The Tiger Tell-All

The golf world is a-buzz with anticipation for Hank Haney’s tell-all book about Tiger Woods, The Big Miss, due out March 27th. As Tiger’s ex-swing coach from 2004 to 2010, Haney doubtlessly has more than enough information on Tiger to make this one a page-turner.

Tiger, on the other hand, won’t be turning any of the new novel’s pages. “I think it’s unprofessional and very disappointing, especially because it’s someone I worked with and trusted as a friend,” Tiger told ESPN. “There have been other one-sided books about me, and I think people understand that this book is about money. I’m not going to waste my time reading it.”

Given the time of Tiger’s life that Haney has chosen to document, it’s no wonder why Tiger’s a little uneasy about the novel’s impending publication. Leaked excerpts include the assertion that Wood’s pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 career majors has become a burden for the young player. “There was more urgency and less fun,” Haney writes. “Tiger was more irritable and impatient. He never mentioned Nicklaus’ record, but it started to weigh more heavily at every major. And Tiger’s actions indicated he believed he had less time to di it than everyone else thought.” The passage goes on to detail that in 2007 when Woods reached 12 Majors, fear slowly seeped into Tiger’s consciousness. In one passage Haney even claims that Woods came close to ditching golf altogether in favor of joining the Navy Seals.

The one point that Haney seems to be driving home – Tiger’s been feeling the wear of the course and he’s been feeling it for a while. As Haney put it, “2007 was when Tiger began to lose the joy of playing and began to look at his career as something he wanted to get over with sooner rather than later.”

The timing of the book release is a little unfortunate. With a release date of March 27, The Big Miss is going to come out barely a week before the Masters tees off. The publication of the tell-all can’t be a good thing as far as Tiger’s upcoming play is concerned.

The stakes have seldom been higher for a single game of golf. If Tiger can reclaim his title as golf’s most prolific closer, he can close the book on Haney’s allegations that he wants out of the sport and has for years. On the other hand, if Tiger’s playing isn’t to par after the novel’s publication, he will only further reinforce Haney’s words and, in doing so, undoubtedly boost sales of the novel. Here’s hoping that Tiger can stand the heat!