Hank Haney Talks About Junior Golf

Bridget Snapp: So what kind of advice would the guy who coaches Tiger Woods have for Virginia golfers? We found out, when we caught up with him, at the First Tee event at the FedEx Tour Championship. Today, I am honored to be joined by renowned teaching coach, Hank Haney, who not only works for Tiger Woods, but a number of PGA Tour Professionals and he also has a new show on the Golf channel this fall featuring Hank Haney’s International Junior Golf Academy. So how is the show going? Hank Haney: It’s going good. Yeah, we are really pleased with it. It’s a reality show based on our Academy. They filmed it all last year with the kids for the whole semester and it was a lot of fun for all the kids, you know to be on TV, not only the kids are going to see themselves but it shows the whole process, the ups and downs that teenagers face when they are trying to balance school and their sport, which happens to be golf, and then being a teenager, so it is pretty neat. Bridget Snapp: What are some of the most challenging moments that they have faced so far? Hank Haney: Well, trying to do better in their tournaments, because they take it so serious. I mean they have all got a lot of passion for the game and they want to do good and I think, with the cameras on, I mean, it adds a little extra pressure besides the pressure they are feeling, because they all want to try and play college golf and this is just adding a little more pressure to the situation, but that’s a good learning experience for them. Bridget Snapp: And so any little Tigers there in the Golf Academy? Hank Haney: I don’t think there will ever be another Tiger. But there are some awful good players, there is no doubt about that. Bridget Snapp: We'll keep an eye out for them. So, we all know that Tiger started playing when he was about in the room, and then up to people started playing in their teams biweekly and then 20s, how do you explain the range of ages? Hank Haney: Well, I mean obviously Tiger’s parents got him starting off from primarily his father, and he was going to be a golfer, I think. He just liked the game. I mean, one thing that kids like to do is do what their parents are doing. So, Tiger’s father played golf and that’s why we got him started in the game. But it’s such a difficult game and starting real young helps but it's not like a guarantee that you are going to be great or anything, I mean still, Golf is still going to present its challenges, no matter when you start and you can start golf when you are 12 years old like I did, or you can start even later and you could still turn out to be a pretty darn good golfer that’s for sure. Bridget Snapp: How do you explain that? Hank Haney: Well, I mean, one thing about golf is, it's that as you grow and you get taller, you've got different clubs and you have a different posture when you stand over the golf ball and it changes all your angles, so you almost have to be learning your swing as you go. So, even if you learn the swing when you are real young, as you get older and you get bigger, it’s a challenge to keep that same swing. And that’s one thing that makes golf different than other sports, because you do have a certain angle that you need to swing on and that angle is going to change as you get taller and taller and taller. I think that’s the reason why, it's maybe not the biggest advantage to start when you are really, really young like a lot of people think. You can still be good at golf if you start, when you are in high school, so no problem you can start as an adult, and still learn to play the game great. Bridget Snapp: Well, I have heard you make some comments before about being a little annoyed with this persona of the pushy parents. Hank Haney: I am not. To be honest with you, I mean, I am probably on the other side of that. I mean a lot of people think that certain parents are too pushy but I find it really hard to criticize parents for taking interest in their children, and I have parents that through the years have come out and spent everyday with their children and maybe they are playing golf, but the fact that they are with is pretty special. You hear about kids that burn out, you think okay, this kid got pushed and he burned out, but you only hear about great players that burned out, you never hear about the players that you know did never accomplish anything. I don’t really see that, I know I don’t see any correlation between kid got pushed, bad kid, kid didn’t get a push, good kid, and quite honestly, I see the opposite. I see when the parents are there with them even if they are a little pushy, they spend a lot of great time with their kids and I don’t fault them for that. Bridget Snapp: Could the parent be too pushy though? Hank Haney: Absolutely. But you can be too much of anything. But I would certainly in my opinion as a coach; this is the only thing that I have ever done for 32 years, I think kids need to be pushed. Bridget Snapp: Could you give us the number one fundamental for beginner junior golfers to practice? Hank Haney: Well, the most important fundamental in all of golf is your grip, because your only control really over the club face. It's your grip, the way you put your hands on the club, and to teach any beginner whether it’s a junior or an adult, a good grip is quite the most important fundamental to practice. You see all the pros, I mean even when they play golf for a long time, they take their time and then put one hand on the club and then they put the next hand on the club and it really takes time. Most people just kind of put their hands on there and hope it's right. So you always want to start off with a good grip. Bridget Snapp: Alright, Mr. Haney, if I could grip your hand and thank you so much for your thoughts today on Junior Golfer, we appreciate it. We’ll keep an eye out for the show and have a great time here at the FedEx Championship. Hank Haney: Thank you. Bridget Snapp: Thank you and thank you for watching this edition of ClubHouseGAS. We’ll see you next time.