I actually have seen players like that, one specifically that went to the 3 day BCA school and became a certified (recognized?) instructor. Had picture-perfect pendulum stroke, further refined through the school and practice, but we beat up on him all the time. He just didn't have the same feel, positional awareness, or mental game to get to that next level, even after years of practice.
For anyone that's played any other sports, the mechanics in pool are pretty simple, regardless of your approach. Low speed, low impact, stationary ball, pretty simple hinging movement. Far easier to teach and reproduce than a baseball, tennis, or golf swing for instance. Witness the hundreds of golf instructional books out there, very few talk about course management or specialty shots but they all try to break the swing down in many different ways.
That's probably why we have all of the discussions about aiming. People feel like they miss because they aimed wrong, don't want to admit it could be caused by poor fundamentals, improperly centered vision, poor concentration, etc. Plus, with the advent of the internet not all that long ago, we are able to share all of this information in a way that wouldn't have been possible 20 years ago, the "secrets" have been exposed and expanded upon and enhanced and torn to shreds, all at once. Name calling and cult status aside, it can only help expand upon the pool (pun intended) of knowledge and further improve this great game.
Scott
