Games that get boring when you get good at them

[Sports_Fanatic]

In a similar vein, is a 9 dart finish special anymore - really? Sure, its exiting, but i bet the pros have these everyday in practice

It seemed pretty special last night when Smith took it out. Mardle on commentary and the crowd going wild, Twitter was a big response as well.

 

[ADB]

But sport doesn’t happen on the practice pitch/court/board etc
Doing it under pressure is where it counts.

setting aside I don’t consider darts to be a sport, I totally agree with your comment. The impact of a 9 darter has been diluted purely due to the fact that there are so many - the one in the final by Smith was special as it followed MVG missing his 9 darter - which kind of supplements my point.

 

[Maninblack4612]

cherub of the green

Don't think I've come across him. ?

 

[JonnyGutteridge]

"Get good at them" is a significant thing in golf.... if you shoot 62 every week, you'll still want to shoot 59!

I can think of a fishery where the fish practically jump in to your net... that's boring!

I saw someone boasting about the weight of all the fish they caught in 2022 - it included the same huge carp about 12 times ? Must love to be caught

Know this isn’t quite the sort of ‘boring’ meant. But back then when I was fit and fast, my county badminton playing chum must still have found it dead boring playing me an, at best, ‘adequate’ fun club player. He was county standard squash player as well, and at that I am awful, I couldn’t even play an occasional shot that might stretch him even a little…at least in badminton I could sometimes get him running, though the only points I would ever win would be when he tried an outrageous shot and failed.

Similar story with squash. I used to compete in a league at work, there were 15 or so regulars and I was in the top 2 or 3 players. There was 1 chap who didn’t even bother competing with the league but he would play friendlies against the better players. In 3 years, he never even lost a game - let alone a match. It was often a struggle to even win a point. He must have found it rather boring.

 

[sjw]

setting aside I don’t consider darts to be a sport, I totally agree with your comment. The impact of a 9 darter has been diluted purely due to the fact that there are so many - the one in the final by Smith was special as it followed MVG missing his 9 darter - which kind of supplements my point.

There have been fewer 9 darters in PDC history since 1996 than there have been hole-in-ones on the PGA tour in the same time frame.

 

[Albo]

There is too much of an element of luck in a hole in one to compare to the skill of a 9 dart finish.
I’d equate it more to hitting 18 greens in reg

 

[sjw]

There is too much of an element of luck in a hole in one to compare to the skill of a 9 dart finish.
I’d equate it more to hitting 18 greens in reg

Still an interesting comparison. You can hit 18 GIR without every shot being perfect, ie you could miss fairways. Can't miss for a 9 darter

 

[Albo]

Still an interesting comparison. You can hit 18 GIR without every shot being perfect, ie you could miss fairways. Can't miss for a 9 darter

True but you could theoretically have a dart missing the treble but deflect off a dart already in the bed which means it falls in. You regularly see close ups where they use darts already there to either stack on or embed against (for want of a better word). But yes in golf you could quite easily mess up your tee shot on a par 5 and still hit the GIR, darts doesn’t offer that flexibility.
Maybe hitting 18 fairways? (14 and 4 greens on the par 3s maybe?)

 

[nickjdavis]

setting aside I don’t consider darts to be a sport, I totally agree with your comment. The impact of a 9 darter has been diluted purely due to the fact that there are so many - the one in the final by Smith was special as it followed MVG missing his 9 darter - which kind of supplements my point.

Really? There was just one solitary nine darter at this years World Championships.

 

[Orikoru]

Still an interesting comparison. You can hit 18 GIR without every shot being perfect, ie you could miss fairways. Can't miss for a 9 darter

I don't think hitting fairways or greens is the equivalent of a 9-darter. Surely it's a level par round or a round with no bogeys or something? i.e. a flawless execution of one 'round' or 'game' of the respective sport with no errors or shots dropped.

Anyway, bowling is probably going to take some beating. I don't watch it (obviously), but surely at the very top level you must have games where both players get the maximum score of 300? As others have said, very few variables in it, so if you're good enough you can probably do that fairly frequently. Would be like watching golf but all the holes are par 3s and the players are just making hole-in-ones every time.

On a personal level, I wouldn't know, I've never been that good at anything.

 

[The Fader]

Don't think I've come across him. ?

He's got the putting stroke of an angel.

Should have read "the rub of the green"

 

[Maninblack4612]

He's got the putting stroke of an angel.

Should have read "the rub of the green"

Yes, I gathered that.

 

[ADB]

There have been fewer 9 darters in PDC history since 1996 than there have been hole-in-ones on the PGA tour in the same time frame.

You're trying to compare apples with oranges

 

[ADB]

Really? There was just one solitary nine darter at this years World Championships.

There was 1 9-dater in the PDC in 2001, there was 45 in 2022

 

[sjw]

You're trying to compare apples with oranges

How? 9 darters aren't common, that's all I'm saying. You're the one trying to say that they've somehow become diluted

 

[BiMGuy]

There was 1 9-dater in the PDC in 2001, there was 45 in 2022

Modern equipment is ruining the game.

 

[nickjdavis]

There was 1 9-dater in the PDC in 2001, there was 45 in 2022

Doesnt make them common though does it....more frequent perhaps than what they once were but common?? No.

Also when making such a comparison you need to consider how many games were played in PDC events in 2001 compared to 2022? As a sole comparison....the PDC World Championship itself was contested by just 32 players in 2001, whereas 96 players contested the 2023 tournament. As well as bigger events...there are obviously more of them as well.

The PDC is a vastly inflated tour, with more players competing and more events for bigger prize pots, compared to what it was 20 odd years ago....you would therefore expect more competition to drive practise, to increase skill levels and to increase scoring averages.

 

[nickjdavis]

Modern equipment is ruining the game.

you forgot about custom fitting, better understanding of flight dynamics, how different shafts affect dart flight, how the balance affects landing angle, leaving space for the next dart....stuff like that.

 

[Neilds]

you forgot about custom fitting, better understanding of flight dynamics, how different shafts affect dart flight, how the balance affects landing angle, leaving space for the next dart....stuff like that.

You jest, but I reckon the diamond shaped wire has ruined the game by virtually eliminating bounce out ?

 

[nickjdavis]

You jest, but I reckon the diamond shaped wire has ruined the game by virtually eliminating bounce out ?

no....I wasnt jesting....indeed I had written about the new wires and better board quality, but somehow managed to edit my post to remove these bits, before hitting "post reply" !!!