Mark grew up in a small town in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He began his golf career at the age of twelve, playing with his father in a weekly golf league.
Mark was a four year starter for his high school golf team. He earned various awards and honors through his high school career.
Mark continued his golf career at Gannon University in Erie, PA. He played two full seasons before passing his Playing Ability Test to become a registered apprentice of the PGA. He interned at Lake Shore Country Club in Erie, PA until he graduated from college in 1997. After college he worked his first winter in Naples, FL at Imperial Golf Club.
The following winter, Mark was afforded the opportunity to work at Naples National Golf Cub. During his tenure, he had the privilege to meet and observe such teachers as Gene Sarazen, David Leadbetter, Craig Harmon, Bob Ford, Lonnie Nielsen and John Calabria. He spent the summer of 1999 teaching at Huntsville Golf Club in Shavertown, PA.
Mark was offered the opportunity to work at Naples Grande Golf Club in April 2000, shortly after the club opened. He became a PGA Member in September of the same year. While working for Naples Grande, he had the privilege of teaching along side Top 100 Golf Instructors: Mark Wood, Tom Patri, Jon Tattersall and Eden Foster. He also assisted with Dave Pelz Short Game Schools and Nicklaus-Flick Golf Schools.
Mark plays golf left-handed and is a proponent of the fundamentals of golf and bases his communication with students on simplicity. Currently, he is the Director of Instruction at the Naples Grande Golf School which he helped establish in October 2005. He was recently honored by his peers when he received 2008 Teacher of the Year for the South Florida PGA and 2007 Teacher of the Year for the Southwest FL Chapter PGA. His other interests include football, baseball, fitness, reading and traveling.
A proponent of the fundamentals of golf, Mark, bases his communication with students on simplicity. He is constantly searching for new ways to downsize the golf swing and its components. His instruction includes a variety of drills and training aids that help students to make the appropriate changes to their golf swing. The drills he suggests help students to retrain their swing, while the training aids are an excellent way for his students to receive feedback.
Mark believes that the game of golf is as hard as we make it. The game of golf contains simple fundamentals that work together with simple body and club movements. If we continue to overanalyze our golf swing further confusion is inevitable. This confusion leads to doubt. Once doubt enters into the equation and our confidence is damaged, the game has won.
Mark teaches that a golf swing starts with sound fundamentals (grip, posture, ball position and alignment). Since the fundamentals are pre-swing - before the club ever starts in motion - they can be done the same way each time. This defines consistency which is what most students are searching for. After the set-up is sound, Mark will help a student understand how to swing the club in square positions. This will produce a consistently square clubface at impact resulting in farther, straighter golf shots. In an effort to simplify his approach, he addresses other swing issues as needed.
Mark believes that to make a change in the golf swing takes time and practice. If a student is looking for short term success, Mark will work exclusively on the short game. Many students have taken five to ten strokes off their score in one month with intensive short game training. As for the full swing, it can take a student six to eight months to retrain their full swing.
In his quest to keep current on the new trends in golf and fitness, Mark continually reads top authors, travels the country to observe top teachers, and attends industry shows and seminars in an effort to provide his clientele with the best instruction possible.
