THE GREATEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY FAMILY

“It’s the greatest thing that has ever happened to my family, my three boys now even say they hate video games!”

Macgregor Billiard Shop owner in Brisbane’s south-side Graeme Savage has a particular smile on his face as he recalls the comments of this customer.

“He came in four months after he had purchased the Pool Table to look at upgrading his boy’s pool cues and before I could even say hello he came out with those wonderful comments,” Mr Savage said.

The father of three boys knew nothing about pool tables when he first set foot in to the Billiard Shop.

He was simply looking at something that could get his boys away from video games and start being more sociable – speaking and interacting with each other in a fun, competitive and social way.

Mr Savage says the father went on to say “The Pool table has brought my family together in a way I couldn’t have imagined. For a start it got them off their backsides and they quickly developed some wonderful competitiveness with each other.”

“I never would have imagine that the Pool table would have had such a profound positive effect on my boys,” he said.

Billiards is many things to many people but one unifying force is that it does as Billiard Shop says – brings family and friends together.

Maybe no one describes the power of Pool better than American Billiards blogger Robert Clinton who in collating his thoughts as a troubled four year old wrote.

She (his mother) would take me with her to work (at the Pool Hall) most days, but even when there was discord in the pool room, it never involved me. Anytime something was happening there, it was easier to ignore than the chaos at home. There was refuge for me in this place. I found myself drawn to the rush I felt from the little successes created with each swing of the cue. There was always a release of adrenaline into my humble frame, and the memory of the power that surged through my body in those moments has always provided me with a reminder that I am somebody. The tight and smooth cloth felt wonderful every time my fingertips were placed onto it to bridge my cue. The silky texture caressed my palms and fingers even though I was holding onto them for dear life. For me, this was Heaven on Earth.

  Robert, who is a painter by profession, but a more than handy pool player recently beat nine time world champion Earl Strickland in a handicapped 9-ball tournament.

While his experience with Billiards as a child is much different than the Brisbane father of three, there are obvious parallels with how a Pool table can shape lives.

There are many similar stories throughout Australia and in the Billiard Shop centres in Townsville, Mackay, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast at Aspley and Macgregor in Brisbane.

Billiards does bring family and friends together!