Hank Haney: Relationship with Tiger [Woods] was 'always dysfunctional'

NBC Sports ^ | June 29, 2010 | Rick Chandler

[ejdrapes]

Hank Haney: Relationship with Tiger was 'always dysfunctional'

Tue Jun 29,2010 5:15 PM ET By Rick Chandler

Cheap shots or bon mots? One could consider Hank Haney's latest revelations about Tiger Woods as both, I suppose. Haney, who resigned as Woods' swing coach on May 10, nevertheless is still breaking down the golf game -- and personality -- of the world's greatest golfer for seemingly anyone who will listen. Haney discussed Woods in an interview with Guy Yocum in the August issue of Golf Digest, in which he said Woods was often uncommunicative, the point that it was hurting their coach-pupil relationship. And Haney also implied that Woods was cheap, which was the most surprising part of the interview for me.

Golf Digest: You felt the onus was on him to call you?

Haney: "Right. I sent him an e-mail on everything I thought he should do and work on. I got no acknowledgement at all, but that wasn't unusual. Then it got to the point where I didn't know what he was doing or thinking. Yet the whole time he was telling the media I was still his teacher and that I was going to continue to be his teacher and I was talking to him every night."

GD: It sounds like it became dysfunctional.

Haney: "It didn't get dysfunctional; it always was dysfunctional."

Haney said that following the Masters, he tried to get in touch with Woods, with little success.

Haney: "I talked to him only two times after that. That was his way of blaming me. Maybe I'm reading too much into it; maybe I'm being too sensitive. But when someone doesn't talk to you..."

GD: Do teachers get too much credit for players' successes, and too much blame for their failures?

Haney: "I don't see teachers getting a lot of credit, and that's fine. Tiger deserves the credit, not me. I didn't hit the shots; he did. I don't think I deserved a great deal of credit, but on the other hand I don't feel I deserved the lion's share of the blame when he struggled."

GD: Can you describe other frustrations?

Haney: "Every once in a while I sent him some pretty long e-mails or texts on things I thought he needed to do. I sent one after the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Tiger never even acknowledged he got the e-mail. That was just the way he was. He never responded that he even got it. There was one time when Elin told me, "Hey, Tiger got your e-mail, and he really liked it."

Then, Haney was asked how much Tiger paid him over the six years he was his coach. Although evasive, Haney gave the impression that Woods felt being associated with him was payment in and of itself, to a great degree.

GD: Was Tiger generous with you? Did he express his appreciation to you in unusual ways, such as signing flags for you or dropping you notes?

Haney: "Generosity is relative. It was generous of him to give me the job. I don't have anything signed by Tiger, no. Not one thing."

GD: Did Tiger pay you well?

Haney: "I don't want to answer that. There's no reason for me to go there."

GD: "It's been said that Tiger views any association with him as helping that person out. Do you go along with that?"

Haney: "You said it, I didn't."

[org.whodat]

Lets see what fool would hire a washed up old has been that would bad mouth you behind your back. a coach that wants to be consider a number one A hole and has no principles related to his profession. Just about tells the story of the little inbred coach.

[GnuHere]

Tiger covered the hush money for the girls and forget this guy, sounds like, or he would have had to sign a confidentiality agreement before departing.

[Frantzie]

Tiger’s coach before Haney was Butch Harmon who coaches Phil Mickelson and about 5 other top players. Harmon is a pretty straight shooter and I do not think he like’s Tiger.

Harmon offered to help John Daly about 2 years ago try to resurrect his career. Harmon said forget it because he felt Daly was still drinking etc.

Daly arguably had the best skills of any golfer in the past 20 years but he has way to many head problems. Even Tiger said Daly had probably the best skills.

[ejdrapes]

Their relationship must have been pretty bad towards the end. Haney wouldn’t be speaking out if they left on good terms.

[OldDeckHand]

While Tiger is no peach (clearly), I’m not sure if it’s the best career move to go to Golf Digest and talk about a former student in any way, but especially in a disparaging way.

[Falconspeed]

Interesting. The lack of acknowledgment from a superior is a sign of a perverted, unprofessional and selfish superior. History has thousands of examples. One example of the contrary opposite – a superior with a caring, professional and respectful acknowledgment of his inferiors – is John Wooden.

[Frantzie]

WTF are you talking about? Tiger had probably the best coach in teh world in Butch Harmon and left him to go with Haney. No principles? Oh you mean like Tiger sleeping with porn stars and pancake waitresses then possibly giving his faithful wife multiple STDs or worse. Get clue clown boy.

[GOP Poet]

agree.

[Lancey Howard]

So was his relationship with Mr. Douglas.

[GOP Poet]

ping!

[Diplomat]

So the man has no right to express his first hand account about a past employer? I guess that how you believe things should work in Amerika. Do you still get tingles up your leg when you watch the adulterer play?

Perhaps the fool that hired him should have paid for a non-disclosure agreement.

[org.whodat]

No fool, when you are paid for your services it leaves you with a professional obligation. The inbred, the coach has no professional ethics. Would you want your doctor talking about you to the next person that walked in. Who tiger sleeps with is none of my damn business are yours are the stupid coach. Now stop the name calling butt wipe.

[org.whodat]

Your post sort of says how low you are!! And actually, what you say about your former employer can get your rear dragged into court in every state in this country.

[Frantzie]

Well a good place to go is golfwrx.com forum with good golfers. I would say about 30% of the posters are still Tiger fan boys. It used to be 50% +.

What happened is as Tiger’s game fell apart - Hank Haney was getting more blame than Tiger was. Almost reminds me of Bush versus Obama on the economy. The half wit Tiger fan boys were jumping all over Haney. Haney in the article said he did not deserve the credit when Tiger was playing great but also did not deserve all the blame when he played poorly.

I never found out why Tiger left Butch Harmon but Butch “don’t work for cheap.” I am sure Phil Mickelson and other golfers pay the full rate with Butch. Maybe Tiger left Butch cause he is cheap. I have heard before that Tiger is a cheapskate.

[Islander2]

“Lets see what fool would hire a washed up old has been that would bad mouth you behind your back”

Answer to your question, Tiger Woods, who would not even acknowledge emails from this coach. You call this coach Hank Haney “ a little inbred coach”....your words...personal experience with “inbred”?
Sounds like you might be part of the “boyzz” whose adulation of Tiger could very well preclude rational analytical evaluation of Tiger’s relationship to coach Haney, and also to coach Harmon.

[Frantzie]

Inbred? You need to take a remedial English class. Were you born here?

Hank Haney is not an inbred. Based on your spelling and grammar, I think you could easily win that prize.

As far as Tiger’s private life, he humiliated his wife on a global scale. He deserves all the bad press, snide remarks and condemnation he gets.

[runninglips]

If this interview is considered “talking behind Tigers back” or a “cheap shot”, I must have been sleeping through the last 25 years of sports personalities. OMG, he said the relationship was dysfunctional, and used an example of the guys wife acknowledging him but not his pupil....fer shame fer shame. The only thing that is clear is, Tiger Woods is a p-—k. A full on jerk, and is a waste of talent. God only knows why those people with over the top talent, must pretend so arrogant.

[Republic of Texas]

Word gets around in the Restaurant biz, and the word is that Tiger is cheap. Apparently that extends beyond tipping.

[Frantzie]

Tiger fan boys. They are a LOT like Obama voters - delusional.

I see them on the golf course too. They usually play crappy Nike equipment like Tiger. Their drivers are okay but the rest of their stuff is pretty bad. Tiger fan boys are usually rude on the course, have no clue regarding golf etiquette, rules or even common courtesy.