Best of RSB - December 1997

Each month a distinguished Committee of one unnamed rsber presents the official "Best of rsb." This monthly highlight is in recognition of those very special posts that simply stand out from the crowd. The guidelines are far too complex to go into, but suffice it to say that originality, content, humor, and - most importantly - the whim of the Committee play a large role in the selections. As always, the Committee's decisions are final, and intentional groveling will be looked upon with much disdain.

On to the awards for December....Well, the Committee was *this* close to having a holiday special "Worst of" ceremony - and wasn't there just some excellent competition for top (bottom?) honors! But, ultimately, we decided to stay above the fray and maintain the untarnished reputation of the "Best of" awards. Unfortunately, it was quite a slow month, but this made the selections very easy (plus, the Committee appreciated the opportunity to close out business quickly and get on to its festive holiday party). Top honor goes to one of the first posts of the month, from infrequent contributor Phil Muller for his summary of a visit to Jerry Briesath's Pool School. Phil's post made us all feel like we were right there - and consequently just a bit guilty that we haven't sent our tuition checks to Jerry yet! (There's not enough room here to reproduce the entire posting; we recommend DejaNews or AltaVista if you haven't seen it yet.)

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Subject The Pool School - really works!
From Phil Muller
Date 1997/12/01

I have been playing pool for over 20 years. I have never been able to attain more than an average ranking ("C+" level). I practice a lot and I have read all the Robert Byrnes books. I can read and read, but it doesn't really seem to sink in where it counts. What I really need is a coach, NOT an teacher. A teacher can tell you what you should do, but a coach views what you actually do and then tells you how to correct your problems. A coach gives you a system to follow and shows you how to make your stroke fluid, improve your speed and position play, and of course utilize pool theory in real life situations.

About two weeks ago, I fulfilled a dream that I have had for several years. I actually went to a pool school that I have been hearing about for so long. The school I am talking about is called The Pool School and is located in Madison, Wisconsin and its dean is Jerry Briesath, a certified BCA instructor. I have always been talking about going to pool school, but could never find the time. I just had to give it a try. My game was stagnating and I needed help desperately. Well, I made arrangements to attend class for 3 days, packed my bags and flew out on Saturday. Jerry Briesath has two rooms in Madison, The CueNique and The Green Room. CueNique is an older room with older Gold Crown tables, while The Green Room is a new very large and beautifully decorated room with newer tables, a bar and a restaurant area. After I checked into the Madison Inn, I walked over to CueNique, introduced myself and was told that Pool School Students could practice all day and night for free. Wow, that sounded great! They gave me some balls, a table and a mug of beer and I was in heaven. Jerry's people were very friendly and introduced me to some open class players.

My favorite was a guy named Fred R. He even shot a few racks with me and gave me some pointers. He said that I was pretty good for a beginner and also said he couldn't wait to see me in action at the Thursday night tournament. I said, "Tournament, what tournament?" Fred said, "An open tournament." I said, "You're nuts, I'm not playing in a open tournament." Fred said, "By Thursday, you will be a different player and with a handicap you might win a game here and there. It's double elimination. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're going to go from a -C- player to an -A- player overnight, but you will be playing a lot better than you play now." Fred also said, "You just gotta trust Jerry and do whatever he tells you, especially when you think you are right and he is wrong. Believe me, he is always right, he knows every trick in the book and then some. He teaches the pros. Remember, if he can improve a pro's game by 10%, it means that the pro will take home more money this year. I go back to Jerry once a year for a tweak." Well, with all this inspiration, I played all night Saturday and all day Sunday.

The class started at 1:00 PM Monday, but I arrived at 11:00 AM at The Green Room to warm up. The instructional area was an isolated room with four tables separated from the main room by a large glass panel. On the wall, pointed at table number one was a video camera. On the adjacent wall was a large TV monitor. This was a first class operation! There were four students and we were each assigned a table. The carpet on the floor was brand new, the lighting couldn't have been better, the cloth was perfect, the balls were newly polished and the rails were right on the money. Even half hour a waitress came by to see if you wanted something to eat or drink. She even had the courtesy to wait for you to complete a shot before half hour before the class started, Jerry came in and introduced himself....

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The Best of Committee loves nostalgia (have we mentioned that before?). So, we're handing this month's "runner-up" award to D (Dan, is it?) White to pass along to daddy John for these memories of Luther Lassiter:

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Subject Luther LASSITER - Another Story over 30 lines!
From Dan White
Date 1997/12/08

This story can be found here.

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And, finally, an irresistable honorable mention. You're just not human if you don't like a good mystery story, and rsb had a dandy this month. The "Last Chance Mystery" (or the Mystery of Keith Kustom 455), as solved by Jason Froehling:

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Subject Re: Cue Points
From Jason Froehling
Date 1997/12/15

[Jim Barr's original post added for completeness]:
It was a Keith Kustom that I bought it in a pawn shop about 2 months ago. Even though I no longer own it I'm still interested in learning about this cue, so I'm asking a couple of more questions.

In the forearm of the cue was a serial number plate. The serial number was 00455 and above the serial number it read "Last Chance". Does anyone know if this cue was made by the original Keith or the current Keith and how old this cue may have been?

What did the "Last Chance" mean? Was it something that Keith did or was it something added by the customer?

Reply from Jason:
Hello my name is Jason Froehling and I've been a follower of this newsgroup for about six months now. I live in Sioux Falls, SD (where Keith Kustoms are made) and am fortunate to know Keith Hanssen fairly well. Hanssen bought the business from Mr. Keith Holcomb, as you may know. The cue you came across was made by Keith Holcomb. Mr. Holcomb referred to the point design on your cue as a 12 point. A friend of mine who I played 9-ball league with earlier tonight has #456 and although no two Keith Kustoms are identical his is very similar to this and he's been offered $2,500 for it.

When I left for 9-ball league tonight I was hoping to run into a fellow named Larry Bishop which fortunately I did. Larry worked with Keith Holcomb closely in his cuemaking business and has photographs of nearly every cue they made during Holcombs era. When I asked him if he remembers a cue close to Kevin's that had "Last Chance" by the serial #, a smile came to his face as he started sharing the history of this cue.

Although, I may have the spelling wrong he said the cue originally was made for Greg Milkey. Greg owned a bar on the edge of Sioux Falls called The Last Chance. From the sound of it Greg had a wild hair, and took all the money he could gather up and headed to Las Vegas looking to parlay it. From what Larry told me not only did he lose his dough while he was gone. Meanwhile, back in Sioux Falls someone from the East Coast came through and wrote a few grand in bad checks that were cashed by his bartender. When Greg arrived back home he was worse off than he thought. (By now your probably thinking the same thing I was about this situation, but it gets worse.) Apparently Milkey was looking for a way to recoup his losses so he hung out in the bathroom of the local VFW until it closed. After close he looted the place. On his way out he set off a security alarm at the police station as well as an audible alarm at the VFW. Someone nearby heard it, looked out their window and recognized him as well as his vehicle. Larry thought Milkey was in prison at the moment.

I am a little curious on your buying price from the pawn shop? And how much you passed it on for? (Kevin payed $250.00 also at a pawn shop for his-a steal!) By the way Keith Holcomb made only one twelve pointed cue that all faced up. It's also owned by a gentlemen in Sioux Falls.

One other tidbit Larry passed on to me was that Keith Holcomb's first serial number used started at #166. As he showed me his cue it read #166. He's been offered in the neighborhood of 5k for it, it's beautiful. Well I hope I didn't go overboard answering your question, but I'm glad to contribute.

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Belated happy holidays to all and see you next
month.
--
The "Best of RSB" Committee

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