Private Pool Club in Switzerland

As I mentioned before, I visited Switzerland in Oct, shortly after my Mom passed, to help fellow pool player and friend Crisitna De La Garza move her and her 8-month old son there.

Her boyfriend, professional pool player Marco Tshudi, kept mentioning we would visit "the Pool Club."

I figured it was their pool hall, just called a "Pool Club."

Nope, I was wrong again, lol.

A private pool club is what the name implies:  a place that a certain number of people belong to for a monthly fee.

They are all across the country and they usually have no more than 25 members.  The fee varies, but because the pool rooms are very expensive to play by the hour, many private pool clubs are established for economical reasons.

Everything in Switzerland is expensive - it goes hand in hand with the minimum wage being so high.  Waiters and Waitresses have to study and get degrees, so tips are not the norm because they already get paid a lot to work.  Hence, the price to play pool and eat at a pool room establishment is also expensive.  So, the private clubs save the players a lot of money.

This particular private pool room club, that Marco is a member of and we visited, has their own little kitchen area with a fridge and pantry, a laptop with internet access, and even some cues (if you bring a friend and they don't have a cue to play with).

It had 6 good nine-foot tables with lots of space around them, some couches, a stereo system, and good lightning  Very nice, cozy, comfortable, and simple.  It is housed in an office building with other different types of companies, so it's basically a large room in the office building.  Every member has a key, so you can play there whenever you want, no matter what time of day. But it's not open to the public and it's not advertised. 

They have tournaments on the weekends, so that is pretty cool.

At this club, everyone's picture was on the wall and I was impressed with how many women were a member of the club. 

It's nice not to be bothered by the weekend warriors if you want to get some good practice time in or maybe get/give lessons.  Because members have access 24 hours a day, you get a lot of freedom when you want to play and it's normally not packed all the time.  And of course, the equipment is taken care of, which is another nice treat for those of us who are at the mercy of ball bangers who abuse the equipment at the pool rooms in the U.S.

Here are some pics.  I hope they encapsulate the atmosphere of the "private pool club."  I was impressed by the room, and the idea.