– With Trish Beucher, LPGA Golf Swing Coach –
Manuel de la Torre was the first GPA National Teacher of the Year recipient in 1968. He developed his golf teaching system based on his study of physics and geometry. He learned to golf at an early age from his father, a professional golfer, and from Ernest Jones, a respected golf teacher. Like Jones, de la Torre’s method is “club focused” instead of being “body focused.”
His emphasis was on helping a person release his or her natural swing. While he emphasized a few fundamentals in the set-up for the golf swing, he was not a believer in focusing on the minutiae of swing details and body mechanics prevalent in today’s online golf instruction. He believed if you allowed the club to swing its’ natural arch, your body would respond appropriately.
Like Sparks and the Easiest Swing School, de la Torre believes tension is a swing killer. Your grip needs to be light and the arms need to be loose. The emphasis is on a smooth, balanced, and even tempo swing. The same degree of effort is taken with every swing and with every club. Distance is controlled by changing the club and varying the size of the swing arch; not changing the speed of the swing nor the effort involved.
with the swing
The de la Torre method’s basic set-up and alignment are consistent with PGA orthodoxy. More novel is his insistence that prior to taking your stance the golfer must stand several feet behind the ball to visualize the target. And then, keep your eye on the target as you move to take your setup. And finally keep visualizing your target in your “mind’s eye” as you take your swing.
I’ve tried this visualization technique, and it did work for me. I think keeping the target in my mind prevented my “head” from getting wrapped up in numerous swing thoughts that cause tension and affect my swing. Thinking only about the target facilitated a more relaxed swing.
Another non-PGA orthodox aspect of his method is no weight shift, De la Torre maintains keeping the weight balanced throughout the swing.
Trish Beucher, a former student of De la Torre, offers a good source of online instruction into de la Torre’s swing concepts. I am including below a slow-motion video of Trish’s swing as a demonstration.
While Trish’s swing is club focused, you’ll notice her body responds and looks quite normal. Her weight shift, wrist cock, knees, arms, etc. are all correct w/o having to train them that way.
Another good source to learn more about the MDLT golf swing is John Hayes YouTube Channel.
Trish Beucher & de la Torre Slow Motion Golf Swing
Golf Links:
- Manuel De la Torre Golf Teaching System
- Trish outlines some of the key de la Torre concepts in this YouTube video.
Other Body Friendly Swing Videos & Reviews
Have you tried Ernest Jones or Manuel de la Torre’s golf swing principles? What do you think of these ideas? Leave your comments below.
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