The Big Miss
My Years Coaching Tiger Woods
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The Big Miss
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Narrated by:
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Hank Haney
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By:
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Hank Haney
About this listen
The Big Miss is Hank Haney's candid and surprisingly insightful account of his tumultuous six-year journey with Tiger Woods, during which the supremely gifted golfer collected six major championships and rewrote golf history.
Hank was one of the very few people allowed behind the curtain. He was with Tiger 110 days a year, spoke to him over 200 days a year, and stayed at his home up to 30 days a year, observing him in nearly every circumstance: at tournaments; on the practice range; over meals, with his wife, Elin; and relaxing with friends.
The relationship between the two men began in March 2004, when Hank received a call from Tiger in which the golf champion asked him to be his coach. It was a call that would change both men's lives.
Tiger - only 28 at the time - was by then already an icon, judged by the sporting press as not only one of the best golfers ever, but possibly the best athlete ever. Already, he was among the world's highest paid celebrities. There was an air of mystery surrounding him, an aura of invincibility. Unique among athletes, Tiger seemed to be able to shrug off any level of pressure and find a way to win. But Tiger was always looking to improve, and he wanted Hank's help.
What Hank soon came to appreciate was that Tiger was one of the most complicated individuals he'd ever met, let alone coached. Although Hank had worked with hundreds of elite golfers and was not easily impressed, there were days watching Tiger on the range when Hank couldn't believe what he was witnessing. On those days, it was impossible to imagine another human playing golf so perfectly.
And yet Tiger is human - and Hank's expert eye was adept at spotting where Tiger's perfection ended and an opportunity for improvement existed. Always haunting Tiger was his fear of "the big miss" - the wildly inaccurate golf shot that can ruin an otherwise solid round - and it was because that type of blunder was sometimes part of Tiger's game that Hank carefully redesigned his swing mechanics.
Hank's most formidable coaching challenge, though, would be solving the riddle of Tiger's personality. Wary of the emotional distractions that might diminish his game and put him further from his goals, Tiger had developed a variety of tactics to keep people from getting too close, and not even Hank - or Tiger's family and friends, for that matter - was spared "the treatment".
Toward the end of Tiger's and Hank's time together, the champion's laser-like focus began to blur, and he became less willing to put in punishing hours practicing - a disappointment to Hank, who saw in Tiger's behavior signs that his pupil had developed a conflicted relationship with the game. Hints that Tiger hungered to reinvent himself were present in his bizarre infatuation with elite military training, and - in a development Hank didn't see coming - in the scandal that would make headlines in late 2009. It all added up to a big miss that Hank, try as he might, couldn't save Tiger from.
There's never been a book about Tiger Woods that is as intimate and revealing - or one so wise about what it takes to coach a superstar athlete. ©2012 Hank Haney (P)2012 Random HouseWhat listeners say about The Big Miss
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 25-11-2016
Wow, what a great insight! Highly recommended!
Such a great insight into Hank Haney's experience with Tiger, detailing what he really was, or in this case wasn't, like as an employer, a person and a friend.
There's two sides to every story as you know, but having heard Hank's version of his relationship with Tiger, he deserves a medal what what he achieved as a coach
Hank gives a short but interesting recount of his early years, how he came to be a coach, and his first interactions with a teenage Tiger.
He gives a detailed chronological and in depth recount of how he came to be Tiger's coach, the best and worst rounds under his tutelage, and explains how Tiger came undone following his infamous scandal.
Having personally developed a passion for Golf after Tigers scandal, most of what was said in this book was new to me and I was quite surprised to learn how cold and self centred he was from Hank's honest and very believable recounts.
This book has completely changed my opinion of Tiger the man, but also made me realise exactly why he was, and still is the best player to ever pickup a golf club.
A 10/10 listen for any golf lover!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 06-03-2016
A measured story
This book gained a reputation as being one-sided tale of Haney's time coaching Tiger.
I'm pleased to share that it is a measured recount of the events over the six-year period from 2004-09. Sure, Haney offers the motivations and sentiments behind his actions throughout, and of course can't speak for Tiger because he's not him. Haney offers his intuition about Tiger's behaviour and is never short of praise for Woods.
Honestly, give this one a crack. If you love golf or are Tiger curious, give it a spin. It's very listenable.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Geoff Malone
- 05-12-2019
In-depth coverage, perfect for the golf/sport nerd
It’s certainly far more into the details of Tiger’s swing than I had expected, but does go into detail about Haney’s experience during the scandal in the final chapter once you are accustomed to the detailed swing mechanics discussions, it’s quite interesting to see what Tiger and Haney make of the adjustments.
Deep insight into the type of attention to detail that goes into sustained excellence.
Interesting read.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ross
- 10-04-2016
A fantastic insight
A fantastic insight into golf's biggest star and a reminder that all you see may not be golden.
The detail on how to hit a golf ball, if you're Tiger Woods, is perfectly balanced with the tension and drama of the world that surrounds up him. You are left marvelling at the work required for perfection and the toll it, and the world of top level modern sport, can take on teacher and 'student'. Highly recommended for anyone that has pumped a fist in time with Tiger sinking a putt.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mathew
- 29-03-2018
genuine
one of the great golf books. no malice in it toward woods at all. a great insight into greatness.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- johan
- 24-07-2014
The inside scoop of one of sports greates geniuses
If you could sum up The Big Miss in three words, what would they be?
Insightful, inspiring, spiteful
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Big Miss?
There were many. Tiger is human.
What does Hank Haney bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
I can hear his emotions.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes.
Any additional comments?
This was a fantastic and insightful book. I couldn't stop listening.
But it is also clear that it is one persons view of a story - not necessarily the whole truth. Haney is an emotional person, Tiger is not. I can relate to Tiger and what often may have appeared as rudeness could simply have been good old fashioned ignorance.
All in all - really really good.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Stuart Freer
- 24-07-2024
Brilliant insights
Thanks Hank for writing this.
We always knew he’d be difficult but rewarding.
Thank you thank you 🙏
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 01-09-2021
Great insight from an insider
This is a great insight into arguably the best golfer of our generation and perhaps of any generation.
Hank Haney was part of the ride and shows us that for all Tiger's genius he was indeed, a flawed person, just like the rest of us.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matthew Westaway
- 23-10-2020
Great
Interesting insight into the greatest golfer ever. Hank doesn’t play favourites, there’s plenty of positive talk about Tiger but also plenty of negative.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ashley Jessen
- 15-04-2016
excellent detail
Extremely well written with fantastic details around all the Tiger stories. Hank was a great coach with perhaps the best student ever.
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