Swing coach Hank Haney made the right move by leaving Tiger Woods on his own terms.
Six months ago the idea of Hank Haney resigning as Tiger Woods' swing coach would have seemed ludicrous.
Today however, it makes perfect sense.
The mild-mannered Haney has enjoyed tremendous success since replacing Butch Harmon as Woods’ swing coach six years ago. Their relationship not only produced 31 wins and six majors, but Haney also parlayed the notoriety into a reality show on The Golf Channel starring Ray Romano and Charles Barkley and voice-over work on EA Sports' highly popular Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game series.
But despite the on-course success, there were always whispers -- and in the case of Johnny Miller, loud voices -- suggesting Haney was taking Woods down the wrong path.
Those whispers grew to a roar last week at The Players Championship when rumours were flying Woods was set to ditch Haney in favour of Canadian Sean Foley, who works with the likes of Stephen Ames and Sean O'Hair, the latter a close friend of Woods.
Foley, who has never hidden his desire to work with Woods, took the unusual step of issuing a press release to deny the rumours. This came despite a report that Foley had already told friends he would begin working with Woods within a matter of weeks.
In a statement of his own released to The Golf Channel Monday night explaining his decision to leave Woods, Haney made no reference to the Foley rumours, but they certainly didn't make his decision any harder.
Given the events of the past six months, those within Camp Tiger are now subject to a level of scrutiny and attention unheard of in golf. And with Woods' schedule now up in the air due to his neck injury, there's no telling when he might be able to start practising again, meaning Haney faced the possibility of several weeks, or even months, of additional speculation surrounding his future with the world No. 1.
To some, Haney is jumping off the Titanic, but by stepping aside now he gets to leave on his own terms and no longer has to look over his shoulder and worry about the ambitions of younger colleagues.
For Woods, Haney's resignation is the most significant golf-related change in his life since the sex scandal broke in November. Caddie Steve Williams is still on his bag, but if Woods is forced to miss significant time to repair his neck, it might provide Williams with a convenient exit strategy as well.
As for Foley, we wonder: Does he have a good voice for video games?
On the Web:
- There have been just two French Ryder Cup players (Jean Van de Velde, Thomas Levet); nevertheless, The Times Online reports the French government is going all out to land the 2022 Ryder Cup.
- Speaking of the Ryder Cup, John Huggan writes Spaniards Alvaro Quiros and Sergio Garcia are taking very different approaches to qualifying for the team.
Jason Sobel reminds us all how fragile the relationship between swing coach and player can be.
- Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post/a> suggests a lack of communication might have been behind Hank Haney's resignation.
- The TPC at Sawgrass came under fire last week for its poor condition, but Jim McCabe of Golfweek says a bad winter was to blame.
- The golf.com panel debates whether Lee Westwood will ever become a consistent winner in America.
- Lee Trevino says he has the answer to Tiger Woods' problems off the tee.
