“It's hard for me to tell what your plan is”: Hank Haney recalls when Tiger Woods asked to coach him for the first time
Hank Haney is known for coaching Tiger Woods for almost six years, a time during which the legendary golfer won six Major titles. When Haney was coaching Woods, he was amazed by the latter's driving range and skill. The golf instructor still remembers the very first time Woods asked to coach him.
On March 8, 2004, Haney was at a restaurant with his father when he got a call from Woods. Although he did not have his number, he recognized the area code and picked up the call. Needless to say, it was Woods on the other side. Getting straight to business, Woods asked Haney to coach him.
Haney recalled the particular exchange in his book Big Miss.
"'Hey, Hank', I hear on my cell, 'This is Tiger'. I give my normal, 'Hey, Bud', greeting, but there's no small talk. Barely pausing, Tiger says, 'Hank, I want to know if you'll help me with my golf game,'" he stated.
Haney was ecstatic to be asked to coach one of the greatest golfers in history but he held back his excitement as the conversation continued like business as usual.
"Because of Tiger's tone, I try to hide any excitement from my voice. 'Sure, Tiger. Of course', I say, adding, 'Thank you for the opportunity'. Tiger stays all business, asking, 'What do you think of my game?'" he added.
Woods continued to ask Haney about his game. He had observed Woods' game for a year and came up with the following reply when the ace golfer asked him what changes needed to be made to his game.
"Looking from the outside, and not knowing everything, it looks like you're working on a lot of great things," I say. "It looks like you know a lot about the swing. But it's hard for me to tell what your plan is. It doesn't look like you have a real step-by-step plan. I think when you're trying to improve, the most important thing is to always have a plan," Haney explained.
Hank Haney coaches Tiger Woods through various changes in technique, but not without some hurdles
Once Haney was confirmed to be Woods' coach, he decided to study the latter's play and make some changes. However, there were some complications that arose while trying to do so.
Tiger Woods was struggling to protect his left knee, which bothered him for years. Another issue was that Woods did not play the driver with much confidence.
"It was a shocker for me. One of the adjectives most often used to describe Tiger Woods was fearless. But the more I observed him close up, the more it became clear: he wasn't," Haney said.
Hank Haney was careful not to undermine Tiger Woods' confidence, which was more important than his play. Eventually, over the span of his career, Haney managed to lessen Woods' wild drives and improve his technique.