ONE OF my favourite things to do in golf is listen to Bob Torrance. Whenever the wise old man from Largs starts talking, especially about the swing, I'm all ears. He's seen all of the greats, of course, from Hogan and Snead, to Nicklaus, Palmer and Trevino, to Faldo, Seve and Langer, to Tiger, Phil and Ernie. And, along the way, he has worked with a brace of major champions: 1991 Masters winner Ian Woosnam and the reigning Open champion, Padraig Harrington.
Now in his mid 70s, Britain's premier golf coach still stands for hours on end on the range at the Inverclyde Sports Centre "up the hill" from the home he shares with his long-suffering wife, June. Nothing new there – Bob has spent his working life
helping others play better. As he says himself, "my head is so full of swings I can barely open the front door by myself".
His thoughts on the swing are simple and completely devoid of pretension. In other words, Bob cuts through the crap.
"I hear players talking about keeping the clubhead 'outside' their hands on the way back," he says. "I have never agreed with that. Besides, if you think about how far you stand from the ball, the clubhead has to be outside your hands anyway. Anything else is impossible.
"The first really important part of the golf swing is the changeover between the backswing and the downswing. It has nothing to do with the speed anyone swings at; but the speed at which it happens creates the tempo of that swing, whether it is fast or slow. In passing, 'slow' is not a word I ever use when talking about the swing. 'Deliberate' is a more accurate description of what you should be trying to achieve."
One of Bob's favourite subjects is, to no-one's surprise, the man even he, Ben Hogan's No.1 fan, has to acknowledge as something special: Tiger Woods.
Woods is currently out of competition awaiting knee surgery, so will miss the Open at Royal Birkdale this month.
But even with an injured knee and three stress fractures in his leg, he won the US Open at Torrey Pines last month, holing a magnificent birdie putt on the final day to tie with veteran Rocco Mediate and force an 18-hole play-off, which Woods duly won.
"Tiger is a magnificent golfer, but in the sometimes hysterical aftermath of his injury, it needs to be emphasised that no matter who comes along and no matter how good he is, golf will always manage without him," he cautions. "No one has ever been bigger than the game and no one ever will be.
"I thought it was a fantastic performance by Tiger at the recent US Open. He was obviously in pain. I never thought for a moment that he was putting anything on. He was brought up too well by his parents to even think about doing such a thing. Having said that, there is no doubt in my mind that Rocco Mediate threw the championship away. He's not in Woods' class, of course, but he missed four or five putts on the back nine that he should have made. Even one of them would have made the difference."
It is Tiger, though, who fascinates Bob, the world's best golfer bringing out the fan in even this still-young septuagenarian.
"The amazing thing about Tiger is that he holes putts no-one else would hole," he enthuses. "And he has done that all his life. He is a great player, of that there is no doubt, but my feeling is that there is a bit of the genius about him. It goes beyond physical gifts. For example, he gets the ball up and down from places you just can't imagine. And it isn't as if he does it just now and then; it happens all the time."
Woods isn't perfect though, not in Bob's book.
"My only reservation about his game is the number of fairways he misses," he continues. "If he is on a course that is tight and it gets a bit windy, I have a hard time seeing him win. I'm thinking of places like Carnoustie and Muirfield. The pity is that I think he could have won at Birkdale.
"The difference between Tiger and the rest was shown on the last green at Torrey Pines. No-one else would have holed the putt to tie that he did. Tiger is the best putter I have ever seen. If he ever gets his driving sorted out he'll have to give everyone else a start.
"I think he'll beat Nicklaus' record (of 18 major wins: Woods currently has 14]. Because he won't let up until he does. That's one of the things I most admire about Tiger: his work rate. He is so dedicated to all parts of his game. I love to see that. And I know he does a lot of practice most people think he doesn't do. He works non-stop.
"One thing I don't like about his swing is his leg action. From a mid-iron down it is brilliant. But anything longer isn't so good. With his driver I never know if he is going to draw it or fade it – and I don't think he does either. But he does better when he hits a fade."
Still, for all the passion that so obviously burns within Torrance when golf is mentioned, his enthusiasm for much of what the modern game represents is on the wane.
"As someone who has spent a lifetime in and around golf, it is a great sadness to me that the game at the highest level is so much less interesting than it used to be," he sighs. "It is that way because of the modern equipment and the ball, of course. I rarely see anyone shaping shots any more. Instead of hitting high shots, low shots, fades and draws, most players now hit the same shot time after time.
"I don't blame the players for that necessarily. Varying your shape of shot is just too hard with the modern ball. It goes straight almost no matter how you hit it.
"If you think about some of the shots Lee Trevino hit in his lifetime it breaks your heart to see what goes on today. He had all the shots, the modern player has only one.
"The whole thing is pretty depressing, if I'm honest. But it hasn't affected what I teach. What I teach today is exactly what I taught years ago. Maybe I'm just stubborn."
All is not doom and gloom though.
"Other things have improved over the years," he continues. "If you watch one of those old Shell's Wonderful World of Golf tapes and take a look at the greens the players used to putt on you'll see how bad the putting surfaces used to be. And the fairways back then are like the semi-rough today. In fact, the fairways today are almost as good as the greens used to be.
"All in all, I don't think the standard of golf has improved as much as the equipment and the courses. Which works both ways. If a tour pro hits into an un-raked bunker these days he goes off his head! Of course, if you give that same professional a decent lie he'll get up and down nearly every time. Bunkers aren't hazards any more, not on tour anyway.
"The trouble is that, on tour, every week presents pretty much the same challenge. Twenty years ago it was the opposite; every week presented a different challenge.
"The European Tour is getting more and more like America, where conditions are all but identical every week. They hit the same shots from the same lies all the time.
"I have to admit, I hanker for an era that is long gone and doesn't look as if it is coming back. I think of players like Christy O'Connor senior. He could hit any shot with almost any club in the bag. Sadly, we will never see his like again."
TORRANCE ON LEE WESTWOOD…THIS year Lee has gone back to what he does best. He's always been a natural player and for too long he got bogged down with swing mechanics. Now, he's back to his own natural swing. Lee has always been a winner, too. I like his attitude and the way he tries to hit the shot that fits the hole he is playing. That's the best way for him to play.
When he was thinking about where the club was in his swing he never played as well as he can. There are a million ways to hit a golf ball. All you have to do is find the best way for you. That's what the game is all about and why I always teach the person and not a method. Lee is doing just that right now. He knows what works best for him and he is
concentrating on doing just that.
TORRANCE ON ERNIE ELS…ERNIE is in the middle of a swing change with Butch Harmon. I spoke to
Ernie recently and told him that anyone who swings the club long like he
does should never try to shorten it. Equally, the man who swings it short should never try to make his swing longer. Both are mistakes. All Ernie did was nod!
I'd like to see Ernie start his downswing more with his legs so that he can make a slight lateral move before he turns through the shot. Ernie's right leg tends to straighten as he hits the ball, as does his right arm; I don't like that. Now, having said all of the above, I still think Ernie can win the Open, if only because he has so much talent. He's a magnificent striker and his temperament is good, even if it isn't quite as good as it used to be. He's a bit grumpier these days.
TORRANCE ON PADRAIG HARRINGTON…MY PUPIL has been a bit quiet lately, but only because he hasn't been playing much. The European Open this week was his first event since the US Open. Which doesn't surprise me; Padraig has always had his own way of doing things. I didn't agree with his decision not to play in the BMW PGA at Wentworth back in May. I told him that, as Open champion, he had an obligation to play in the European Tour's flagship event. But he didn't anyway.
He's the hardest worker I have ever been involved with, though. I was with him last week in Ireland. We went to the range at 10.30am. It was raining heavily. Padraig told me to watch him hit "half a dozen" shots so that we could work on any problems. We went back inside at 10pm.
I love that in a golfer. Years ago I said to my wife June that I would love to get a young man who is willing work hard at his game. After Padraig had been seeing me for about two months she told me I had found him.
TORRANCE ON HIS RYDER CUP TEAM…Padraig Harrington: He has a great teacher so I couldn't leave him out.
Colin Montgomerie: If he gets close to qualifying, I want him in the side.
Lee Westwood: His recent strong play is the result of much hard work.
Sergio Garcia: One look at his Ryder Cup record is enough for me.
Paul Casey: Not the greatest year so far, but capable of brilliance.
Luke Donald: Every team needs a "steady Eddie"; Luke is mine.
Justin Rose: Too good to leave out.
Henrik Stenson: Hits it miles – perfect for four-balls.
Soren Hansen: One of the best swings on the European Tour – and he's long.
Nick Dougherty: I like his attitude.
Graeme McDowell: Has a bit of Lee Trevino about him; a very underrated player.
Robert Karlsson: Having a great year, especially in the majors.
