David Torrance

Location: Forres GC

David is recognised as one of Scotland’s elite teaching professionals. A former Scottish Golf Coach of The Year winner he coached Russell Knox and Kelsey MacDonald when he was the head pro at Nairn Dunbar in the Highlands. David was also one of the first Scottish Golf coaches to gain the advanced coaching qualification of Level Three Sports Coach UK in 2013.

How best to communicate:

Six years ago I decided to experiment with an idea that I had thought of to ensure that my communication was clear, understood and used. My voice audio clips have led to outstanding results. My students leave our sessions with a short audio commentary in their phone which covers their entire set-up routine and swing words which they can use on the range or the course while practising.  I match the speed of my swing control wording to the rhythm of their swing for easy repetitive use. 

Biggest influence:

Initially it was Sir Henry Cotton who influenced me to major in coaching while spending an afternoon with him on the practice ground at Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society as a young professional.  Henry was 'teaching me to teach'.  Since then I have tried to become as good at the art of coaching as I can be. I have been influenced by books I have read, my personal highs and lows with my own game and information shared with fellow professionals I have known over the years. 

Greatest success story:

Sandy Scott came to me for coaching at the age of 10, having just started playing golf and 10 years later was selected for the Walker Cup team. He was selected again for the 2021 team but had to decline the invitation to play due to an ongoing wrist injury. Sandy was a skinny wee boy with a mediocre swing when we started and we developed a game worthy of a number one ranking in the UK and top five in the world.  Sandy is now based in Texas USA.