17 replies to this topic

[cwglum]

Finished the Haney book in 4 days.  

He really doesn’t get into the scandal at all other than to acknowledge that it occurred.  The publisher let out the worst lines of the book for it's trailers to get people into tabloid mentality.  The golf stuff gets really technical, but mostly it’s a book and Tiger’s motivation, work ethic, interest, disinterest, etc.  Tiger’s just P.O.’d that someone previously inside his circle opened up the curtain for the public to take a quick peek.

The book left me remembering that sometimes the eccentrics are the greats in thier respective arenas, and Tiger is certainly that both in ability and persona.

[scgamecock]

Yea I didn't get why everyone was dissing Haney so bad.  It wasn't a tell all and that was clear.  The biggest complaint was that he was leeching and just trying to make money off of Tiger.  But, why wouldn't you want to know of the experience of someone who spent tons of time with him when he was arguably at his best.  It actually was kind of pissing me off how blind and one sided all of the critics were.  To be honest, I think it would've been a crime had he not wrote the book.  I haven't read it yet, but apparently it was done tastefully and it's an extremely important part of golf history.    The only sleezy part about it was the timing of the release of the book.  But that is the money grubbing publisher's decision, not Hank Haney's.

Edited by scgamecock, 11 April 2012 - 10:12 AM.

[isaacbm]

the thing that struck me as strange about Haney's perspective was how needy he came across. For a guy that has been a world class teacher for years and years, you'd think he wouldn't be seeking constant validation from Tiger and from the public.  At the end of the book where he compares all of tiger's success with him vs with Butch it seems really adolescent to me.

I did like the book.  I didn't think there was anything wrong with Hank's approach.

[onafriday]

I thought the book was fantastic.

Haney at MANY points was so reverential to how good Tiger was, despite his petulance.

The only knock on Haney I'd have was he came off pretty insure about comparisons to Butch - he get riding the point that if Tiger had been as committed as he was at his peak with Butch, he would have won more.

Haney came off as a regular guy, as in-awe as the rest of us during Tiger's peak.  

And he painted Tiger as aloof, difficult, selfish, and egomaniacal - which wasn't a surprise.

At the same time, Steve Williams was presented VERY positively, Phil as initimidating, and the fear of the driver......those were surprises to me.  

Great book for anyone that's followed the tour since '97.

[jkim23]

The book was a quick read and I enjoyed the technical aspects of the golf swing discussion and also the revelations about Tiger's knee injury.

I concur that at the end Haney seemed to want to validate his time with Tiger vs. Tiger's time with Butch Harmon. I can only speculate that Haney was taking a lot of heat from various media outlets and he wanted to elucidate the facts of his success coaching Tiger.

[Fowler]

He definitely mentioned things that nobody else would have gotten just seeing him play, and I can say I was suprised about some of the things that came up. But he didn't blast tiger, he simply talked about the positives and negatives of this personality, put some golf talk in it, and wished Tiger well at the end. I don't get why people are saying he blasted him either

[Greyboy]

I heard something along the lines of Tiger being intimidated or having some kind of psychological problem with Phil?  What was all that about.  I always felt it was the other way around all these years.

[Hoot151]

Greyboy, on 11 April 2012 - 03:27 PM, said:

I heard something along the lines of Tiger being intimidated or having some kind of psychological problem with Phil?  What was all that about.  I always felt it was the other way around all these years.

Wouldn't surprise me if it went both ways.  It's how rivalries work.

Edited by Hoot151, 11 April 2012 - 04:10 PM.

[502 to Right]

Here is the thread already on this topic:

http://www.golfwrx.c...related-merged/

[kekoa]

I'm almost done with the book and I'd rate it a 6 out of 10.  i guess I was looking for a bit more 'insider' information about Tiger than Haney shed light on.  

It's also funny how Steinberg kept stressing that Tiger thought of Hank as a friend.  Not sure that was really accurate in the grand scheme of things.

[drake47]

The weirdest part of the book was the popsicle part, it was as though he based his entire view of Tiger on the fact he never offered him a popsicle. HANK get up and go get your own popsicle!

[Victory_Red]

drake47, on 11 April 2012 - 05:11 PM, said:

The weirdest part of the book was the popsicle part, it was as though he based his entire view of Tiger on the fact he never offered him a popsicle. HANK get up and go get your own popsicle!

Dude, ever heard of the word: "metaphor?"

[drake47]

Victory_Red, on 16 April 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

drake47, on 11 April 2012 - 05:11 PM, said:

The weirdest part of the book was the popsicle part, it was as though he based his entire view of Tiger on the fact he never offered him a popsicle. HANK get up and go get your own popsicle!

Dude, ever heard of the word: "metaphor?"

Dude it was a joke!

[SciWhiz78]

I honestly thought the Big Miss was fascinating. Some people might criticize Haney for not being more insightful in the book, but I think he was probably as insightful as he could be based on how much Tiger "let him in".

For me, it was really interesting to see Tiger's take on some players (for example, how he respected Vijay Singh and never said anything bad about him, whereas he would make fun of Phil's physique). It's that inside stuff that I think it interesting...

I walked away from the book feeling like a knew a little more about what makes Tiger a great golfer, and sadly I think that involves being incredibly private. I'm sure that Tiger hates that this book exists because it removes a lot of the mystique about him, but in my eyes this actually helps his public persona because it humanizes him and helps us to empathize with him.   He's probably incredibly lonely. It's a shame, really.

Hank was very respectful of Tiger and Butch Harmon, in my opinion.

This book had to be written. Never before and never again will there be a better account of Tiger Woods.

I wonder how many pros have read it? Probably an awful lot, although most would not admit it.

[oubravs2b]

Good reviews.  I had actually downloaded the book last night, along with some others.  I figured I'd save it for last but I'm going to put it at the top of my list after I finish my fiction tonight.  Sounds really intriguing.

[pblair]

I was grateful to Hank "Henry" Haney for writing this book and opening up that world and himself so much.  Ever since the first episode of the "Haney Project"
I have though of Haney as a really kind, caring individual.  This book only supports that belief.  I couldn't help but coming away feeling sad for both men.
For Hank,  because it hurt him so much because he cared so deeply.  For Tiger for missing out on so much of what is important in life because of his isolationism.

[Shwagin1066]

SciWhiz78, on 19 April 2012 - 10:13 AM, said:

I honestly thought the Big Miss was fascinating. Some people might criticize Haney for not being more insightful in the book, but I think he was probably as insightful as he could be based on how much Tiger "let him in".

For me, it was really interesting to see Tiger's take on some players (for example, how he respected Vijay Singh and never said anything bad about him, whereas he would make fun of Phil's physique). It's that inside stuff that I think it interesting...

I walked away from the book feeling like a knew a little more about what makes Tiger a great golfer, and sadly I think that involves being incredibly private. I'm sure that Tiger hates that this book exists because it removes a lot of the mystique about him, but in my eyes this actually helps his public persona because it humanizes him and helps us to empathize with him.   He's probably incredibly lonely. It's a shame, really.

Hank was very respectful of Tiger and Butch Harmon, in my opinion.

This book had to be written. Never before and never again will there be a better account of Tiger Woods.

I wonder how many pros have read it? Probably an awful lot, although most would not admit it.

I was nodding my head and agreeing the entire time until THAT. I can't agree here. Hank crossed the line severely in so many ways in this book if he considered himself to be a friend of Tiger's. I agree the book was absolutely fascinating, but commenting on his marriage and how the conversations were at their dinner table (and completely denying it in interviews), is really unnecessary and not something you should do to anybody.

I agree with everything Rick Smith says here: http://espn.go.com/g...confidentiality

Hank Haney is a complete scum bag if you ask me, but I loved the book. The more it violated and dug into Tiger's personal life is when it was most interesting, and I craved more. But the whole time I couldn't believe I was reading this from someone in Tiger's previous "inner circle," more a book an ex-wife would write in that it revealed and negatively portrayed a lot of aspects of his life IMO.

[Johnny]

you may or may not agree...but there is a rather large thread on the Haney book already.. Please use it.

http://www.golfwrx.c..._1#entry4767994