Despite his own feats, Haney OK with eternal connection to Tiger Woods

Hank Haney has been teaching golf for 36 years, since he was 21.

He has products with his name on them, a New York Times best-selling book, a television show with a six-year run, one of the world’s most successful international junior golf academies, and a teaching resume that boasts work with more than 200 touring professionals, including 27 years with 16-time PGA Tour winner and two-time major champion Mark O’Meara.

Yet inevitably his mention or introduction comes with the title or addendum: Tiger Woods’ former swing coach.

And Haney is fine with that.

He knew that would become the source of his renown when he became Woods’ swing coach in 2004, and he has accepted it since he resigned from his position teaching the most famous golfer the world has known in May 2010.

“What an opportunity for a coach to have a student like that – unbelievable,” Haney said Friday. “When I had the opportunity I said he’s going to be my last student. In all honesty, where do you go from Tiger Woods? I’m just going to rest on that one.”

Haney hasn’t worked with a touring pro since Woods, and doesn’t plan to. His teaching now consists almost solely of clinics to groups rather than individual instruction, and he said he conducted clinics in front of 15,000 golfers last year.

“I just thought 30 years was enough to teach touring pros and my career has come full circle,” Haney said. “I teach [amateurs] and try to help them improve. At this point in my career it’s more fulfilling to do that.”

His new teaching focus brings him to Myrtle Beach on Saturday morning as part of the grand opening festivities for the Golfsmith Xtreme retail store at the intersection of U.S. 501 and U.S. 17.

Haney is scheduled to conduct a free full swing clinic from 9-9:45 a.m., short game clinic from 10-10:50 a.m., autograph session from 11 a.m.-noon and 20-minute lesson with a raffle winner at noon.

He has a longstanding agreement with Golfsmith to make appearances and conduct clinics at the company’s stores on special occasions, and Golfsmith sells Haney’s line of Crocs golf shoes and other equipment, training aids and practice aids he endorses. He was scheduled to fly to Myrtle Beach on Friday night from a store opening on 5th Avenue in New York.

“I love to teach,” Haney said. “I try to help people enjoy the game more. It’s great for me. I have a job that’s not like a real job. It’s my passion and it’s something I enjoy doing and it’s my job also. I don’t feel I’ve worked a day in my life.”

Under the tutelage of Haney, Woods won six of his 14 major titles and had a better winning percentage than he did under Haney’s predecessor, Butch Harmon. “Tiger won 45 percent of the [PGA Tour] tournaments he entered, so I’m proud of that,” Haney said.

The final tournament with Woods was the 2010 Masters a few months after Woods’ infidelity scandal broke and he took a short break from the game. Haney said there were a number of factors that led to his resignation.

“There’s a time and a place for everything and that was just the time and place for me to be done,” Haney said. “I spent 110 days a year with Tiger; that’s a big commitment out of your life.

“… It was enjoyable and fun and a great experience. I never had a student like him. It was all great. Then again, six years is a long time.”

Haney’s book, “The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods” was released in March 2012 and included revelations about Woods from Haney’s perspective.

While providing the public with juicy insight into Woods, Haney was criticized for writing the book by many around the PGA Tour including Woods and his agent Mark Steinberg – Woods saying he felt betrayed by someone he “trusted as a friend,” and Steinberg saying the book was “full of guesses and false assumptions” and some outright fallacies about the incurrence of some of Woods’ injuries.

Haney said he wanted to write about his experiences and has no regrets concerning the book.

“I’m proud of that book,” Haney said. “I get so many great comments. People have criticized the book, but once people read it their opinion is much different. The No. 1 comment I get, and I get it everyday, is people say, ‘I was a Tiger Woods fan and I’m more of a fan now that I’ve read the book.’

“It’s about the greatness of Tiger Woods. I knew Tiger wouldn’t like the book but … those memories aren’t just his memories; they’re my memories too. Everything in there is accurate and I don’t have regrets about anything.”

The Big Miss quickly rose to No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, and Haney said he has no idea how many copies have sold. “After it was No. 1 I stopped counting because I knew I’d written a good book,” he said. “I never dreamed I’d be a New York Times best-selling author, but I had a lot of help from [co-writer] Jaime Diaz.”

Woods is back to dominating the PGA Tour with seven wins in his last 23 tour events over the past two seasons after going more than two years without a win, and Haney remains a fan. “I’ve been part of his career so I want to see him break Jack Nicklaus’ record [of 18 majors],” said Haney, who Friday credited Woods’ place at or near the top of the tour’s putting statistics rather than any ball-striking improvement as the genesis of his resurgence.

He can’t have a whole lot of time to keep up with Woods’ game.

The final episode of The Haney Project’s sixth season featuring Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps aired on Golf Channel on April 29, and Phelps improved to an 85 in his final round after the work with Haney.

Haney believes the instruction reality show with celebrity students will continue, but it is being discussed and negotiated. “I’m sure it’s going to happen somewhere, but I’m not sure where,” he said. “We’re talking now about the future of the show.”

The Dallas resident spends about a month a year in Hilton Head Island through intermittent visits to the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy, which he said currently has 150 resident students from 31 countries.

And at 57, Haney is a first-time father as his wife, Suzanne, gave birth to Henry Hudson Haney 2½ months ago. “He’s going to be my last student,” Haney said.