“Let’s be honest about this, it’s not like he was flushing it with Hank."

Robert Lusetich talks to Sean Foley who is less than bashful in sharing his views about Tiger's swing. Sit back and prepare for an entertaining read! My highlights:

“This is nothing against Butch (Harmon, who was Woods’ coach at the time) but trying to go back to that would be a huge mistake,” Foley said.

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"Part of this saga makes me feel like I’m in high school again. Woods and Foley probably aren’t going 'steady’' yet. They’re likely just 'seeing each other.'"

Sean Martin all but wonders if Tiger and Sean Foley will be updating their Facebook relationship status to let us know they are working together after Tuesday's press conference.

But on a serious note, Martin observes this:

In a news conference Tuesday, Woods said he’s been trying to limit his head movement on his backswing, “so that I can start going down the line again, start using my legs again properly. I feel like . . . I can use my legs and my rotation the way that I know I can.”

“Leg drive’’ and “rotation’’ are two key principles of Foley’s teaching. He’s hardly the first person to emphasize these principles. But he focuses on them more than most. Foley once told me that technology “was the death of the ballstriker,” partly because it lessened the need to compress the ball at impact.

Hey anyone who dares to talk about a side effect of technology must be good. Tiger, you have my blessing.

"The buzz is in their court right now."

Jaime Diaz on the "guru war" that has broken out within the stable of short game specialists, led by Dave Stockton and sons:

None of the great putters of the last 50 years -- Bob Charles, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, et al. -- had a regular coach to help them on the greens. The same goes for today's acknowledged best: Woods, Steve Stricker, Brad Faxon and Brian Gay. For that matter, Stockton and Utley had no putting coach besides their boyhood teachers. The resistance is evident in the fact that the most recent partnerships were not initiated by the player. Stockton was suggested to Mickelson by his caddie, Jim Mackay, as Utley was to Garcia by Billy Foster. Stockton, at the behest of Mickelson, offered his services to Scott.

But when Stockton seemed to be the pivotal figure in Mickelson's immediate improvement, and when Scott and Justin Rose won soon after receiving a lesson from Dave Jr., it became a powerful narrative. "I highly respect what the Stocktons are doing," Utley says. "The buzz is in their court right now."

Hank Haney Decides He'd Like To Spend Less Time Denying That He's Been Fired

So here's the story.

Here's Hank Haney's website in case you didn't have it bookmarked.

Let's get to his statement. It's moving, I tell you.


I have informed Tiger Woods this evening that I will no longer
be his coach.

If it's by text or voice mail, do you think Tiger will share it with us?

“I would like to thank Tiger for the opportunity that I have had to work with him over the past 6 plus years. Tiger Woods has done the work to achieve a level of greatness that I believe the game of golf has never seen before and I will always appreciate the opportunity that I have had to contribute to his successes. I have also enjoyed the association that I have had with Tiger both on and off the golf course as I have had some incredible experiences. In coaching and teaching Tiger I have also learned a lot, not only about golf, but about people and life in general. It has been a great learning experience and along the way Tiger has elevated me in my own profession to a level that I never thought I would achieve before I had the opportunity to work with him.

Hear, hear!

“In many ways because of all of the time that I have spent with Tiger, I may have learned more from him than he has ever learned from me.

Erase your texts, don't leave voice mails, make sure you have a really good short game if you are going to try the Haney method...that about sum it up?

So I believe at this time that it is in both of our best interests for me to step aside as Tiger's coach.

Now let me get this straight. A student goes to a teacher to become better. But in this case, the teacher decides he's learned from the student all he needs to learn for his own betterment and abandons the student at his greatest time of need? I'm just saying...

“I will always look back upon our past half dozen years together as my best days in professional golf.It would be a dream of any coach to have a student like Tiger Woods and for me it has a dream come true. Just so there is no confusion I would like to make it clear that this is my decision.

Yes, we want to be clear that you are dumping your student at the absolute lowest point of his career.

Tiger Woods and I will always be friends,

I'm not so sure about that...

but I believe that there is a time and place for everything and I feel at this time and at this place in my life I want to move forward in other areas.

Season three of my Golf Channel reality show!

“Tiger has been just an incredible performer in golf and he has achieved great success throughout his career. First with his father Earl, and then with Butch Harmon as his coach, followed by me, I know Tiger Woods will be successful in the future no matter who helps him. He is an incredible athlete with an incredible work ethic.

As we all know, Tiger has been through a lot in the last six months, and I really believe that given the chance, mind free and injury free, we will all see Tiger Woods play once again like we all know he can.


And now that he's dumped his swing coach...oh wait, no, it's the other way around.

“I wish Tiger well, not only with his golf, but in finding peace and happiness in all aspects of his life. Tiger knows that if he ever needs me in anyway, whether it be with his golf or just as a friend he can always call.I will always, as I have been in the past, be there for him.

Just not right now in this time of need.

From a personal standpoint, I look forward to being able to make many more contributions to the great game of golf in the days and years ahead.”

Hank Haney


So, let's refresh our memories with some of Haney's recent comments. Last week, talking to Bob Harig.

"Tiger's record speaks for itself," Haney, 55, said Thursday by telephone. "If everyone wants to say it is my fault. ... People are entitled to their opinions. You can't do anything about that. But the results are what they are and the facts are what they are. What can I say?"

What Haney says is that he just received a quarterly payment, that he has not been told his services are no longer needed and that Woods is enduring a complicated time in his life that is bound to affect his golf.


Wonder if he'll be sending that quarterly payment back?

And a few days later, May 6, in a John Huggan column.


"I seriously doubt that if the things outside of golf hadn't changed so drastically for Tiger, then my teaching wouldn't be coming into question right now," Haney continued in an e-mail.

True, those wild tee shots and other wacky shots went totally unnoticed the last few years.

"Sometimes I question the teaching of the game."

John Huggan looks at Lee Westwood's claim of being the best player in the world despite not having the trophy case to quite back that up, and then looks at the notion of golf producing fewer "winners." Lots of interesting stuff here, but in particular was this from Ben Crenshaw on instruction and where Americans chose to play.
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The Ubiquitous Hank Haney?

For a man who doesn't think much of the media, it's just heartwarming to see Hank Haney making the rounds now to talk about Tiger. First there was the call in to Alan Shipnuck, then now he's on FanHouse, then yapping it up with Golf.com's Connell Barrett and finally, doing Ryan Ballengee's podcast.

But it wasn't until Monte Burke nabbed Haney for Forbes.com that the truth came out.

You recently became the spokesperson for Charles Schwab's ( SCHW - news - people ) retirement services. Are there parallels between golf instruction and retirement advice?

There are lots of parallels. The most important thing you can have is a plan, whether that's for your investments or your golf game. You have to be patient. Both require longterm approaches. There are ups and downs, and you can't get too high with the ups or too low with the down.

After that, don't ever tell me this blog fails to provide you with useful information. Ever!