Anyone ever take a lesson from Tor Lowry?

[Rocket354]

I've been watching some of Tor Lowry's YouTube videos. I find them very well done. His recent one about position play gives excellent explanations/illustrations and compelling reasons for his recommended approaches. While watching, a lot of things really clicked home for me and I found myself eager to go try out what I was learning. I was impressed enough that I went to his website to see if I could reserve a lesson with him. Once there, I found that he reported being booked for lessons through 2024.

I figured with the high concentration of serious players on this site, someone (or a few someones) must have taken lessons or at least interacted with the guy. Anyone have any feedback? Is it worth waiting potentially two years to work with him? I know there are definitely other very reputable and big-name instructors who have availability only a few months out.

 

[GoldCrown]

Wait 2 years. Nope. Find a well respected local instructor.
They are around.

 

[mfinkelstein3]

I think a lot depends on what specifically do you want to learn? Stroke, one pocket, competition skills, etc. Different instructors will have different strengths. Finding the right instructor for what you want to learn is part of the journey.

 

[bbb]

i was close to booking a lesson with tor several years ago
but where you have to fly to and the long drive to where he lives made me not go thru with it
also most of my correspondence was thru someone who handles his bookings
i dont recall i ever got to talk to him
from his videos
he does seem to be a good instructor

 

[Zerksies]

Does he actually teach anything in them videos? I've seen a few and they all seem like advertisements.

 

[eastcoast_chris]

Does he actually teach anything in them videos? I've seen a few and they all seem like advertisements.

This one that was recently uploaded has ton of info in it. Takes a while to get into the meaty stuff.

I only watched 20 minutes or so of it, but will eventually watch the rest.

 

[jason]

I will agree his videos are well done. Let's not forget about Dr. Dave as well he does a great job. Imagine back of the day when there was no video, very little and grainy TV, no VHS, no YouTube, no high resolution camera in your pocket and no slow motion. The game is easy with a little hand I coordination and a little training. Yeah right!

 

[Rocket354]

i was close to booking a lesson with tor several years ago
but where you have to fly to and the long drive to where he lives made me not go thru with it
also most of my correspondence was thru someone who handles his bookings
i dont recall i ever got to talk to him
from his videos
he does seem to be a good instructor

I sent him an email a couple days ago. I still have not gotten a reply. He does seem somewhat reclusive, even enigmatic. Which is why I asked. Still no one has reported any direct contact with the guy. I do agree he seems to be a good instructor.

Does he actually teach anything in them videos? I've seen a few and they all seem like advertisements.

He does push his other material for sure. But he does provide excellent content in his videos. And when he does talk about common mistakes, both mental and executional, they really are on point. And his methods for working with students, at least as presented in his videos, seem top-notch. So given how much he advertises, why is he so hard to reach, and why don't many people have feedback on working with him?

This one that was recently uploaded has ton of info in it. Takes a while to get into the meaty stuff.

I only watched 20 minutes or so of it, but will eventually watch the rest.

That is the recent video to which I was referring. It is excellent. It does get a little repetitive at times, but I liked his justifications for playing longer cue ball paths at times over shorter cue ball paths. It is all about the percentages, and sometimes the percentages go against "standard" approaches.

I will agree his videos are well done. Let's not forget about Dr. Dave as well he does a great job.

I love Dr Dave. I read his book cover to cover and watch all his videos as they come out. His material is essential for understanding the underlying physics/reasons behind why most things happen the way they do on a pool table. I may end up seeking instruction from him at some point. But I've decided I'm looking for instruction for various specific parts of my game and those will most likely come from different instructors. I aim to work with Mark Wilson for my stroke, and Tor looked like a good person for pattern play/strategy and working on the basic skills that allow for superior pattern play.

Once the fundamentals are entrenched, then I will worry about developing specific games.

Ultimately, this thread was seeing if anyone has interacted with Tor, and if so, if he was a good enough instructor to book years out, vs just finding other options who are available more immediately. So far, no one can vouch for the guy. I will report back here if I ever hear back from him.

 

[BC21]

I have a friend who won a free 14 day lesson/seminar with Tor a few years ago. Tor came to his house, called it the "great pool experience" or something like that. My buddy said he was a great person, great player and instructor.

 

[MattPoland]

Here’s the thing. His YouTube content has some great instructional content but it is not THE INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT. The YouTube is advertisements for the material on his site. The videos sold on his site also is also better instructional content, buts also not THE INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT. The real deal is the e-books that accompany his videos. Those are best downloaded, taken to a print shop and produced into spiral bound notebooks.

Learning is not done from watching its done from doing. The e-books will have exercises for you to go through to develop your stance, grip, bridges, stoke, stun, high action, low action, precision, ball pocketing, center ball patterns, half table pattern play, full table pattern play, kicking, banking, etc. The videos scratch the surface of reinforcing some of it. If you actually work through the exercises then you’ll see the interplay to the e-books and videos. And you’ll get a strong taste of his instructional style which will do those same activities but with in personal accountability, real time feedback, and grueling long hours.

He’s not someone trying to just swoop in, clean up your fundamentals, and then leave you with some things to think about. You’re going to work hard. You’ll get sore. You’ll build up your shot repertoire and improve your pattern selection. And if you do his content by yourself then you’ll see the benefits similarly. If you watch his Great 14-day Experiment videos after actually giving the program a shot, you’ll recognize the drills he’s having them do. It’s all right there for you to self learn if you try.

But sadly most people will only ever watch his videos, feel impressed by how well they’re produced, and not realize how much of the iceberg was below the surface.

 

[MattPoland]

For example in a video he might show how to stroke a ball with follow through. In training you’re walking up to a ball and striking it directly to a pocket with stickers on the table as a target for where the cue should finish. And you might be expected to do that 500-1,000 times to burn in the muscle memory, ideally putting all regular pool playing on hold until you achieve this.

In the video he might show how to sticker up a shot and hit it with 1:00 english and mark where the cueball goes. Then shoot it again and again mark where the cueball goes. Repeat until you have a small cluster, that’s now your target and the drill begins for real. Pocket the ball and get the cueball to that target 10 times. In the e-book you’ll be expected to do that for a shot. Then with 2:00 english until you hit your new targets 10 times. 3:00 ten times. 4:00. All around the clock face. Then center ball too. Then you start all over with a very similar shot with a slightly different angle. Then again with another slightly different angle. A few more. And that’s the exercise on one page. There will be 10 more pages just like it. This is content you could work on for hours a day across weeks and weeks. It’s a training regimen just like any professional athlete might have in their discipline. It’ll incorporate progress tracking.

 

[Quesports]

Jeez, if he IS booked for years it would seem that some member of AZ took lessons from him in person and could provide their experience.

Just seems a bit odd. Perhaps the thread has not been up long enough. Time will tell!

 

[jokrswylde]

For example in a video he might show how to stroke a ball with follow through. In training you’re walking up to a ball and striking it directly to a pocket with stickers on the table as a target for where the cue should finish. And you might be expected to do that 500-1,000 times to burn in the muscle memory, ideally putting all regular pool playing on hold until you achieve this.

In the video he might show how to sticker up a shot and hit it with 1:00 english and mark where the cueball goes. Then shoot it again and again mark where the cueball goes. Repeat until you have a small cluster, that’s now your target and the drill begins for real. Pocket the ball and get the cueball to that target 10 times. In the e-book you’ll be expected to do that for a shot. Then with 2:00 english until you hit your new targets 10 times. 3:00 ten times. 4:00. All around the clock face. Then center ball too. Then you start all over with a very similar shot with a slightly different angle. Then again with another slightly different angle. A few more. And that’s the exercise on one page. There will be 10 more pages just like it. This is content you could work on for hours a day across weeks and weeks. It’s a training regimen just like any professional athlete might have in their discipline. It’ll incorporate progress tracking.

Thanks for the review. I am guilty of having watched all of his video content, and was even a patreon on his sight a few years ago. I interacted with him a few times online, but never took the time to print out any of his material. I remember him saying that he recommends to stop playing league, stop playing matches with your buddies, and do nothing but the training until it is completed.

I remember wondering at the time who in their right mind (besides a pro) would put themselves through that grueling of a regimen. I can't imagine the discipline it takes for a non professional player to make that commitment.

 

[MattPoland]

This is what his e-books look like...

 

[David in FL]

For example in a video he might show how to stroke a ball with follow through. In training you’re walking up to a ball and striking it directly to a pocket with stickers on the table as a target for where the cue should finish. And you might be expected to do that 500-1,000 times to burn in the muscle memory, ideally putting all regular pool playing on hold until you achieve this.

In the video he might show how to sticker up a shot and hit it with 1:00 english and mark where the cueball goes. Then shoot it again and again mark where the cueball goes. Repeat until you have a small cluster, that’s now your target and the drill begins for real. Pocket the ball and get the cueball to that target 10 times. In the e-book you’ll be expected to do that for a shot. Then with 2:00 english until you hit your new targets 10 times. 3:00 ten times. 4:00. All around the clock face. Then center ball too. Then you start all over with a very similar shot with a slightly different angle. Then again with another slightly different angle. A few more. And that’s the exercise on one page. There will be 10 more pages just like it. This is content you could work on for hours a day across weeks and weeks. It’s a training regimen just like any professional athlete might have in their discipline. It’ll incorporate progress tracking.

Kill me now!

Probably why I will never be all that good…

 

[MattPoland]

Kill me now!

Probably why I will never be all that good…

People talk about how some pro players will train for 6-8 hours a day, treat it like a job, and hone specific skills. His program is about trying to give you a taste of that level of dedication. I can definitely say my progress was in about a 15 year plateau and when I worked on these things back in 2016 it caused my skills to jump up about the equivalent of 100 points in FargoRate. Certainly is tedious and I didn't stick with it for much longer that 3-4 months. I could easily see how keeping on this could break someone into the 600s if not approaching 700. There are certainly other more organic ways to get there but that tends to be spending 6 hours a day competing and that's even harder to do once you have real life demands on your time.

 

[GoldCrown]

i was close to booking a lesson with tor several years ago
but where you have to fly to and the long drive to where he lives made me not go thru with it
also most of my correspondence was thru someone who handles his bookings
i dont recall i ever got to talk to him
from his videos
he does seem to be a good instructor

Might have few good pointers but definitely not the answer.

 

[GoldCrown]

Kill me now!

Probably why I will never be all that good…

I died a long time ago.... I'm so bad I can only get better

 

[JolietJames]

Training with Bert was similar. My game went into the toilet while I was working on his stuff.
After about 6 months I was beating guys at the hall I had never come close to beating prior.
I no longer have that drive or commitment. I currently play but not very seriously.
When I am trying to improve, I have a routine consisting of selected drills from Bert, the net, and of my own creation.
It takes between 2-3 hours/day.
Just doing this routine for 6 months jumps my level a good 50 points. I wish I wasn't so darn lazy.
I'd love to be back at my top level but I'm simply not willing to put in the work.
Drills/instruction is a top priority if you want to break out of a plateau and increase your level imo.

 

[Bob Jewett]

The vast majority of people seeking pool instruction want a couple of hours of lessons to fix a couple of things in their fundamentals, learn how to hit the cue ball accurately, and play a little position. Maybe draw the ball for the first time in their life. I'd say that fewer than 5%, or maybe even 1% can arrange to do even two hours of practice a week. Maybe that's from other time commitments or just due to a luke-warm interest in the game. The kind of player witnessed above who will work hard on their game in a structured format for a hundred hours is unusual. The player who will put in 1000 hours is rare. Those hours are not knocking balls around or even playing the ghost -- they are conscious, directed work on specific skills.