the big lady is a record of the time one of golf’s greatest coaches spent coaching one of the greatest golf athletes of our generation, Tiger Woods.
Hank Haney gives his readers great insight into Tiger’s complex personality without any frills.
While there’s plenty of praise for Tiger’s skills, there’s also no shying away from coaches’ honest assessment of those elements that keep even the greatest from reaching their full potential.
An unbiased evaluation of Hank Haney’s record attests to his being one of the best golf coaches today. His detailed account of the time he spent coaching one of golf’s best is not without a bit of egotistical bragging. However, it must be recognized that, in this writer’s opinion, he does not take undue license or go ‘over the top’ in his personal references.
It was surprising to me that Mr. Haney’s assessment of Tiger’s short game was “mediocre.” He chalked it up more to Tiger’s course management than his innate ability. Under Haney’s tutelage, Woods improved to become one of the top ten shortstop players on tour.
There are the big lady a good dose of human interest. Haney’s tenure was during some of the darkest times in Tiger’s personal life, from his career suspending his broken leg to his addiction/treatment and the destruction of his family life.
To Haney’s credit, he doesn’t take low judgment shots and even records some of his unintentional faux paux that bothered Woods during this difficult time in his career.
Another startling revelation in the big lady it’s the nature of the rivalry between Phil Mickelson and Tiger. It is to be expected that there will be a professional rivalry between these two main competitors.
However, what was not so evident in the public persona that Tiger presented, Haney’s description of the relationship between these icons suggests that Tiger has a somewhat dismissive attitude towards Mickelson.
Haney believed that the difference in how they handled the public seemed to be a sticking point for Tiger. Phil’s engaging personality and his relationship with his fan base is very different compared to Tiger’s aloof style.
Although Haney didn’t venture too far into the reasons for the disdain, he didn’t think it was so much a matter of jealousy as a matter of style that Tiger simply found it irritating.
Coach Haney takes the time to defend himself against criticism of his coaching style. He identifies himself with many of the same personality traits as Tiger, forcing both of them to look for valid measures of improvement.
Haney clearly admires Tiger Wood’s skills and considers the time he spent with one of the greatest golfers of all time the highlight of his coaching career.
In general, I found the big lady a fascinating insight into the world of two of golf’s greatest characters who have done much in their respective roles to elevate the game of golf.