golf

golf, pocket-billiards game named for its similarity to the original outdoor stick-and-ball game of golf. In the billiards version, each player tries to play an assigned object ball into the six holes, or pockets, of the table, beginning with the left side pocket and moving in clockwise rotation around the table. The object balls are respotted after each hole is completed, and the player who completes the “course” in the lowest number of strokes is the winner.

Each player begins with the cue ball on the centre spot and the object ball on the foot spot. The player’s first shot of the game must rebound off the foot cushion before contacting the object ball. If the shot is missed, the player continues from wherever the cue ball comes to rest. On subsequent holes the object ball is replaced on the foot spot, but the cue ball is played from where the previous player left it. These shots need not be banked. Other rules are similar to those of pocket billiards.