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The Big Miss

My Years Coaching Tiger Woods

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The Big Miss

By: Hank Haney
Narrated by: Hank Haney
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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 House
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What listeners say about The Big Miss

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Incredible insight to golfs best player

Wasn't sure about starting this one, and had heard a few negative comments. Ignore those, and enjoy this book like I have, to hear insight into Tigers career during this time really opens up the challenges that Tiger had just to be Tiger and ultimately what he is like as a person. And amazing stories of what was a huge but rewarding challenge for Hank coaching him.

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Very enjoyable listen

Very balanced, interesting listen from a great coach. if Tiger had listened more to Hank he'd undoubtedly have won more. thank you Hank 👍

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enjoyed it

an interesting insight on what made tiger so great. maybe not for those who don't enjoy discussions on 'swing mechanics' , but if like me you do, it's well worth a listen.

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A Good Listen But.....

Would you consider the audio edition of The Big Miss to be better than the print version?

Yes

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well its about Tiger Woods so Tiger Woods

Did Hank Haney do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

Yes

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I did enjoy this book but found the audio at times to be very annoying

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    4 out of 5 stars

very engaging if only for the authors greedy choic

I really enjoyed the book and found it very hard to put down but my only issue was the narrator. the narrator is the writer and he chose to narrate and I think it was to possible damage of the book. I feel if you are going to yuse such eloquent and fluid language then you should be able to speak that way and he is unable to speak with such fluidity and it really showed as he struggled and even slurred his way through the chapters. I would have stopped listening and asked for my money back only for I enjoyed it so much.
I'll forgive him for it, if only for the fact it was a very thorough and we'll structured book and kept me enthralled till the end.
(especially because I think tiger Woods is a spoilt little baby brat and I wanted to see the inner Sancton).
well worth a read/listen 4/5

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Fantastic book to listen to

I listen to this book after listening to other tiger woods books. This one was so nice as you know the facts are correct and coming from a person who knew tiger so well just added that extra edge.

Great book

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Fascinating insight into a very interesting person

What did you like most about The Big Miss?

Hanks account is so personal and extremely candid. He's obviously an expert in reading people as well as swings.

What other book might you compare The Big Miss to, and why?

I read Bernie Ecclestones biog. Again very interesting subject matter.

Which character – as performed by Hank Haney – was your favourite?

Tiger.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It does bring you both the joy of his success and the despair of Tiger's fall from grace with the ruination of his marriage.

Any additional comments?

Get it.

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Even the sun go(a)t spots

The importance of how a small detail can make such a big impact on how you can perform. We are always want to have that flow when we play and avoid the big miss. And the awakening of the Swedish Valkyrie didn’t help in the end. But great to see tiger play golf with his kids

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Meh

It's not bad but I thought it might be a bit more detailed. Not bad though

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Interesting to say the least

Very good all round other than the final chapter where Hank veers off to get caught up in himself and the stats. Which made me re think that the whole book was indirectly about him. Overall though the book was a great listen/read.

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