Tour Insider

Woods, Haney Staying in Touch - 10/24/2007

Among other things, during a prolonged vacation with no formal golf that is less than a month old, Tiger Woods has either been skiing or chilling on his yacht.
 
“I would suspect,” a source close to Woods told me, “that will continue for a while.”
 
Woods’ last event was the Presidents Cup late last month in Montreal. His next scheduled appearance isn’t until mid-December when he will host the Target World Challenge in California.
 
Meanwhile rumors of the demise of Woods’ professional relationship with teacher Hank Haney remain greatly exaggerated.
 
“I am still on the payroll,” Haney declared earlier this week.
 
Haney and Woods have spoken by phone frequently since the Presidents Cup. Woods has not gotten the itch to start practicing again. When he does, Haney said, “I am sure we will put in some good work.’
 
Haney has been spending much of his time with his wife, Jerilynn, who is successfully recovering from an illness. He also has been focusing a lot of his attention on his IJGA Academy in Hilton Head, S.C.
 

DRIVEN
Haney, who is understandably sensitive to criticism that Woods has become less accurate with the driver in his hand since the two began working together, has put together a stack of statistics that chart Woods progress over the last five years.
 
Haney’s research shows Woods is 9.1 yards longer off the tee than he was five years ago while losing just 6.67 per cent in driving accuracy. World No. 2 Phil Mickelson, by comparison, is 9.2 yards longer but has lost 9.57 per cent in accuracy.
 
Most improved, among the top players on Haney’s chart, are Ernie Els (+18.5 yards and -7.01 per cent in accuracy) and Adam Scott (+14.3 yards and -2.87 per cent in accuracy).
 
“Do you think you could make the case that Tiger is one of the straightest, longest hitters in the game today?” Haney asked. “Then again, we all know that despite how much everyone wants to talk about accuracy, it doesn’t mean a lot.”
 

MORE NUMBERS
An examination of the driving statistics for the players currently 1-10 in the Official World Golf Ranking is, arguably, even more favorable to Woods than Haney’s data.