I didn’t think I would be so excited to see all the water from the plane, but as soon as we got close to the Tampa airport, I had my nose to the window like Ralphie with the Red Ryder BB gun. It was just a sight that I don’t see everyday. And, just when I thought we’d flown over all the water, there was MORE water.
Well, since I last wrote, Vegas and I drove 935 miles (14 hours) back from Minneapolis on Monday. Tuesday was a pretty big wash as my brain wasn’t working too well. Tuesday night, I had my clinic. Wednesday, I had a bunch of meetings/appointments. And, after only a little more than 48 hours in town, I was on a plane to Tampa (via Phoenix to pick up P. John) for the RTC.
Yesterday was the perfect day! We got off the plane, picked up the rental, put the top down, had an amazing dinner, and then played about three hours of pool last night. A nice meal, great company, and POOL! My favorite trifecta!
The first person I saw when I walked in was Corey. He walked over to our table with us and hung out for a bit. He explained the “secret to the tables.” The humidity and dirty balls cause cling/skid/throw (whatever you want to call it) to the object ball leading to misses. He explained, “You have to shoot everything with outside english.” “Excuse me?” I wondered. After explaining his theories on cling, he continued that, “You have to put a little bit of outside english when cutting the balls into the pocket to avoid the skid. The harder you hit it, the more english you need to add. You actually have to change your patterns a little bit to play for shooting outside.”
Interesting. Well, whatever he said, I think it really helped somehow during my practice. After I got the speed down, I really felt great. Something about being conscious of all that stuff really forced me to shoot everything in the center of the hole because I didn’t want to take any chances. Whatever it was, thanks, Corey!
Today is a free day. John and I are off to either a helicopter ride, cigarette boat tour, or whatever the heck we feel like. Most importantly, first stop: FOOD!
Players’ Meeting begins at 8:30 tonight. I’ll probably get there around 6, hit some balls, and call it an early night. I’m so excited!
Looks like it was a rough weekend – but you knocked a few down on the way! Way to go! Have a great week – keep ur chin up! – Kyril