It was amazing, grueling, inspiring and exhausting!
To start with I had to get up and leave my house at 4 in the morning due to the snowstorm that hit the mid west Saturday. So I meet Mark at Cue and Cushion around 11 am. Right away I can tell that this guy loves what he does. I was impressed with his ability to be professional and yet make you feel comfortable at the same time. Extremely easy to get along with and had a ton of great stories and every one of them were relative to what he was teaching me.
He sized up my game quickly and wasted no time fixing the flaws in my mechanics. Half way through the lesson I almost called him Bagger Vance because he had a great way of making me understand what I needed to do, small changes that made a world of difference for me. We changed my stance, my grip, my entrance into the shot, my bridge...... EVERYTHING! And I thought I played well, and in truth I did but with my mechanics at the time I was stuck on a world of mediocrity. I would most likely never advance beyond my current limitations because my stroke was inconsistent. It had way too many moving parts.
So, the things Mark taught me destroyed my game.........and GOOD RIDDANCE! My old game is dead and buried and I will never go back to my old way of shooting. It's like I am learning the game all over again and it's great. It is frustrating because I am going to play like crap for awhile but I know the payoff will be worth it in the end.
After my lesson Mark even offered to give me a ride back to my hotel so my wife wouldn't have to get out again! Here is a guy that drove over a hour in bad conditions to teach me pool for 8 hours and still has a hour drive ahead of him to get back home and does it all for only $300.00. AND STILL OFFERS TO GIVE ME A RIDE! (On top of that he was even going to take me out for dinner!)
I can't wait for the next lesson with Mark. He is a class act all the way and his instruction is top notch. Also after working with Mark I have a better understanding about the things that Scott Lee and RandyG talk about on here. I have always respected there comments but now I really get it. Those guys know what they are doing. If you ever get a chance to work with any of those guys take it, you wont be disappointed.
I am also hoping I can make it to the DCC this January, Mark has offered to show me around and introduce me to some of the players like Efren.......the only thing that came to mind when he said that is this......
By the way, to those that have worked with Mark, how long does it take to get feeling back into your bridge arm? My left arm has been numb from the bicep to my fingertips for 2 days now!
To start with I had to get up and leave my house at 4 in the morning due to the snowstorm that hit the mid west Saturday. So I meet Mark at Cue and Cushion around 11 am. Right away I can tell that this guy loves what he does. I was impressed with his ability to be professional and yet make you feel comfortable at the same time. Extremely easy to get along with and had a ton of great stories and every one of them were relative to what he was teaching me.
He sized up my game quickly and wasted no time fixing the flaws in my mechanics. Half way through the lesson I almost called him Bagger Vance because he had a great way of making me understand what I needed to do, small changes that made a world of difference for me. We changed my stance, my grip, my entrance into the shot, my bridge...... EVERYTHING! And I thought I played well, and in truth I did but with my mechanics at the time I was stuck on a world of mediocrity. I would most likely never advance beyond my current limitations because my stroke was inconsistent. It had way too many moving parts.
So, the things Mark taught me destroyed my game.........and GOOD RIDDANCE! My old game is dead and buried and I will never go back to my old way of shooting. It's like I am learning the game all over again and it's great. It is frustrating because I am going to play like crap for awhile but I know the payoff will be worth it in the end.
After my lesson Mark even offered to give me a ride back to my hotel so my wife wouldn't have to get out again! Here is a guy that drove over a hour in bad conditions to teach me pool for 8 hours and still has a hour drive ahead of him to get back home and does it all for only $300.00. AND STILL OFFERS TO GIVE ME A RIDE! (On top of that he was even going to take me out for dinner!)
I can't wait for the next lesson with Mark. He is a class act all the way and his instruction is top notch. Also after working with Mark I have a better understanding about the things that Scott Lee and RandyG talk about on here. I have always respected there comments but now I really get it. Those guys know what they are doing. If you ever get a chance to work with any of those guys take it, you wont be disappointed.
I am also hoping I can make it to the DCC this January, Mark has offered to show me around and introduce me to some of the players like Efren.......the only thing that came to mind when he said that is this......
By the way, to those that have worked with Mark, how long does it take to get feeling back into your bridge arm? My left arm has been numb from the bicep to my fingertips for 2 days now!
