De la Torre a member of elite club
Golf teacher inducted into hall of fame

Orlando, Fla. - There are golf teachers who are bigger celebrities than Manuel de la Torre, teachers with more high-profile clients and bigger bank accounts, teachers with more magazine covers and face time on television.

When it comes to industry-wide respect and admiration, however, they all defer to de la Torre, the humble and soft-spoken man who taught many of the hot-shot gurus much of what they know.

On Thursday, the 83-year-old de la Torre was honored in a way that surprised no one but him: induction into the ultra-exclusive World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame.

"I'm very much in awe about this," said the longtime teaching professional at Milwaukee Country Club. "I never expected this to happen to me, to tell you the honest truth."

De la Torre became just the 12th inductee in the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame, which was founded by Golf magazine in 1997. He was selected from a list of 40 instructors nominated by the magazine's Top 100 Teachers and a panel of golf historians and journalists.

"If there's ever anyone who should be in the Hall of Fame, it's Manuel," said Jim McLean, a Top 100 teacher. "He's absolutely a slam-dunk. He could have been the first one inducted, in my opinion."

De la Torre joins such luminaries as Jim Flick, Tommy Armour, Paul Runyan, Harvey Penick and Ernest Jones. As a young boy, de la Torre listened to his father, Angel, discuss swing theories and philosophies with Jones.

"Having Ernest Jones in that group is a tremendous thrill for me," de la Torre said. "I always give credit to Ernest Jones and my dad because they were instrumental in my success."

More than 400 guests attended the induction at the Peabody Hotel. Included were 1973 Masters champion Tommy Aaron and LPGA Hall of Famer Carol Mann, both of whom credit much of their success to de la Torre.

"As a teacher, he is the reason I got in the Hall of Fame," Mann said. "He didn't hit the shots, but he taught me how to hit them. I developed a repertoire of shots that other people didn't have."

Several Wisconsin golf professionals also attended the induction ceremony. Among them was Rich Tock, who worked as an assistant under de la Torre in 1974 and has been the head pro at Ozaukee Country Club for 16 years.

"He was the only guy that I learned to teach from," Tock said. "He'd always say, 'Rich, you should be a better teacher than I am because you know everything that I know plus what you've learned on your own.' I'd say, 'First I have to learn everything you know, Manuel. I'm not there yet.' "

De la Torre has taught at Milwaukee Country Club since 1951 and continues to keep a full lesson book in the summer. His more famous students include Mann, Aaron, Sherri Steinhauer and Martha Nause, all of whom won on professional tours. But he still enjoys fixing the slice of a 25-handicapper.

"When Carol or Sherri or Martha were winning tournaments, that gives you a certain elation that you can't explain," he said. "But to have a person that is a 125 shooter come in and say, 'I broke 100 today' . . . I don't know which is more exciting. Which is greater? It's hard to say."

De la Torre's philosophy, much of which he borrowed from Jones and then refined, is to simply "swing the clubhead" and not get bogged down in mechanics. He wrote a popular instructional book titled "Understanding the Golf Swing."

"Manuel is a wonderful teacher because he makes it very understandable and very logical," said Aaron, who still works with de la Torre before the Masters every year. "He doesn't try to make you do anything you don't understand."

De la Torre was named the PGA of America's inaugural teacher of the year in 1986 and is a member of the Wisconsin State Golf Association Hall of Fame.

He has done countless teaching seminars for the PGA of America and has made an impression on hundreds of aspiring teachers.

"Quite a few years ago, Manuel and I did a three-day seminar together," said Top 100 teacher Gary Wiren. "We had a kid in the class, kind of a skinny kid who was from overseas. He was so poor he had to sleep in his car. But since then he's put golf teaching on a gold standard. His name is David Leadbetter."

A few years ago, Golf magazine published the lesson fees charged by its Top 100 teachers. De la Torre's rate of $45 an hour was so low in comparison, other teachers pleaded with him to raise his fee.

Reluctantly, he did. He now charges $40 for a 30-minute lesson and $80 for an hour, still a bargain.

"Deep inside, in my heart, I feel it's too high," he said. "If I had to pay $80 for an hour lesson, I might think twice."

If he had himself for a teacher, it would be money well spent.

By GARY D'AMATO
Posted: Jan. 27, 2005