Tiger Woods Fans Won't Want to Miss Hank Haney's "The Big Miss"

By now, we’ve all heard the salacious details surrounding Hank Haney’s latest book, The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods.

We’ve read short excerpts where Haney discusses Tiger Woods’ marriage.

We’ve read short excerpts where Haney details Woods’ obsession with the military and particularly the Navy Seals.

And we all have our own personal opinions on what level of confidentiality should exist between a swing coach and player.

Haney has continually held his position that The Big Miss is about golf and is not a gossip laden book filled with TMZ-like passages.

And Haney is right.

The Big Miss is mostly about golf and offers excellent insight into Woods’ world without going overboard on personal details.

Essentially, what you have already read in the pre-sale excerpts is about all you will get in terms of  details about Woods’ personal life.   

You won’t learn much more about Woods’ marriage and relationship with his wife, Elin than what you’ve already read. 

In terms of Woods’ obsession with the military and Navy Seals, Haney does go into detail on this matter, but this was also directly related to golf and his job coaching Woods because it not only took Woods’ attention away from the game but also caused several nagging injuries that Haney had to deal with while attempting to teach Woods.

Haney says that Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, was the one who finally got through to Woods during a dinner party at Steinberg’s Cleveland, Ohio home prior to the 2007 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Haney, Steve Williams and Steinberg had all grown increasingly concerned about Woods’ obsession with the Navy Seals, and Steinberg finally said that he would speak to Woods during the dinner party.

Haney said that after dinner had concluded the two men disappeared into Steinberg’s office for more than an hour. In the days, weeks and months following Steinberg’s discussion with Woods, Haney claims that Woods’ obsession with the Navy Seals began to wane.

Several times throughout the book Haney discusses how Steinberg was the only member of Woods’ inner circle that was truly able to get through to Woods and to whom Woods actually listened to.

Perhaps the biggest shock in the entire book is that Haney attempts to take at least some credit for Woods’ 1999-2001 golf swing.

Haney didn’t begin working with Woods until 2004, but insists that a tip he gave Woods about his swing plane angle in late 1998 while on the range at Isleworth was a main factor in Woods incredibly dominate run between 1999 and 2001.

Haney gives credit to Butch Harmon for implementing the change, but claims that as 1999 rolled on he saw Woods swinging on a very similar plane to that which he had suggested to Woods back in 1998 at Isleworth. 

It may not be as salacious as the whole Navy Seals obsession or some minor details about Woods’ marriage, but for golf fans, this would likely be the most shocking aspect of the entire book.

From day one, Haney has contended that The Big Miss is about golf and that we should all read the book before passing judgment.

And having now read the book myself, I would make that same assertion.

Read the book.

It’s mostly about golf and Haney’s student/teacher relationship with Woods.

And for Woods’ fans, it will provide you with a riveting look into Woods’ world from one of the few men actually allowed into Woods’ inner circle.

What Woods’ fans might also find particularly interesting is the comprehensive behind the scenes look Haney gives readers from the 2008 U.S. Open, where Woods defeated Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff while playing on a broken leg and torn ACL.

It’s difficult to say what level of confidentiality should exist between a player and coach.

I personally believe that some level of confidentiality should be honored, and The Big Miss skirts on what is and is not acceptable under that implicit code.    

However, Haney’s claim that the book is mostly about golf holds true.

The gossipy details are few and far between and are only included in order to fully explain the complexities that existed within Woods’ life and Haney’s teaching relationship with Woods. 

For example, it would be difficult for Haney to discuss their major championship preparation without also discussing how that preparation may have been hampered by injuries Woods sustained while training with the Navy Seals.

It would be difficult for Haney to truthfully discuss the decline of their practice sessions without also talking about how Woods spent increasingly more time checking his phone and texting while on the range and out on the course at Isleworth.

Few people actually have the time or attention span to sit down and read an entire book these days. We’d much rather read short excerpts or reviews about a book and then pass judgment based on a very limited amount of information.  

My advice is to simply read The Big Miss before passing judgment.

You may be surprised by just how much of the book pertains to golf and how little of it has anything to do with the gossipy details of Woods’ personal life.

For more golf news, insight and analysis, check out The Tour Report.