19th Hole
Butch vs Haney? Ex-caddie reveals the coach that Tiger had his best swing under
During his illustrious professional career, Tiger Woods has worked under four different swing coaches (five, if you include himself).
For most golf fans, the coach most synonymous for working with Tiger would likely be Butch Harmon, who Woods worked with from 1996 to August 2002.
Under Harmon’s tutelage, Woods claimed a phenomenal 8 major championship wins along with 5 World Golf Championships and had a 26.8% win rate at regular PGA Tour events.
Following Tiger’s split with Harmon, the 15-time major champ went solo before hiring Hank Haney in 2004, who he worked with until May 2010.
The two enjoyed a very successful partnership together, with Tiger winning 6 majors, 9 WGCs and boasting a sensational 33.33% win percentage at regular tour stops (highest win % of any Tiger coach at regular tour events).
So between Harmon and Haney, which coach did Tiger Woods have his best swing under?
That was the question put to Tiger’s ex-caddie Steve Williams by journalist Evin Priest on the latest episode of ‘Chasing Majors’, with the Kiwi explaining his choice, saying:
“That’s a very difficult question because a couple of his very, very best tournaments, where I say he played the best he’s ever played, were under Butch. But I think consistently across the board I think his swing became more repetitive and more consistent under Hank.
You know, I think we’re talking very small margins here between Butch and Tiger, but like I said, my statistics would tell me that he drove the ball better with Hank, and I think because he probably confidently knew that he wasn’t going to hit the ball, that big left shot from time to time.”
Back in 2020, stats guru Lou Stagner did some number crunching that backs up Williams’ choice, with Stagner estimating Tiger’s handicap throughout his career by using course rating and slope for each course in his research to calculate a differential for each round.
The research showed that Woods was at his very best handicap wise in 2008, under Haney’s guidance, when he held a +9.4 index, with his average index being +6.7 throughout his career.
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19th Hole
“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene
On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”
In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.
Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”
“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”
“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”
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Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.
If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’
While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.
“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”
Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.
“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”
The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.
“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”
Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).
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19th Hole
Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam
While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.
On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.
“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.
“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”
The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.
It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.
Tiger Woods sits down with Carson Daly to talk about golf, growing up in Southern California, his father and his new apparel line, Sun Day Red. pic.twitter.com/2TFbSNxzxq
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 1, 2024
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