LondonOntarioGolf.com Interview: Hank Haney
Watching golf instructor Hank Haney take time out from his clinic May 18 at London’s Thames Valley Golf Club, you would think that he was a faith healer. One by one, kids and parents quietly approached Haney, seeking just a little something to help bring their game to the next level. One youngster, having grip problems, allows Haney to position her hands on the club so her father could snap a photo for a reminder at the range.
Like televangelists, today’s top gun golf coaches like Haney, Butch Harmon and Dave Pelz, just to name a few, have the power of television behind them as they reach millions with their insight on the game of golf. In Haney’s case, having his own show, The Haney Project, and having coached the No. 1 golfer of all time, Tiger Woods, has certainly helped boost his star power.
But don’t be foolish enough to back Haney into that small corner. There is much more to this 57-year-old golf teacher from Lake Forest, Illinois. In fact, you won’t find a more passionate and compassionate golf teacher anywhere. An instructor since 1976, Haney possesses the perfect persona necessary to reaching the pinnacle of golf gurus: he is patient, but demanding; he truly cares about each student; he has no time for BS; he’s a life-long learner; and the man flat-out knows all about the golf swing and its myriad of complexity.
Haney has instructed over 200 touring professional from the PGA, LPGA, Champions, European, Japanese, Australian and Asian Tours. His students, including Woods, have won every major championship in professional, amateur and junior golf. Today, Haney owns and is President of Hank Haney Golf Inc., which owns and operates five golf facilities in Texas. And he is the Director of Instruction for the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy (IJGA) on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Haney’s book, The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods, is a New York Times No. 1 Best Seller. Haney says he hasn’t heard from Woods since the book was published in 2012 – and he doesn’t expect to. Again, don’t pigeon hole this man. A 20-minute conversation with Haney revealed what was expected: his mind is always turning, thinking of a new project while still giving 100 per cent to the project at hand. He does, indeed, feel very at peace with himself and the world around him.
Haney’s visit to Thames Valley GC was a Hank Haney IJGA official visit and attracted about 100 kids to various stations around the course, including the 8th hole tee box for a 45-minute demonstration. During that span, you could see Haney hit his zone: he talked non-stop about the golf swing, hit shots with ease and answered questions from young golfers and their parents.
LondonOntarioGolf.com publisher and editor Jeffrey Reed spoke with Haney – where else? – in a golf cart. Here’s the conversation. You can also watch a YouTube video of Haney and Reed talking about junior golf here.
Jeffrey Reed, LondonOntarioGolf.com: OK Hank, let’s get the Tiger Woods questions out of the way. First, your book, The Big Miss: what’s the feedback like now, compared to when it was first published?
Hank Haney: I am still getting a lot of great compliments. It’s been fantastic. I mean, I have had just overwhelming great comments. You know, the number one comment I get is from Tiger Woods’s fans and they say, ‘I am a bigger fan now than before I read the book.’
Reed: Didn’t expect that, given the exposé flavour of the book.
Haney: Woods’s fans look at him, I think, more as a golfer now, and the book helped them understand the dedication and determination that he has and how hard he worked at the game. It’s been great – I’m very pleased with it. Obviously, I never dreamt I would be a No. 1 New York Times Best Selling author! But I am very pleased with it.
Reed: Any contact or feedback from Tiger since the book’s release?
Haney: No. You know, I didn’t expect there to be. I knew that he wouldn’t like a book published, no matter what it wrote. But you know, I think that the book was a very fair book, and I think it was a real positive book, so I felt good about it. That’s all that matters to me.
Reed: I agree – you were very fair to Woods. And after reading it, what I discovered about you is that for somebody who is so accomplished, and having coached the World No. 1 golfer, you still remained humble through it all. Your book reads like you are part golf instructor, part fan, but without letting the fan get in the way of being an instructor.
Haney: (Laughing) Well, I never hit any shots! It might have been different if I had hit some shots (laughing). But no, I mean, I have had so many great students. You are not going to be much of a teacher if you don’t have great students.
Reed: Sticking with Tiger, did you watch David Feherty’s recent interview with Rocco Mediate?
Haney: I saw a little bit of it, but not much.
Reed: Did you see the mention of Tiger?
Haney: No, I didn’t.
Reed: Long story short, following Rocco’s great 2008 U.S. Open playoff with Tiger, he put the pin sheet and an 8×10 of himself and Tiger smiling post-tournament into Tiger’s locker during another tournament. Rocco asked Tiger to sign them – have a little fun, give him a hard time about being lucky in 2008. Personalize it. And Rocco says Tiger signed the photo, “Tiger Woods.” Rocco says he threw it into the trash can because he could buy one of those at the souvenir stand. Yet Rocco said he didn’t think any less of Tiger because that’s just the way he’s made.
Haney: (Smiling), Ah, well, that is in Tiger’s DNA. You know, that is just kind of the way it is. You know, that is one of the reasons he is Tiger Woods, as Rocco said. This was my point in my book. They are not negative things, unless you want them to be that way. It’s just the reason he is so great. There are just many, many reasons that make up the greatness that is Tiger Woods.
Reed: I don’t think he would win if he tried to be, for example, Phil Mickelson-like on the links.
Haney: Yeah, it is not fair to pick at little bits and pieces and micro analyze everything that he does. You just have to look at the body of work – and it is pretty impressive.
Reed: To say the least. Let’s talk about your teaching. I mean, it goes without saying that you work with a lot of greats and your resume is quite impressive. We all dream when we are young. Did you ever think you would be at the point at this time in your life?
Haney: Well I don’t think that you could dream that it could have been as good as it has been for me. I mean, I have just been so fortunate in my career. It has been absolutely unbelievable. To work with 200 touring pros, first Mark O’Meara for over 30 years, and then Tiger Woods. It has just been incredible. And I have enjoyed every minute of it. I know I have worked really hard, been really dedicated. I have tried my best, but I have had a lot of help along the way. I have had a lot of people help me with my coaching – John Jacobs, Jim Hardy. And I have had great students. I have been really fortunate that way too.
Reed: We were just talking earlier about today’s promising young stars on the PGA Tour and how many do not achieve greatness. Do you buy into the theory that today’s younger golfers are range robots, far too concerned about the perfect swing and not creating shots?
Haney: That’s part of the game today. It is a longer hitting game. The ball doesn’t curve as much, the equipment goes straighter, so it is more of, hit it a long way, wedge it and putt it. It’s not shot shaping. It is just the way the game is today. It doesn’t mean it is better or worse. But you do see a lot of swings that look the same. Every teacher in the world has access to the same equipment, the same video equipment, and basically you can’t read an x-ray wrong, right? The information is right there for you. So everybody is viewing the swing in similar light. Teachers like to talk about how different they teach, but when it is all said and done there are a lot of similarities, because everybody is looking at the same thing. At 5,000 frames per second you can’t miss anything. And I think that the swings look the same because of that. But also the level of play top to bottom is obviously better than it has ever been. I don’t think that’s undeniable. And it’s not just on the PGA Tour, or across the U.S. It’s in Canada, it’s in China, it’s in Japan, it’s in Korea, it’s everywhere in the world. There are great swings and great young players everywhere, and there are going to be more and more of them.
Reed: Speaking of great young players, 14-year-old Guan Tianlang from China – what a golfing phenom. He’s making cuts and played at Augusta National during the Masters Tournament like a veteran. Unbelievable young talent.
Haney: He is quite a draw too. He’s incredible. I can’t fathom that a 14-year-old could putt as well as he putts, to be honest with you. Hitting it great at that age, I have seen that before. But conducting himself the way that he did at Augusta, you haven’t seen it from a 14 year old. That was very remarkable. He’s a very, very mature young man. And his putting: he didn’t three putt at Augusta! That is just unbelievable. I mean, this was Augusta National at the Masters!
Reed: He is remarkably poised. Even when he was penalized for slow play at the Masters, he took in in stride. He must be very mature six inches between the ears.
Haney: Obviously. And he is in the stretch of playing the best golf of his life. He just played in the Byron Nelson and he missed the cut there, but you know anybody can miss a cut, so that is not really a big deal. At 14 years old that is nothing to be ashamed of. He still played decent.
Reed: Quick comment on the belly putter. How do you weigh in on the controversy? (Ed. Note: since this interview, Rule 14-1B was put in place to ban putter anchoring beginning in 2016).
Haney: I don’t like the upcoming ruling of getting rid of it. I think that they should allow it. They have allowed it for many years. I think anything to grow the game is what I am in favour of. People who have the yips really bad can’t make if from a short distance, and I think as a result have used the long putter to some success, and at least they enjoy the game a little bit more. When people enjoy the game more, they play more, so I don’t see how getting rid of it is going to grow the game of golf. Now if we are talking about the touring pros, then that is a whole different story. But I am always in favour of everything that has to do with growing the game of golf. It has been allowed for this long and I don’t know what they are going to do. I don’t even know what they are going to do on the PGA Tour. You have players like Tim Clark who has used it his whole career, and he has had a nice long career. Now what are they going to say? ‘You are not playing anymore. You have done a nice job, but now you are not on the Tour anymore.’ Because he can’t putt with a short putter. So it’s not like everyone is going to say, ‘Just use the short putter.’ It is not that easy. If you can’t putt with them, then you can’t. It is not just the ruling but the ramifications of that ruling.
Reed: Hank, wrapping up, have you spent much time in Canada during your career?
Haney: Oh yeah, been to Canada many times. I always enjoy coming to Canada. There are so many passionate golfers and they just love the game of golf. I have been coming here my whole life. I grew up in Chicago, so I played hockey as a kid and came to Canada. But for golf I come to Canada at least a couple times every year.
Reed: It’s been a pleasure speaking with you.
Haney: My pleasure.
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Be sure to watch the video of Hank Haney and Jeffrey Reed as they talk about junior golf. Click here to watch.
