who,s the most natural player?

[baldblindgit]

some of the stuff about his practice routines i think is not exactly true it comes from a book by a guy called andrew ricketts i think, but i have seen interviews with lindrum that tell a different story.

i would love to see those interviews, i have a copy of Lindrum's classic 'Billiards' instruction book and he mentions slaving away with one ball for hours before his father let him play with two and then 3 balls.

what i have noticed with several 'natural' players i have encountered in my local league over the years is that most if not all had a flaky temperament, often losing interest if they were not knocking in big breaks and lacking the dedication and hard work ethic that is necessary for success in top class sport

[KeithinFrance]

why is Walter Linderim in the discusion.....

he was a billiards player are we going to look at willie mosconi or effren reyers next ?

on a snooker table who in youre opinion was the most natrual talented player ever?

my opinion is Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Because the question is "who's the most natural player?" , not snooker player, but player; and as billiards is sort of the father of snooker I included him! It has to be said that I also did it because a lot of people were saying Ronnie, because of his ambidextrous ability, so if you can say Ronnie because he's ambidextrous, then I can say Walter. What Walter did was truly exceptional and, IMO, Ronnie doesn't even come close to his ability, be it right-handed or left-handed.

[dazza]

Has to be Ronnie for me he just make's the the game look so easy be it right handed or left handed

[Templeton Peck]

To be fair to WildJonesEye, it's a snooker forum not a cuesports forum and I don't know if Lindrum ever player pro snooker. That said it has brought an interesting dimension to the debate. Billiards of Lindrum's era was probably as competitive as snooker before it went open but the gulf between Lindrum and the others was far greater than anything that's been seen in snooker. Lindrum seems to be a talent of the calibre of Ronnie or Higgins with the dedication of a Davis or Hendry. If you could have spliced Davis and Higgins together, or Ronnie with Hendry you'd probably get someone like Lindrum.

[wildJONESEYE]

To be fair to WildJonesEye, it's a snooker forum not a cuesports forum and I don't know if Lindrum ever player pro snooker. That said it has brought an interesting dimension to the debate. Billiards of Lindrum's era was probably as competitive as snooker before it went open but the gulf between Lindrum and the others was far greater than anything that's been seen in snooker. Lindrum seems to be a talent of the calibre of Ronnie or Higgins with the dedication of a Davis or Hendry. If you could have spliced Davis and Higgins together, or Ronnie with Hendry you'd probably get someone like Lindrum.

he didnt play in the World Championship thats for sure and did look down on snooker.... if it wasent for Joe Davis persistant with snooker Walter Lynderim might have had his wish of snooker disapearing.

Horrace Lynderim (Walter's Nephew) won the World Championship in 1952 but it was only contested between him and Clark Mconachy the other players had walk away and contested theire own World Championship whitch Fred Davis was dominant.

back to the topic

it isnt a case of it being a snooker forum however the question was asked initially with snooker in mind and i pointed out Walter wasent a snooker player.

[KeithinFrance]

he didnt play in the World Championship thats for sure and did look down on snooker.... if it wasent for Joe Davis persistant with snooker Walter Lynderim might have had his wish of snooker disapearing.

Horrace Lynderim (Walter's Nephew) won the World Championship in 1952 but it was only contested between him and Clark Mconachy the other players had walk away and contested theire own World Championship whitch Fred Davis was dominant.

back to the topic

it isnt a case of it being a snooker forum however the question was asked initially with snooker in mind and i pointed out Walter wasent a snooker player.

Maybe I'm just being pedantic but the question was only: "who's the most natural player?", not the most natural snooker player.
As I said before, I only brought up Walter because of the unceasing references to Ro'S ' ambidextrous ability, and wanted to point out that someone else had already done better; and also bring Walter to more people's attention as I feel it's a shame that he's not better known, especially by people who admire technique and passion in cuesports and I feel that Walter is the epitomy of what a cuesports player should aspire to be.
Anyway, if we really have to choose a snooker player as "the most natural player", I'd have to say Tony Drago as well. His vision and understanding coupled with his flamboyant technique and speed around the table do it for me.

[Kingscratcher]

O'Sullivan is the benchmark in snooker. Some choose Alex Higgins but this is just for sentimental reasons I guess.

Come off it, Wim, isn't this a bit patronising? Anybody that chooses Higgins chooses him because that's their honest opinion. No sentiment involved for me - I simply think that Higgins was more naturally talented, and at his best, would have beaten O'Sullivan at his best. Higgins is at a disadvantage in this type of discussion as Ronnie is constantly in the public eye now, while Alex's day was 20 or more years ago, and he now tends to get dismissed by people that haven't seen him play much, if at all, and are blinded by Ronnie's brilliance. My vote would be 1) Higgins, 2) O'Sullivan, 3) White.

[KeithinFrance]

Come off it, Wim, isn't this a bit patronising? Anybody that chooses Higgins chooses him because that's their honest opinion. No sentiment involved for me - I simply think that Higgins was more naturally talented, and at his best, would have beaten O'Sullivan at his best. Higgins is at a disadvantage in this type of discussion as Ronnie is constantly in the public eye now, while Alex's day was 20 or more years ago, and he now tends to get dismissed by people that haven't seen him play much, if at all, and are blinded by Ronnie's brilliance. My vote would be 1) Higgins, 2) O'Sullivan, 3) White.

Nice post! :snooker: