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Bob Torrance - A true golfing hero

By: Golf Shake | Tue 22 Jul 2014


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements 


I was 14 years old and had entered the West of Scotland boys' championship at Strathaven. Back then, you didn't know who you were partnered with until you got to the course and when I stepped on to the first tee I was introduced to a strapping man child who looked like he had turned up for the wrong tournament.

He was immaculately dressed and when he took his first practice swing I knew that I was in for a long, hard day playing catch-up. His name was Sam Torrance, he hit the ball miles and he took the course apart, signing for a 67.

Until that day, I had fancied myself as a half-decent young golfer, but when I watched Sam strike the ball I realised that I was no such thing.

https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/490230562251374593/photo/1

Growing up, my grandfather had taken me to watch many original Tartan Tour events around Scotland and we would often follow Bob Torrance. He was an unmistakable figure, never without his white hat. He would figure on the leaderboards from time to time, but he had a tendency to blow his top when things weren't going his way and he was never going to make a living as a tournament player.

Torrance was Sam's father and he was responsible for building the boy's swing and guiding him through a career that saw him win 21 times on the European Tour, play in eight Ryder Cup matches, hole the putt that won the Ryder Cup at The Belfry in 1985 and captain the team to a glorious victory at the same course in 2002.

Bob Torrance, who has died aged 82 after a long battle with cancer, had found his niche. He was a natural teacher.

In my early twenties, I decided that I needed a couple of lessons so I took myself down to Largs, a small town on the west coast of Scotland. Torrance was the pro at Routenburn Golf Club, a short but challenging golf course.

He asked me what I wanted to achieve. "Consistency," I replied. "Come on then son, let's see you hit some balls." I paid for a one-hour lesson. Almost two hours later, he had me striking the golf ball as crisply as I had ever done in my life. Unlike so many of today's teachers, Torrance did not have a set method. He looked at the player in front of him and tried to give him something that would work for him.

He had a reputation as a gruff individual - he was anything but. His teaching style was to gently cajole, and to encourage when it all came right. I went back for a couple more lessons and was flying by the end of it.

If he could do that with me, what could he do with a proper golfer? Well he coached Padraig Harrington to three majors for starters. The Irishman described Torrance as the best coach he had ever worked with.

He also transformed several other players. When Marc Warren, the Scottish European Tour golfer, first went to see Torrance he could barely hit the ball. The transformation was immediate.

"He changed my career massively. Still to this day, and for the rest of my career, his words of wisdom will stay with me," Warren said. "When I first started seeing Bob it was 2002 and three months later I’d won twice on the Challenge Tour.

"I was rookie of the year and I won the World Cup. I might not be playing at this level if it wasn’t for him. I can’t speak highly enough of him and his knowledge of the golf swing. He would give everything he had to make you the best player you could be. I’ll be forever in his debt for that. His death is a sad day for golf. A legend has passed away.

Stephen Gallacher worked with Torrance for more than 20 years and spoke movingly of his mentor.

"Everything I know about the game is probably through Bob," Gallacher said. "The first time I met him was down at Inverclyde and the snow was hitting the back of the bay. He was such a positive guy and I loved working with him.

"I went down to see him two or three weeks ago and it was sad to see him then. I really feel for June [his wife], Sam and the rest of the family. I’ve got millions of stories about him. He was larger than life. He was always positive and funny, too. He would teach you for as long as you wanted to be there – even if it was in the dark."

Darren Clarke was another former pupil, sent to Torrance by his son soon after making his debut on the European Tour. Clarke admitted that everything he knew about the golf swing was learnt at the hands of Sam's father.

Four years ago, I approached Torrance about the possibility of ghost-writing his autobiography. His response? "Derek, who the heck would be interested in my life story? I've got some great tales I could tell you about the guys I've worked with but I can't because it is all private."

That was the man in nutshell. Respectful, professional and an absolute gentleman. One we will all miss dearly. 


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