Haney to release ‘tell all’ Tiger book

Woods’ former coach pens account of time working with the ex world No.1

Happier times: Woods and Haney enjoyed a successful six-year spell together, from 2004 to 2010

As Tiger Woods prepares to start his 2012 season at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in just over a fortnight’s time, his former coach Hank Haney is putting the finishing touches to a book charting the duo’s six-year working relationship.

Haney, who worked with Woods from the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational until the 2010 Players’ Championship, has called the book ‘The Big Miss’. It is to go on sale in the USA and Canada on March 27 – one week before The Masters.

Talking to the Associated Press, Haney said: “I get asked all the time about Tiger, what it was like to work with him. I felt like I had a front row seat to golf history. just kind of chronicles a little bit of what I went through, what I dealt with, how I coached and the observations I made.

“I think there’s a lot of things that people are going to find interesting.”

On the book’s seemingly cryptic title, Haney added: “It has multiple meanings. ‘The Big Miss’ was golf jargon. The big miss of a drive, obviously that’s been part of his game. The big miss of an opportunity? That’s really where we got the idea. It was a missed opportunity that Tiger and I had that we experienced working together. That all comes out in the book.”

Haney’s spell working with Woods coincided with one of the most interesting chapters in the 14-time major-winner’s career to date, both on and off the course. During that time, Woods twice became a father, lost his own father, won 29 times, including six majors, and was of course embroiled in his now infamous sex scandal, which ultimately led to his divorce from wife Elin.

That particular subject, Haney assures, will be covered in the book.

“It’s something you can’t not talk about it,” he said. “My last tournament was the Masters and that was his first tournament back from the scandal. I didn’t know anything about the girls. That’s not something I could specifically comment on. Everything I comment on is what I observed and the facts I knew. I didn’t know anything about that.

“But I did know about how he interacted with me about that, what my observations were and other areas in terms of how I dealt with and the aftermath.”

Most of those who have come into contact with Woods during his professional career are believed to have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements to protect Tiger’s interests. Haney, however, insists that he was under no such obligation.

Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg acknowledged an awareness of Haney’s book but declined to comment further.

As to Woods’ own personal take on the publication, Haney said: “If he reads it, I don’t think it will be a book that bothers him. It’s hard to say. I think anybody who reads it will think it’s interesting, very fair and honest, and that’s what I wanted to do. I was on that job for six years. There were 110 days a year I was with him. I stayed at his house for close to 30 days a year. You make a lot of observations.”

FURTHER READING:

‘Why I quit’ – bunkered’s exclusive interview with Hank Haney, first published in issue 105

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered