blonde poker forum

Which is the most difficult to achieve?...statistically or intuitively..out of the following:


a hole in one at golf

a 147 break at snooker

a 9 dart finish

a perfect 300 score at tenpin bowling


I discounted golf as one shot can be fluked

147s are quite frequent

so for me it was darts or bowling

I decided on the 9 darter as you have one shot at the double...


yes/no?

147 is my guess

FYP

Not sure about the bowling but i'd say 9 dart finish at darts.
Holes in one are ten a penny and anybody can hit one, this makes it easiest.
147 at snooker although rare is reliable on luck (the way the balls split), also the player is supported by the table itself.
Darts is totally freehand, almost entirely skill (may get a lucky deflection) and extremely rare.
As i say i dunno about bowling, for all i know these may be achieved week in week out in every bowling alley in the country.

Darts is only 9 perfect throws, bowling is 12 perfect bowls.  Not many of either happening in main competitions, if I have to go for what's harder, I'd say the bowling but only because there's more tasks involved.

bowling

Little story as an aside.

used to go for lunch in a snooker club in stirling where a lot of Pro's practised. I used to have a game sometimes (with a huge start). One day played Alain Robideux I broke, decent enough reds opened up but not all over the place and cue ball well back into baulk area. He states as I take a bite out of my toastie "eef i seenk thees red its a 147" (French Canadian spoke funny ye ken!!)

Anyway he proceeded to sink the red and nail a 147.

So must be pretty easy as he was rubbish, I even beat him once. ( okay i did get 120 of a start  :)up )

147 or maybe the darts

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=8362.0

There is no right answer...

like IFM says probably the only one open to all in any sort of realism is the hole in one. However it is probably the one with the greatest number of attempts in any given day around the world and may at the same time have the smallest probability of actually happening. All great achievements in their own fields.

My thoughts haven't changed then  :D

The gulf in skill needed to be transversed in order to complete a 147 or a 9-darter is a lot larger than that for a hole-in-one. A pro golfer is only three or four times more likely to hit a hole-in-one than an average golfer.

The 147 and the 9-darter are comparable. 147s are more common but I believe that is because snooker players are generally better at snooker than darts players are at darts (on account of the fact that top snooker players have been fully pro and practicing for six or seven hours a day for over twenty years, whereas most darts players have proper jobs and only practice in their spare time).

Once the full time darts teenagers come into the game, they'll destroy the old guard and 9-darteres will become more common. Hell, even back in the Jocky Wilson/Eric Bristow days, 180s were quite rare. Now they happen every five minutes in a match at the world championships.

it is deffo a nine dart finish, holes in one very frequent, 300 at ten pin bowling fairly frequent, 147 breaks pretty frequent....9 darter not many at all.

Yes, but I would have thought it was easier for a pro to get a strike than a 180.

Nine dart finish.

Take the kids to the local Bowelerama, and a they'll manage a few strikes.
Take them the next week and they may manage two or more strikes in a row.

Take the kids to the local Red Lion pub, and give them some arrows.
Take them the next week as well, they will not manage two treble twentys in a row.

Also bowling is dominated by fat Americans, Darts is dominated by fat Europeans. Stands to reason ours should be tougher, coz it just is chief!

I think the 147 is the strongest competition to the 9 darter. A compelling case could be made for it.

Either a turkey to a 180, or a strike to a treble 20.

A lot would depend upon the phrasing of the question.

"Which is the most difficult to achieve"

It doesn't say anything about being a pro

Are we taking four random and similar men from the street, unschooled and unfamilar with the discipline they are to be competing in.

Assign them each one of the four feats, and put them in a room (big room for the golf) till they achieve it.

In this case, I think the darts player would achieve his goal before the snooker player. The 147 is most difficult.

why would that be part of the question?

different answer for a pro though? I assume that might be hole in one cos of the luck element involved?

For a Pro, I think the hole in one is the toughest, as it relies a lot more on luck.
For the average bloke off the street, it has to be the 147, as there are a lot more shots involved and you have to keep your position etc.

a pro golf tourney( depending on lay out of the course) is about evens to have a hole in one.

By the way if you want a good light gambling read the book about the hole in one gang is a great read.

My Dad has been ten-pin bowling for over 50 years now.  He's in his late 70s now, and still bowls a 190-average.  However, he's never managed a 300 game.  A young lad who bowls in the same team as him isn't as consistent, but has already bowled a 300.  So it's not impossible for a decent amateur with his eye in and luck going his way.

I know snooker players (amateurs) who have compeleted 147s in practice (none in competitions though).

I have a big, fat friend who's hit a hole in one.

I don't know any amateur darts players that have managed the 9-dart finish.

So I might go for that.

Good question though, and one I will steal and challenge my friends with... both of them.

For me then, I reckon the 147 would be toughest.

Ask Ray Barnevald the same question and you may get the same answer.

you can currently bet around 7/4 that the world snooker championship has a 147 break in it,that is one tourney where the odds are 7/4. Max breaks are not that rare in snooker at the highest level.

many amatuer dart players regularly achieve nine darters in practice....i have and i am pretty sure mfi will have done as well. from my late teens to my thirties i played in a wednesday league,a thursday league and a friday league.when you are practicing (sometimes for 3 or 4 hours,) you get into a rhythm and hitting 180's becomes quite a common occurence.the same can be said for snooker players,willie thorne allegedly had over 50 147's in practice but could not transfer that to the glare of the tv cameras.

usually cos he had backed his opponent. Allegedly

Here is a list of 147's over the last 20 odd years, this list only seems to cover the main rounds of events tho, so qualifying rounds where due to the big number of matches played would add many  more.

Date Player Opponent Event
January 11, 1982 Steve Davis John Spencer Lada Classic
April 23, 1983 Cliff Thorburn Terry Griffiths Embassy World Championship
January 28, 1984 Kirk Stevens Jimmy White Benson & Hedges Masters
November 17, 1987 Willie Thorne Tommy Murphy UK Championship
February 20, 1988 Tony Meo Stephen Hendry Rothmans Matchroom League
September 24, 1988 Alain Robidoux Jim Meadowcroft European Open
February 18, 1989 John Rea Ian Black Scottish Professional Championship
March 8, 1989 Cliff Thorburn Jimmy White Matchroom League
January 16, 1991 James Wattana Paul Dawkins Mita World Masters
June 1991 Peter Ebdon Wayne Martin Strachan Open
February 1992 James Wattana Tony Drago British Open
April 22, 1992 Jimmy White Tony Drago Embassy World Championship
May 9, 1992 John Parrott Tony Meo Matchroom League
May 24, 1992 Stephen Hendry Willie Thorne Matchroom League
November 1992 Peter Ebdon Ken Doherty UK Championship
September 1994 David McDonnell Nic Barrow British Open
April 27, 1995 Stephen Hendry Jimmy White Embassy World Championship
November 25, 1995 Stephen Hendry Gary Wilkinson UK Championship
January 5, 1997 Stephen Hendry Ronnie O'Sullivan Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge
April 21, 1997 Ronnie O'Sullivan Mick Price Embassy World Championship
September 1997 James Wattana Pang Wei Guo Catch China International
May 16, 1998 Stephen Hendry Ken Doherty Doc. Marten's Premier League
August 10, 1998 Adrian Gunnell Mario Wehrmann Thailand Masters
August 13, 1998 Mehmet Husnu Eddie Barker China International
January 13, 1999 Jason Prince Ian Brumby British Open
January 29, 1999 Ronnie O'Sullivan James Wattana Regal Welsh Open
February 4, 1999 Stuart Bingham Barry Hawkins UK Tour Event
March 22, 1999 Nick Dyson Adrian Gunnell UK Tour Event
April 6, 1999 Graeme Dott David Roe British Open
September 19, 1999 Stephen Hendry Peter Ebdon British Open
September 21, 1999 Barry Pinches Joe Johnson Regal Welsh Open
October 13, 1999 Ronnie O'Sullivan Graeme Dott Grand Prix
November 4, 1999 Karl Burrows Adrian Rosa Benson & Hedges Championship
November 22, 1999 Stephen Hendry Paul Wykes UK Championship
January 21, 2000 John Higgins Dennis Taylor Nations Cup
March 24, 2000 John Higgins Jimmy White Irish Masters
March 24, 2000 Stephen Maguire Phaitoon Phonbun Regal Scottish Open
April 5, 2000 Ronnie O'Sullivan Quinten Hann Regal Scottish Open
October 25, 2000 Marco Fu Ken Doherty Regal Scottish Masters
November 7, 2000 David McLellan Steve Meakin Benson & Hedges Championship
November 19, 2000 Nick Dyson Robert Milkins UK Championship
February 25, 2001 Stephen Hendry Mark Williams Malta Grand Prix
October 17, 2001 Ronnie O'Sullivan Drew Henry LG Cup
November 12, 2001 Shaun Murphy Adrian Rosa Benson & Hedges Championship
October 28, 2002 Tony Drago Stuart Bingham Benson & Hedges Championship
April 22, 2003 Ronnie O'Sullivan Marco Fu Embassy World Championship
October 12, 2003 John Higgins Mark Williams LG Cup
November 12, 2003 John Higgins Michael Judge British Open
October 4, 2004 John Higgins Ricky Walden Grand Prix
November 17, 2004 David Gray Mark Selby UK Championship
April 20, 2005 Mark Williams Robert Milkins Embassy World Championship
November 22, 2005 Stuart Bingham Marcus Campbell The Masters qualifiers
March 14, 2006 Robert Milkins Mark Selby 888.com World Championship qualifiers
October 23, 2006 Jamie Cope Michael Holt Royal London Watches Grand Prix

regards

 :D

this one was the best, especially the long 13th red and the difficult green.

I got a 147 at golf, does that count?

I remember Wille playing a world championship match in the 90's when many firms would not price the match up. I think the guy retired at just the right time............

I know Willie a bit, lovely man..more leaks than a watering can nozzle.

Easy to back winners when you know the result b4 hand tho Tighty........ ;hide;

Willie would know the result and still lose

Legendary around the northern race tracks as the biggest mug of the lot

OK - that's cool, I obviously don't know any decent darts players!  I'd go for the bowling then.  Needs consistent skill, and a large element of luck.

He once came into a Hills shop in Sheffield to collect a bet he had placed on some dodgy dogs at Portsmouth. I think the amount was about 14k. As he hadnt placed the bet in that shop the manager didnt have 14k in the shop so had to go to the bank for it. Willie asked if he could have a bet on the strength of these returns while the manager collected the money and a he was allowed to bet on the strength of his soon to arrive 14k, when the manager got back with the money he had done 12k of it in!!!

Having a couple of darts trophys, played a bit of golf as a kid, played snooker & played 10 pin....

I'd say 10-pin's 300 is the toughest - to people that play the games.

My best run at 10 pin was 5 strikes, my best break at snooker was 64, I never got a hole in one and I managed a 10 dart finish. So as an average player all roound - I'd call the 300 the toughest.

Nah, i'm famous for never practicing :D
Had a 12 dart game tonight though, 140, 121, 100, 140F

For non pros to do - a 147

For pros to do - a 9 darter

What about a hatrick in cricket?

Tough to put it in here, as it's largely dependant on the quality of batsman.

With the others, it's man against constant grass, man against constant cork, man against constant bails, and man against constant skittles.

For what its worth guys i used to play a lot of Tenpin Bowling (national level at under 18). I never actually scored a 300 but over two back to back games i threw 17 strikes in a row, did this quite often. (12 to make a 300) I knew collegues that had bowled 3 or 4 300 games before the age of 18!!

Not wishing to suggest that this is easy the level of practice was enormous, but it is for all the sports mentioned. I would say the 9 dart finish is the toughest, at least with snooker during a break you may have two or three reds on offer at any point in time, which i think builds in slight room for error. With darts you gotta hit that little treble bit EVERY time.

Deffo 9 dart finish toughest, then 147, then 300...hole in one piece of cake  ;)