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Manuel de la Torre (1921 – 2016) is a World Golf Teachers and PGA of America Hall of Fame Member. The first year the PGA of America gave a National Teacher of the Year Award (1986) it was given to Manuel de la Torre. Manuel became a legendary teacher influencing many famous teachers with the numerous seminars he conducted for the PGA, NGF and many other groups. Manuel, never one to promote himself, was always content to help the average golfer at Milwaukee C. C., which he did for 65 years, but he did manage also to work with many PGA and LPGA Tour Major Winners such as Carol Mann, Martha Nause, Sherri Steinhauer and Tommy Aaron. Manuel learned to teach from his father, Angel de la Torre, who won the Spanish Open a record 5 times before he relocated his young family permanently to the U.S.A. in 1936 due to the Spanish Civil War that broke out that year. Ernest Jones, who wrote, Swing the Clubhead, was a family friend of the de la Torre’s and, as a young boy, Manuel heard his Dad and Ernest Jones discuss the golf swing for many hours.
Manuel developed and fine-tuned his own golf teaching system over the next few decades and finally distilled it in his book, Understanding the Golf Swing, which was published in 2001.
You will begin to get an idea of how practical and extensive Manuel’s golf swing concept can be by studying and implementing the ideas in his book and/or by viewing the golf clinic that Manuel conducted in 1987 (link on this Homepage) for a group of average golfers. However you will not fully realize what an accomplished teacher he was or how much he cared about every student unless you took a lesson from him or watched him in action on the lesson tee. After a golf lesson with Manuel de la Torre you would: 1) hit some better shots, 2) understand what you had to do to improve, 3) understand why you needed do this, and 4) have much hope and enthusiasm for practicing and playing in the future.
Manuel also shared his time willingly with his fellow golf professionals who did greatly benefit from his thoughtful analysis of the causes, effects and corrections of numerous problems. He would also delineate a clear roadmap of what to do to play better golf. This includes all aspects of the game plus the critical mental side which was always a part of his teaching.
It is hoped by this online presence that numerous golfers and golf teachers will continue to benefit from the ideas and the spirit of Manuel de la Torre as the great game of golf continues for the benefit of all for many years in the future.
Excerpts from Manuel’s book,
“Understanding the Golf Swing” published in 2001
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What Does a Golf Swing Look Like, Page 58
Restricting the Backswing Size, Page 84
The Most Common Cause, Page 143
Maintaining Purpose, Page 193
Articles written about Manuel de la Torre
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"The Learning Tree" by Jaime Diaz, May 1, 2001, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus
“The Love of Teaching” by Gary D’Amato, May 12, 2015, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Manuel de la Torre passes at age 94” by Bob Denney, June 2016, PGA Magazine
There are two important ideas that are a part of Manuel’s golf teaching system and they are:
1) everything we teach should be based on fundamental principles of physics and geometry that can be proven and
2) anything we ask a student to do cannot be overdone.
The more the student does what they are asked to do the better they should play. Manuel did not believe that you helped a student who sliced the ball by teaching him or her to hook the ball. If they have been slicing for 10 years and now you have them hook the ball for 60 minutes then where should they aim when they go to the first tee?
Click on “View More Notes” to view the page of “Moe Norman quotes about his ‘new way.'” Also search YouTube for “Moe Norman Private Range Demo 2001 Orlando” video posted by Kirk Junge where these quotes came from.