening newspapers too.

I always thought it might do well at the Crucible, in conjunction with televised snooker. Trouble is, it could be over in hours, or days but not in minutes!

[alankearn 10]

WHEN I was about twenty years of age I once went into a pub at Millhouses where I was invited to play what to me was a new ‘game’, strictly for the snooker table. They called it golf. I wonder, does anyone recall this seemingly popular Saturday afternoon sport, and the rules.I can remember the rules, so if anyone wants to try their hand at it I will come back to this thread and explain them in detail. Good game — but you need to have patience.

 

 

Incidentally, it was one of those things that one remembers the day and date. We went in the pub about one hour before the start of the Manchester November Handicap. I had £1 on Regret, the winner which came in, I think, at 40-1. On the pub radio (no telly then) the commentator told us the entire racecourse was foggy, but he was certain that Billet had won. He changed his mind hastily!

 

The bookie’s runner was across the, roadmfrom the pub and I picked up my winnings later that evening..

 

I can remember golf being played on a snooker table regularly at the Darnall Liberal WMC in the 1950/60s

[matsalleh 10]

My explanation was not very clear we had 2 players each side,each player had one pair of balls.Unless Hitler wanted a game:loopy:

[lakerman 16]

I played the games loads of times, lost a few quid as well along the way. It could be played individually with two, three or four players but it was best played in pairs.

 

Does anyone remember another game on the snooker table called "chase the green"?

Points were scored by potting balls or playing cannons. All scores were credited by an even number of points, exept the green ball which scored three points but was only allowed to be potted in one particular bag. There was also a few reds on the table but if you hit one your score reverted to zero. You had to reach the exact score of 31 points to win (hence the odd number of points for potting the green). It sounds very complicated, but was quite easy to understand when you started to play, but not so easy to score exactly 31 points.

[zakes 68]

Snooker Table Golf.

 

I used to play snooker table golf at Faulkner’s snooker hall at number 18 Cambridge Street early to mid 70’s. This was a family business run by George and Elsie and used to be open 10.00 – 22.00 Monday to Saturday. Their children used to work shifts there too, and their names were John, Vince, Margaret and Pat(ricia). John was the only left handed person in the family and also happened to be the most intelligent. The other person working there was called Jim Ibbotson an old man who had been a good player in his younger days. Jim would be paid with mugs of tea and he also got tips by fetching fags and sandwiches and getting racing results for lots of customers. Jim became ill in 74-75 an had a leg amputated, he died some weeks later. The hall had 7 tables numbered 1-8, table 5 had been taken out to make room for a toilet and a storeroom. The toilet stunk to high hell. Mugs of tea and coffee were sold along with crisps and some chocolate bars. There was a customers telephone, the flooring was lino throughout and the bandit was crap.

 

Golf Players were:- Stan Lyons, Keith Littlewood (good golfer), Ray Smith, Ralph Goodman (Barney’s son), Sinbad, Charlie Butler, Ken (Carpets) Osborne, David Hall, David Flint, Mick Senior who had a Mannix cue, Barry Lawson, Little Earnest and Ronnie (The Fox) Pursehouse and others.

Golf tended to be played on table 8 next to the window opposite Cole Bros.. Several of the above mentioned were market stall holders or had businesses in town, and there was some very serious amounts of money gambled.

 

Other people :- These tended to play snooker mostly, but some of us played cricket. John Savage, German Mick, 2Bob Jack, David Lawton, Tony Lee, Glen Millar, Tony Billingham, Ray Ruff, Graham Benson, ‘Railway’ Pete Clewes (good lad), Pink, Mick Slomka, Tony Shortland, Brian Baxter, One eyed Al (Sweet fan), Dave Borden, Alan Mould, Peter The Pirate, Red Haired Sam, Jonathon Hall, Paddy, Stan Barber (Butcher), Keith Wilcock (Benji), Pool cue Crack, who was a giant sized lad with a permanent smile cum scowl on his face. He had the touch of a baby elephant and always hit his shots hard hence the name Crack. The force of his shots got us to think he was a cushion (huggin) tester. Mick Phillips and Jim Slingsby were others. Finally there was John Hewitt a left handed player who was a good natured lad. John once spent a ruddy fortune buying a full length black leather coit. John also had his own set of crystallite snooker balls because he wanted to take snooker really seriously and didn’t want to play with the heavy composite balls that the hall had.

 

Cricket:- I enjoyed playing snooker but cricket was my game. This game was played with 11 reds that depicted the wickets. The colours were put on to their usual spots along with two additional coloured balls, namely purple (10 points) and a tangerine ball (8 points). The purple was placed mid way in line between the brown and blue balls, and the tangerine ball was placed between the blue and pink balls. George had marked out the spots on some of the tables. If any of you have played this game could you please explain the rules to the readers, because I find it difficult to put into writing.

If you play(ed) snooker, billiards, golf, chase the green, cricket or spoof on a regular basis you could have a problem playing to the best of your ability because all these games tend to contradict each other. Some games are about potting and position, some are about leaving a ball over a pocket and or blocking, billiards is about deliberately going ‘in off’. Spoof is about potting and it was useless to play ‘safe’.

 

Some bits and pieces:-

 

1. I occasionally helped George to clean the hall on Sundays (closed) and he paid me. We would scrub the nicotine stained walls, brush and iron the tables. We mopped the floor what seemed like ten times over. From beginning ‘til end I had to endure his infernal, god forsaken cassette tapes of Slim Whitman being played on full blast. Ugh! Rose Marie I love you blah, blah, blah.

2. Charlie Butler(s), one of the golfers, wife came from time to time to the hall. She would stand just inside the doorway and scream at him to pack up playing and to … GET HERE NOW, OR ELSE!! Charlie would get his jacket and with head bowed would make his way to the door chuntering to himself. All of us would laugh loudly when this happened.

3. John Young, a thin loppy looking bloke with matty hair and big boney hands was once playing on table 7 and attempted to play a deep screw. It was a very hot day and one of the big windows was open. Anyway, the white ball took off from the table and flew past table eight and the ball went sailing through the open window to land in Cambridge Street. The ball must have travelled 20ft before reaching the window, not forgetting the ball didn’t fly high because the light shade on table 8 would have stopped it’s journey.

4. A lad (mentioned earlier) and me arranged to wag work to play a long session of snooker. On the day, on my way to Faulkner’s I phoned work to tell them I was ill and wouldn’t be coming to work that day. When I arrived at the hall my mate was already there. I told him I’d phoned in at work and he had a look of surprise on his face. He had forgotten to do the same. He went to the phone on the wall to phone work. Some minutes later he came back with a face baring the same colour as a snooker ball worth one point. I asked him what was wrong. He told me he thought everything was alright during the phone conversation until his boss said, “Enjoy your snooker”, then put the phone down. The boss had heard the clicking of the snooker balls from a cuppla blokes playing on the table nearest the phone. My mate luckily didn’t get sacked.

5. I could go on with loads of storyettes about overhearing conversations like business men scamming, people nicking from work, debts, failed marriages, planned crimes. Also the fights I’ve witnessed in the hall, and people cheating by moving balls when opponents aren’t looking etc. Maybe next time.

 

Zakes.

[spoton 10]

Keith Littlewood can be found on his stall at the top of Dixon Lane, Ray Smith is still about he was a very good player and his Daughter played snooker for England, the last time I saw Ray a few years ago he was selling antiques at car boots in Derbyshire.

We used to play the game with the orange and purple balls added and you could win or lose some serious money, in those days we used to play for £1 a point.

Ralph Goodman would gamble on anything and got himself many problems through it, I was talking to Duggie Parkes about him when I saw Duggie about 16 months ago.

Edited March 23, 2012 by spoton