majorchamp

lulz. Man you jump to conclusions way too easily bud. Never said the contents of the book were irrelevant. The mere writing of the book, timing of the book, and the way the book has been promoted speaks volumes to Haney's character, that he (and the parties involved) are on a last second cash grab on Tiger's name, and is disrespectful / unprofessional not only to Haney's peers, but to Tiger and his fellow peers, especially given they are active players. Other then thegolfchannel.com listing like 3-4 teachers/instructors and their thoughts on whether there was a breach of trust between teacher/student, mythological or not (as someone put it) I would honestly like to know what most teacher/instructors really think not only about Haney writing the book, but about whether there was a breach of trust. I am going to be looked at as a Tiger "lover", which I am not..I do respect him for the golfer he is though...and people may look at you as a Haney "lover" which I am sure you are not. Fact of the matter is, Haney threw his own name in the mud in order to make some last minute sales off Tiger's name (which at the time of the writing..wasn't showing too many signs of good progress). For all we know (and I can't confirm this), this book has been in the making slowly since day one of meeting Tiger. That is just professionally gross.

just thought I would add, 3 of Tiger Wood's alleged mistresses are going to be putting out a DVD on April 3 discussing their relationships with Tiger, intimate details, etc... just proving the point that "crap" sells like Eric said above, not anything worthwhile. But people are going to eat that stuff up. the ONLY reason excerpts of the book were released how they were was to make people's mouth water thinking about what other juicy content might be in it..only to read it and go "meh, ok 2% was crap, 98% was golf" If all the excerpts that came out were "So Tiger kept getting stuck in xyz position, so I moved his hands 2 degrees southwest and he immediately added 12.3 yards to his driver" that sales needle would barely move. That is why everyone who has read it is saying "I was pleasantly surprised how positive of Tiger he was" because all the excerpts led you to believe there was going to be a good chunk of negative in it.

wow.

nobody will argue that. I agree with you...but there is also a reason you don't have plenty of other golf coaches, caddies, etc.. wanting to write books about their "memories" with Phil Mickelson, Freddy Couples (we know he has some good stories), Vijay, etc... because those particular people have working integrity. Doesn't mean any of them are moral or great people, but they choose inside their profession to not "sell out". Haney sold out. None of those players are "Tiger Woods" star power, but many are quite high up there.

You missed my point with the statement. I was saying that because Haney included that 2% bs (the topics all the leaked excerpts cover), it changes the intention of the book away from strictly golf. All that was required about the breach of trust was Haney saying "I'm writing a book about my time with Tiger Woods, which included 100+ days / year for 6 years staying at his home". I don't need to read anything to KNOW their was a breach of trust. If a "friend" stays at my house, makes observations about my life, and writes a book and includes 2% of those observations of my life...well he is no longer a friend, and I consider him scum especially if I paid him to stay with me. It doesn't matter whether he says I am a great father or he didn't get to take a bite of his precious popsicle. "I" paid him money for his services, his relationship with me allowed him to make money elsewhere (tv shows, video games), yet he feels justified to go ahead and write a book about his time with me, which includes his time in my private home. That is not a friend. and the book was going to be written whether they parted ways or not...it was a matter of time, not if. Discussing this with you is simply a circle. Neither of us are going to agree with each other so we should drop it.

^ this The mere fact that 2% of the book contains what it does, changes the entire outlook of the book. edit - also from the reviews (legit reviews) I have read online, it sounds like the book was also an opportunity for Hank to "validate" himself to how he is looked upon in history with Tiger Woods. A middle finger to the naysayers.

your right. I just think it comes off as common sense though. The only reason, imo, people rationalize thats its ok for Haney to do the book, is because they have the intense desire to know everything about Tiger whether its private or public, as if Tiger owes them something. "He swindled all of us, so its our right to know what he is like in private".

If the person writing the book is a former instructor who had unprecendented access into a players personal life...then yes i stand by my statement. If its a reporter or someone else then it depends on the circumstance. Again the content of the book doesnt matter to me. So whether i read it or not doesnt mean sh*t. Its disrespectful for haney to have written the book...period.

Um....i never said nobody could not write a book about an active athlete. I said it was disrespectful to tiger, felloe teachers, and fellow players. Also to the guy saying im over sensitive...replace the tiger references with your name and the hank references with eric and the rule still applies. Heck replace the names with stan and cartman.

Reading a bunch of the comments in here absolutely blows my mind. Whether a contract was in place, whether Tiger was bashed or praised, etc.. is beyond the point. Tiger has made Haney rich. It's not a matter of "did Tiger pay him fairly, or did Tiger not pay him enough because he is worth 500 million". Because of Tiger, Haney is 1. Well Known, for the most part "known". 2. Has been in EA Sports Tiger Woods video game. 3. Has his own show on The Golf Channel 4. Gives lessons to the stars 5. Now has a book about the most famous golfer which will make him an untold amount of money. Tiger hired Haney to be his coach. Should there have been an NDA from the get go. Yes, but again that is beside the point. Tiger let someone "outside his world" "INTO his world", (a well known extremely private world mind you) paid that person an agreed upon amount of money. Hank had an unprecedented look at Tiger's personal and professional life that nobody else gets to see. This fact alone, along with the fact they had an employer / employee relationship shouts from the mountain tops that "what you see/hear in my personal life is not to be mentioned" in public. Haney had "memories", well guess what...EVERY SINGLE PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE ON THIS PLANET has people in their lives that "have memories". Michael Jordan has people in his camp with memories, Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, etc... that doesn't make it right for someone where trust was supposed to be knowingly sacred (the trust between a golf teacher and his/her student). Top that off with the fact that a source mentioned Haney had the idea for a book from the absolute get go. Here is my biggest gripe that this book was written. Whether I have read it or not doesn't matter. - Haney is still an active coach (maybe not to players, but to people) - Tiger is still an active PGA Tour member and player - The book not only delves outside of golf (even if its a little), but it introduces potential unnecessary drama for Tiger and other PGA Tour players, such as Ian Poulter. Maybe their feud is over, they have shaken hands..who knows but bringing it up is just fuel on the fire. The fact this book is written even with the 3 points mentioned above makes it extremely disrespectful. Don't give me the "Tiger did xyz to his family, his sponsors, etc..." 2 wrongs don't make a right. A book like this is suited after a player has reached the end of their career, not VERY active during it. I do suspect Haney released this book, not just for money (lets be honest, it was to milk the relationship he "had" with Tiger and to profit off it) but with the recent years and drama...he himself suspected Tiger might never fully recover in golf, so the final "wins" with Tiger would be that he had under Haney's watch. On the flip side, should he have released this 20 years from now, when Tiger may no longer be on the tour...Tiger's wins more and more tournaments and majors, and when its all said and done, nobody will be talking about the majors one in the mid 2000's, but the majors won under someone elses watch (which is what we will see with Foley). The point is this book is being disrespectful not only to Tiger and his family, but his fellow PGA Tour peers, their coaches, etc... Regarding how people have reacted this book. Look, someone authorized all the excerpts to be leaked. Nobody leaked excerpts of what 99% of the book covers, they released the salacious 1%. Was Haney at all involved in authorizing those leaks? I am sure Tiger was not given an early copy of the book, so even his reactions are notably based off the excerpts being released, during which he was questioned about it in interviews. Whether the book was pro Tiger or anti Tiger, it was proposed to the public from Haney as "the guy who spent 6 years with Tiger...on the course and in his home" and the fact it's done in a way where the parties involved are still active in the golf community is the gross part. Just my 2 cents.

Yea that is how its going to be...it was Tiger's fault. Remember, he is "supposed to be back" and because of his hatred for Stevie Williams...he was going to beat the hell out of Adam...at least that is how some people tend to think it was going to go down. Adam and Choi played great, plain and simple. Tiger and Steve did not. It was almost like comparing apples to oranges. but Tiger, being who he is, will either get complimented the most or blamed the most. Everyone else involved is just part of the script.

I still believe Tiger is a good pick for the team. However, he and Steve just had no mojo out there today. And Adam Scott played incredible. I think every shot he hit into a green was within 10 feet. K.J put him in great positions in the fairway. It wasn't even a fair fight...since Steve and Tiger couldn't remotely put their best foot forward...but great great shotmaking and playing by Scott and Choi. Very impressed. Hopefully Tiger and Steve can perform better at least individually moving forward. btw, I don't think the tensions between Tiger and Williams or their relationship had an impact on the score or the way the match went down..I think Tiger and Steve just got out played, period.

in 1997, my high school golf team was #1 in the state of Indiana. We got to our regional tournament. I got to the 18th hole and snap hooked my drive OB left. I ended up with an 8 on the par 5. We lost by 2 going to State. My fault? Partially yes, partially no. We could have made up 2 shots ANYWHERE and given I was the #4 guy on the team at the time, and our #1 guy also shot 80...can't feel like that loss rests on my shoulders. Similar situation that happened in 1998. We were #3 in the state and again were at regionals, but different golf course. The guy in my group was playing for a team that was #2 in the state and he was sitting 120 yards on the last hole for his 2nd shot. He SHANKS it dead right OB. Shanks it! He gets triple and I kid you not, they lost by 1 or 2 going to State. I feel bad about my drive going OB, but I feel worse for someone who shanks it from 120 yards LOL. Anyways, especially in a team event there are always plenty of finger pointing, but whether its 1 yard, 1 base, 1 stroke, etc... it can always be made up somewhere.

I agree with the above poster...he had to have an inkling that Tiger was doing stuff behind the scenes. I mean according to various sources, Tiger wasn't necessarily "private" about his affairs...often being within eyesight of many people as he went about hanging with various women. And given many on the Tour were aware of his behavior (and mind you, MANY tour players live similar lives behind the scenes...Tiger is just more high profile) its impossible Steve new "nothing". The car accident will forever go down as a mystery. Truth is, Elin was probably angry and vengeful for learning about Tiger's affairs and acted as many women do when in that situation. Did she cause him physical harm? who knows. Did she probably beat the sh*t out of his car...yea. one thing I think is complete BS is he has no problem tarnishing Tiger in the media, but will not elaborate about how he was fired..and how these 2 have complete DIFFERENT stories. there is a huge difference between a phone call and a sit down face to face lol. Unless Tiger made a reference to a separation via a phone call, and it was interpreted as an official "your fired".

The captains, Greg and Fred, can both say till they are blue in the face this wasn't orchestrated..and Greg even took it to the point in previous interviews how he felt Him vs Tiger back in 1998 was for pure publicity and he didn't want to have any of it, and how he would not do that this time around...but that this pairing just happened to fall on "chance". ok. but I myself am glad to see it happening and I could care less whether its for publicity or not :) I want to see the showdown down under.

I can't believe I am asking this question...why is Rory not playing in the President's cup. I always get confused regarding the Ryder Cup / President's Cup and why particular countries aren't eligible.

LMAO never heard that one before, seriously. haha

Specifically the problem I have is the stories about Tiger recently and his 3rd round 75 at the Australian open. Cause and effect people...cause and effect. They all claim if he would have turned his 75 into a 70 or 69...he of course "would have won". I guess they don't realize that if he would have played decent on Saturday, the necessity to pull out all stops and try to go super low on Sunday might not have been necessary, hence he would have been making different on course decisions. Sure there are dozens of reasons for the score he fired on Sunday, and it was a great round of golf aside from a few hiccups, but he "had" to go that low in order to even have a chance. A good round on Saturday would have put him in the lead or near the lead and he probably would have made safer decisions to maintain or slightly improve his position. His game plan likely would have changed. Sorry for the rant, it's just driving me nuts with every gdamn Tiger article I read they are stating this "3rd round...he would have won" nonsense. Ok, rant over :)

Quote: Brawndo! Fuse! It's got what plants tigers crave! idiocracy gotta love it haha

In regards to how Tiger handles media/press conferences...he rarely steps out of bounds with his words. He might not be the moral compass for how to handle a marriage or a relationship, but he is a pro at conferences and never says a negative word about other players, caddy's, etc... Lets clarify something. Nobody's ass was called black. He was called an *******. If you call ANYONE an ******* in any form of serious terms, its meant as an insult...even jokingly its an insult unless you are doing it with your close friends and they know your joking. If you call someone who is black a "black *******" you are purposely targeting a feature on their body and who they are as a form of pain. Steve said it as a clarification to his comments 4 months ago during the celebration. And given the deep anger he holds toward Tiger, calling him a black ******* was not in jest or fun, it was intended.

has Charlie Sifford made a public comment on this topic...just out of curiosity.

I find it funny that Greg Norman came out to completely defend Stevie, but also to say he has NEVER seen racism in golf. Quote: Asked if racism is a problem in golf, Norman said he's "never seen it at all." I think we are simply seeing a matter of captains rallying behind their players/caddys with the upcoming events approaching. I am still very disappointed the PGA Tour has all but ignored this issue. Good old white boys club I guess. Almost like trying to sweep it under the rug. I think that says more about them then if they simply reported on it like every other publication in the world.

Just read this article... http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,2097468,00.html It mentions how it simply becomes a topic nobody publicly really wants to talk about and I think the article does a great job of pointing that out. It noted how there was barely a peep on pgatour.com and sure enough I had noticed the same thing. The only point made was that the PGA Tour and Euro tour both felt it was a closed issue simply because he said "I am sorry" and that Steve will go unpunished. I also didn't realize Tiger is now officially the only "black" golfer on the PGA Tour. So it kind of makes Steve's words a bit more harsh IMHO.

I agree. First off, calling anyone an "as*hole" is bad enough...but adding on that adjective is stupid. That morgan freeman video above was great and so true. We won't move forward as a world if we simply hvae to keep referring to others as colors. A good friend of mine is Indian and he openly jokes with me all the time like "oh cmon man...if your friend cant find me, just point in my direction and say its the Indian dude". I would never, in a million years, actively do that unless it's someone I knew and I was given a green light to say that. He can refer to me as "the white guy" because we have a friendship and its mutually understood they are jokes.

just my 2 pennies. If Stevie had said "shove it up right up that "n**ger's as*hole" I am pretty sure 100% of the ppl in this thread would be calling for his firing, as well as Adam Scott would have dropped him, etc.. I guarantee it would have happened. Calling him black is NOT the same as that..but it is bad and it is pointing out a particular feature on Tiger that has been noted since he first started making news of his golf game, even as a kid. Being "black" or a "black golfer" is not something Tiger has been fond of, and he has noted in interviews, etc... as well as having to deal with being a "black" golfer in the eyes of fans who watch him play, some that ARE racist and make him aware of it. The amount of racist hate mail he receives is probably astounding...beyond anything any other golfer has to endure. I watched the Ryder Cup a few years back when it was down in Kentucky. I unfortunately heard several drunk guys in the crowd calling Lee Westwood a "fa*g*t" very loud, and as he walked by. What if Lee Westwood was gay, hypothetically. What if Steve had made a comment like "shove it up that fa**ots as*hole" or even less harsh... "shove i up that gay's as*hole" or "shove it up that homo's as*hole". That would be just as bad or worse. I agree with the above posters...my highlighting that particular word in his comment, there was a point being made..even if it was a subconscious point and one that slipped or he got too loose lipped. If he was talking about Notah Begay (hypothetically) and referred to him as "brown" or someone black was up there speaking and referred to them as "white" the damage would have been just as bad. Joking or not. Saying his actions outside of his job (caddying) shouldn't affect his employment is stupid. If he had made a comment 20 years ago that is a different story...that is an action in the past and doesn't affect what he does not directly. Anyone can be fired for any reason...and any employer if he feels his employee's actions/words are affecting the companies earnings, productivity, team morale, or whatever you name it...guess what you can be fired. Like it or not...in regards to Caddy's and their typical "responsibilities" as employees...this is strike #2 on Steve Williams.