Nic’s Favourite Things
The products below are what I personally pay for and use, or recommend as a great alternative.
I have identified trustworthy suppliers for each product in the links you can find below, and at great prices at the time of writing.
If you purchase from the links below I receive a small commission from Amazon or Ebay which will compensate me for putting together this list of essentials for you.
But of course if you can find better prices from other suppliers you trust then by all means go ahead.
Accessories
Aramith '1G' Tournament Snooker Balls
1G Balls – the balls they use on TV (the balls in the set are all within 1 gram of each other – hence 1G). Comes with a silver carry case.
Aramith Tournament Champion Full Size Snooker Ball Set
3G Balls – the balls that they use on TV but within 3 grams of each other hence 3G. This difference is indistinguishable to all but regular century break players. Does NOT come with a carry case so is not so easy to take to the club.
Peradon High Quality Chalk Pouch
Chalk pouches – the best on the market for comfort, correct size, chalk not falling on the floor, and durability. You can buy pouches for a third of the price but I do not recommend it.
Century Tips – what most pros use as of April 2019. G3 is the most popular, and can be considered ‘Medium’
Elk-Pro Cue Tips (9mm, 9.5mm, 10mm, 10.5mm, 11mm, 13mm)
Elk Pro Tips – indistinguishable from Century to most players. I have used these for a few years and they have been perfect every time. I recommend Medium.
Sportube – vital if you are going through airports. I have seen baggage handlers try to destroy aluminium cue cases on purpose. Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui, and many other pros have had their cues broken by baggage handlers. These brilliant cases make it impossible for your cue to be broken.
Sportube Series 2 Double Ski Case
Black 16.8 X 14 X 130-210
Sportube Series Ski Blaze Hard
Orange 16.8 X 14 X 130-210
Another option which may be cheaper than Amazon. My friend Andrew Ramsay (ADR147) runs this shop.
Cue Craft cases – I always found these cases to be better than leather as they are stronger, have smoother edges to not scuff your car leather, and better in the event of fire. I have used mine for the last twenty years and take it to around 30 countries and it is still rock solid!
Books
Sport Skills
The Inner Game Of Golf - W. Timothy Gallwey
This book had a massive influence on my game and my coaching in my teens. I still use the tools I learned in this book every day in my coaching.
The Inner Game Of Tennis – W. Timothy Gallwey
Tim’s first book – a worldwide ‘smash’
Flow In Sport – Susan Jackson & Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
For anyone who wants to know what you need to do to get ‘into the zone’…. read this book!
Personal development
Flow: The Psychology Of Happiness - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
This book transformed my thinking about how our life’s purpose interacts with our happiness. A must read.
NLP: The New Technology Of Achievement – Steve Andreas & Charles Faulkner
The best book on NLP that I have read.
Think And Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
A brought a copy of this book for £0.52p in from a private library in Glasgow in 1992…. It has never left my library since and is the grandfather of all personal development books.
Autobiographies
