Will Tiger Woods' mystical "twirl"
appear at this week's U.S. Open?

Conventional wisdom says Woods needs to bring back swing coach Butch Harmon, whom he broke from two years ago, roughly the time he stopped making winning majors look easy. That same wisdom says Woods needs to recall the swing perfection he seemed to achieve in the year 2000, when he won three majors and nine PGA Tour events.

But both of those things might be the problem, one golf teacher says.

Manuel de la Torre, 85, the author of the instructional book and DVD Understanding the Golf Swing, says Woods needs to get back to his 1997 form. Yes, prior to the now legendary swing makeover constructed with Harmon that led to seven wins in 11 majors from 1999-2002.

"In 1997 at The Masters, I thought it was as perfect as any swing I had ever seen," de la Torre says. "Why change when you have a pretty good swing? When a swing is good, I say it's good. Keep it that way, perform it better."

In Woods' book How I Play Golf, he explains why, even after his remarkable 12-shot victory at The Masters at age 21, he was not satisfied with his swing. He watched a tape of the win a week later and counted the flaws.

But de la Torre, who doesn't think a lot of tinkering is necessary, says the post-1997 Masters adjustments Harmon and Woods made veered from Woods' natural ability and broke from the "geometrical principles" of the golf swing.

"What was done to his swing was that it was made more complicated," says de la Torre, the PGA teacher of the year in 1986. "Therefore not as repeatable. If you watch his timing today, he is hitting shots left and right because he sometimes overdoes it and sometimes not enough."

As for Woods' unprecedented success -- he won four consecutive majors at one point with his revamped approach -- de la Torre credits his "superb mental focus. But now he is worried about his swing."

De la Torre, who subscribes to the theory that the swinging motion is naturally circular, says Woods changed to bring the club straight back, a more robotic approach that demands a rerouting of the club on the downswing. While de la Torre's circular ideal keeps a swing on one plane, Woods is relying on mechanics to get his club back on track.

"I said at the time that change will eventually cause him some problems," de la Torre says. "There will be complications when you have to have a compensating action. He can play with anything; he has that much talent. But the times when his timing is a little off, it's hard to find that second plane."

Series of issues

De la Torre says any slight injury (such as Woods' knee surgery last year), loss of focus, tinkering with new equipment or worrying about the swing mechanics will hamper the necessary precision in Woods' current swing.

"Now you can't concentrate on how you are trying to play," de la Torre says. "He's concentrating on the swing. When timing goes, it's better to not have too much to do so you don't sway too much. We aren't machines. If you lose feel, compensating actions are tricky."

De la Torre's observations are unique. Many pro golfers use the straight-back swing Woods employs rather than the purely circular motion. It lengthens swings and creates power. When things click, it can hold up under tournament golf pressure.

"A lot of times they don't have an understanding of what I'm trying to work on," Woods says of swing experts offering armchair analysis. "Everyone's opinion of a nice golf swing is different. Some of these analysts speak from how either they perceive how the golf swing should be or how they used to play.

"It's different. Some guys shape the ball differently than others; other guys like to hit the ball differently than others. I think that's where you have to step out of the box sometimes, which these guys don't," Woods says.

Harmon wouldn't comment for this story but has been quoted as saying Woods is on the wrong track. Harmon, who by all indications from both men will not return as Woods' coach anytime soon, has said Woods should watch some tapes from 2000 to see what to do.

"I try not to do that myself because I have to remember what kind of shot I was trying to play, what kind of technique I should have had at that particular time," Woods says. "I think that's where you get into a problem trying to analyze things certainly you don't understand."

Major problems are minor

De la Torre, in awe of Woods' talent, says he would suggest getting back to the sound principles his game was built on. "He has to trust that and do it. He has to prove it to himself," de la Torre says. "Not just because he hits a couple good shots. His whole game should improve when he does something sound."

Contributing: Jerry Potter, Ann Oldenburg

USA Today Information Network Jun 17, 2004