"We're just taking a break right?"
The Hank-Tiger breakup takes on much more clarity after Haney's comments to John Huggan in this week's Scotland On Sunday.
"It was a tough decision, one I went back and forth on many times," said the 54-year old Dallas-based instructor, one day after announcing that he and Woods were finished as teacher and pupil. "I sent him a text. I wished him the best and told him I hope he finds someone else to help him. He first responded, 'thanks.' Then two seconds later he said again, 'we're just taking a break right?' I told him 'no, we're done.'
We're just taking a break? Did Tiger have Hank's number under Joslyn or Jaimee in the phone? Sorry, go on...
When all is said and done, I'm better off out of it. That's the bottom line. It is a huge weight off my shoulders."
Now, I'm still struggling with the notion of a teacher quitting on his pupil at his lowest point, but now we're starting to get the full picture as to why they couldn't go on.
Instead, Woods' typically curt response merely confirmed that the two were "still working together". One day later, his answer to speculation that he was about to fire Haney, was just as disingenuous: "Hank and I talk every day, so nothing has changed."
But even that seemingly simple statement was, in fact, more than debatable. Since the Masters almost a month before, the only contact between the two men had been a pair of short texts. They had not spoken directly and they certainly had not spent time on the practice range. So while the world of golf was privately and publicly slagging off Haney because of Woods' increasingly erratic driving, the reality was that the man getting the blame had had no opportunity to rectify any swing faults. Just one more thing Tiger neglected to mention.
"I wish he had stood up in a press conference and announced, at the very least, that he was sick of all the criticism, that he backed me and that he believed in me," says Haney. "But he never did."
Ahhh...get in line, Hank!
Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 09:36 AM
Reader Comments (14)
Now, I think he realized that his only purpose to Tiger was as a scapegoat, so he packed his kit and hit the road. I don't think Tiger was "that into him" (to continue the break-up lingo), and he was being slowly squeezed out. Good for Hank for taking action and putting an end to a broken relationship.
I'll bet Tiger and Steiny are none to pleased about Hank's openness on this situation.
The thing I'm getting a good kick out of is that people pick on the snake/lizard-like motives in Hollywood. How is it any different in the World of Golf? At one time, this used to be a Gentleman's Game. (Sport by definition)
Haney probably figured that this clown wasn't worth the pub he was getting anymore.
This is how little players understand about the swing, Tiger was working on this. He has been in and out of a good and bad swing now for 6 years. Can he get someone that understands how the swing MUST work? We will see.........
Just like Tiger is one of the only PGA tour players that I never heard give any credit for his success to his wife. Everyone else gets in line behind her.....
But maybe Haney is being polite and saying that Tiger hasn't actually worked on his swing much lately so it's not my fault.