Q & A with Hank Haney: His life without Tiger Woods

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Hank Haney spent six years working with the game's top player; now he's focusing on teaching others to play golf.

Two weeks after resigning as Tiger Woods' coach, Hank Haney spoke with PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker. The interview lasted nearly an hour as Haney talked about everything from his future plans, to the reasons behind his decision to leave Woods, and more. Woods is playing in this week's Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley -- his first tournament since Haney resigned.

PGATOUR.COM: How have you been since you resigned as Tiger Woods' coach?

HANK HANEY: Everything is good. I've got plenty to do, I'm not hurting for that. I've got my junior academy in Hilton Head, where 30 kids from The First Tee will be this week. I had a clinic with David Duval last week at Colonial. I've got an academy in China we'll be opening. I've got my four facilities in Texas. It was an incredible six years working for Tiger, an unbelievable time.

PGATOUR.COM: Does it feel like an enormous weight has been lifted off your shoulders? Is there a sense of relief?

HANEY: I don't think the last six months had as much to do with my decision as much as the last six years did. Six years is a long time to do what I was doing. The circumstances are obviously a little different now -- the media attention is even greater. It's just ... six years is a long time, and I think anybody would feel that way. A job like teaching the greatest player in the game is not without its stress. I would say relief is a fairly accurate way to put it. I enjoyed everything I was doing, but six years is enough.

PGATOUR.COM: But you coached Mark O'Meara before Tiger. How long have you worked with Mark?

HANEY: Twenty-eight years. Little different program (Laughing).

PGATOUR.COM: When did you first think about leaving Tiger?

HANEY: It was something I've been thinking about for a while. I knew the day I started with him, I knew there would be an ending point. I don't know quite when I knew [I was going to resign]. There wasn't one moment or anything like that. The last six months certainly were a factor, but there were so many factors.

PGATOUR.COM: Was there ever any talk between the two of you, initiated by either one of you about parting ways?

HANEY: There was never any discussion between Tiger and I about it, no.

PGATOUR.COM: How often do you still talk; when's the last time you spoke or texted?

HANEY: You know, I don't know if I want to answer that. We talked after I informed him I was resigning. We'll still remain friends. Tiger was with his kid that night [I resigned] and he said he couldn't talk. I wasn't the employer, I was the employee -- people need to understand that. When people criticize me for sending a text, it's taken out of context. He said he couldn't talk and that we would talk the next morning and we did. In today's world when someone says they talk, doesn't that include texting? And that's one of the things that bothered me that it was somehow portrayed that I wasn't telling the truth.

PGATOUR.COM: You've been more available or open since parting ways with Tiger. Is that a sort of prerequisite of working for Tiger, to sort of make yourself unavailable to the media?

HANEY: That's has been my M.O. through my career and that's one of the things that made me a nice fit for Tiger. I've never been a teacher to go out of the way to step to the forefront in terms of media attention. When you look at the whole player-coach relationship, it's not just what you teach but how you conduct yourself on and off the golf course. Do you get along? Will you be friends? Last year, I spent 50 days with Tiger. The first five years together, I spent 110 days a year with Tiger. And no, no one ever told me I shouldn't say this or that and that's one of the reasons I had the job, because he knew how I would conduct myself.

PGATOUR.COM: What's wrong with Tiger's swing right now?

HANEY:You mean the swing from when he shot 63 at home at Isleworth? Or the swing when he hit 15 greens in regulation at Augusta?

PGATOUR.COM: What about some of the sky balls he hit, like at THE PLAYERS Championship?

HANEY: His head dropped a foot-and-a-half when he hit those. I've always told him he needs to keep his levels better. That's the No. 1 thing I conveyed to him. Look, he's got everything that's going on off the course and a neck injury. I honestly think this is a very difficult time in his life and it's affecting his golf. He knows what he has to do on the golf course. I've taught over 200 touring pros and I've never met anyone with nearly as much knowledge as him. He's going to have to have his mind be free and be injury-free. That's when he'll be able to fix his swing and his game.

PGATOUR.COM: Do you think he will still break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships?

HANEY: Why not? He hasn't lost his skills. He's got plenty of opportunities. If he wins at the percentage rate he's won at in the past, he'll break it no problem. If he doesn't, he'll still break it. He's just going through a tough time. If Phil [Mickelson] doesn't win, I don't think you'll say he'll never win again. He's just too good. Having said that, I don't think Tiger is just four away. By that I mean they don't get easier, they get harder. The last two years, he's won 45 percent of the time and 85 percent of the time he finished in the top 10. To think he'll keep that same percentage, I don't know if that's realistic. The bottom line is Tiger is just too good and he has not lost his skills. He needs to get his mind free and be injury-free.

PGATOUR.COM: What was the best and worst part about being Tiger's instructor the last six years?

HANEY: The best part was the incredible experiences that I've had and being able to learn everything I've learned. And watching someone's learning experience was one of the things I enjoyed the most. The worst thing? There isn't a worst thing because I knew what the job was going into it. No one would enjoy the criticism I got, but that wasn't the whole reason I decided six years was enough either. People think I'm thin-skinned, but that's easy to say when you don't walk in someone else's shoes. I just don't look at worst things, that's not how I roll.

PGATOUR.COM: Who will you coach next?

HANEY: I'm not coaching anybody next. I coached the best player in the world for six years. I'm not coaching anybody.

PGATOUR.COM: Last question. Looking at some of the younger players, who do you think will be the best?

HANEY: Rory McIlroy. I think he's the best one, but there are a lot of great ones. It will come down to who's going to have that special ability to perform under pressure. Sometimes they have to grow into that. Ryo Ishikawa is an incredible player. Rickie Fowler looks good. Anthony Kim is as skilled as any player I've seen -- he just has to be consistent with his work ethic. If you're going to be a top-5 player in the world -- and I don't mean just sneaking in there, I mean consistently -- in today's game you've got to be able to bring it. To have sustainability, you have to be long. It's a way of reducing par on the golf course. You look at Phil, he can win multiple ways. Tiger can, too. But you've got to be long.

PGATOUR.COM: Thanks for your time.

HANEY: You got it, Brian.