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 When Hank Haney talks, golfers typically lesson, especially if they're the impressionable young men and women from around the world who attend the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head Island.
This weekend Hank Haney spent some time watching the players who attend his school compete in the Hank Haney Invitational presented by BMW. The tournament was played on Harbour Town Golf Links and the Ocean Course, both of which are affiliated with the Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head.
Haney was also the guest of honor and guest speaker at a banquet Saturday night. He had plenty of advice for his students. In addition to urging them to let their parents watch them play golf, regardless of whether it made them nervous or not, Haney spoke to his pupils about the importance of taking ownership of their golf games and developing a good work ethic.
Of course the students were all ears because Haney just so happens to instruct the No. 1 player in the world, Tiger Woods, who knows a thing or two about working hard to achieve his goals. Haney shared a few stories about his time with Tiger on Saturday night, and without a doubt the majority of his students left that room motivated, even if the previous day on the links hadn't been there best.
I had the chance to sit down with Mr. Haney Sunday afternoon to talk about his academy, golf instruction and some of his famous students.
 Golfer's Guide: I wanted to start off by talking about this event, which bears your name. It's being played on two great courses here in Sea Pines. Can you talk about the talent present here and overall just how competitive the junior golf scene has become?
Hank Haney: First off, it's an honor for me to have a tourament with my name on it. It's a great thrill for me. I love junior golf. Our academy is something I really enjoy doing. It's been a great opportunity for me, something that I've thought about for a long time. The last three years have been really fun, seeing the future stars of tomorrow in junior golf is always fun. It's obviously gotten a lot more competitive in the last few years. The players just keep getting better and better; younger and younger.
Derrick (Villarreal) who is at our academy shot a 72 yesterday and the golf bag is darn near bigger than he is.
Golfer's Guide: How did you select this academy here in Hilton Head to get involved with?
Hank Haney: This is kind of a unique business. Obviously there was an existing business; Ray Travaglione had the business and when he asked me to become involved it was a great opportunity for me. There are a lot of moving parts to the business besides the golf and the golf instruction. We own the school that all the kids go to, the Heritage Academy. That's a big part of it because it's not just golf it's education too. And then you add housing and all of the other things that go with it, supervision, taking care of the safety and security of 125-150 kids, you've got a big business.
This is a great place to do it. Hilton Head Island is one of the prettiest places in the world. It's been great.
Golfer's Guide: You spoke last night at your banquet to the tournament participants about instilling a work ethic and taking personal responsibility for their golf games. I was wondering what your work ethic was like when you were their age as far as golf goes?
Hank Haney: I've always been a hard trier. Even to this point in my life I feel that my success has been because I've worked really hard. I think that's the thing that it takes to be good at anything. You have to have a passion for what you're doing. You have to enjoy it.
Golf has been my thing, instructing and helping people. It's the only job I've ever had, being a golf professional. And I always worked hard. I'm sure that anybody that is successful at anything would say the same thing.
Golfer's Guide: Did you have an instructor growing up?
Hank Haney: When I was growing up I really didn't. When I got to college I had an instructor Jim Hardy, and then when I started teaching John Jacobs was the one I really started teaching under.
Golfer's Guide: You grew up in the Chicago area. Do you have a favorite course you grew up playing, or is there one you like to play when you go back there now?
Hank Haney: My favorite course in Chicago is a course called Shoreacres. I grew up at Exmoor Country Club and I really like that course. It was a Donald Ross course, and it's certainly one of my favorite. I like the golf experience as much as anything; traveling and playing different courses, nice courses. Obviously there are some incredible courses here on Hilton Head Island. I belong over at May River, I like that golf course. This course here (Harbour Town Golf Links) is phenomenal.
Golfer's Guide: If you could talk about your philosophy on - whether they're teenagers or someone getting into the game in their 40s - do you believe that someone should go out and learn all of the shots before they actually start playing?
Hank Haney: The first thing you need to learn is to hit the ball. You don't feel like you're golfing if you can't hit the ball and actually get it into the air and make it go somewhere. So you have a certain skill set that just allows you to at least become semi-proficient at ball striking.
But you need to get on the golf course and learn how to play the game, learn the etiquette of the game, how to play fast. Not necessarily make a certain score, but just do the things that you're supposed to do in golf to one, make the game move along, and two, make it not only enjoyable for yourself but for your playing partners.
I always push beginners to get going a little faster. Get on the course and learn what it's all about. Get on the practice tee where you feel like you can at least hit the golf ball. And then when you go on the golf course you don't have to play every single shot. You don't have to finish every hole. Just get a feel for what it's like to play the game on the golf course. It's something that I think people really enjoy.
The most important thign that I try to do is make it fun for my students. If they spend four months on the practice tee, I'm not sure that's the most fun way to do things.
Golfer's Guide: You've talked at lenght in some interviews I've read, and it's mentioned on your Web site about the importance of watching your ball flight and how that can help a golfer fix his swing. Can you explain why it's so important?
Hank Haney: It's the way that you can teach yourself. The only thing that matters is how you hit the golf ball, which way it goes, how high, which way it curves, the distance you hit it. Those are the things that matter.
There are all sorts of techniques that you can use. There is no one swing to hit a golf ball, but if you hit a certain shot then there is only one way for that shot to have occurred when you're looking at the impact. If my ball goes high and it hooks then my impact had to be a certain way. So you watch the golf ball, it tells you what happened at impact and then you can go from there to figure out what you did wrong during your swing to cause that impact.
Ball flight is a way for you to be able to diagnose what's going on without seeing yourself and a way to learn how to self-correct, at least to a certain extent.
Golfer's Guide: Since you started teaching, is there one innovation or technological advancement you think has helped both you as a teacher and your students the most?
Hank Haney: That's a good question. The thing is, the video equipment has become so much better that teachers in general have a much clearer idea of what the golf swing should be and what the golf swing looks like to cause certain ball flights.
Other things haven't had as big of an impact, whether it be different training aids, etc.. I think it's just the video equipment and the use of it. Way back when people didn't have that, so they had to figure it out from feel or stand and look in front of a mirror. But now every instructor gets a good view of what the swing looks like.
Golfer's Guide: Is video something you use a lot?
Hank Haney: I don't use it as much as I used to, but it's certainly what every instructor can use to train their eye.
Golfer's Guide: I was wondering about the course design of your business. Is that something we might see more of in the future from you?
Hank Haney: Well that business is a business that's sort of non-existent today. There's not too many golf courses being built. The ones that I've designed are the ones that I've built myself for my company.
It's something that I enjoy doing, enjoy the process, but with the golf business being like it is now there aren't a lot of golf courses being built.
Golfer's Guide: The groove regulations that will be put into place on the PGA Tour starting next year. Do you think that's going to have the designed effect?
Hank Haney: I do think it's going to have an effect because you're going to see that when players hit shots out of the rough it's gonna be a lot more difficult. You're going to see fliers, shots going over greens; things that you didn't used to see before with the square grooves.
From the fairway it doesn't really make much difference, but from the rough it does. You're gonna see a difference there. It's probably gonna force players to use a softer ball and what that's going to do in tournaments is shorten the distance that you're going to hit the ball. It's a way to cut back on the distance without necessarily mandating that the ball doesn't go as far. It's gonna make you play a softer ball, and around the greens it's gonna make it more difficult. Overall, I think it's gonna be good for the game.
Golfer's Guide: Ok the obligatory Tiger question. He just won today in Australia and he was in China last week. What is the level of contact or your interaction with Tiger when the two of you are so far apart?
Hank Haney: I saw him before he left on this trip. I was in Orlando with him. And then we text back and forth. Most days we are in contact with one another when he is overseas. And I watch on tv and see how he does; send him a text if I feel like he is struggling a little bit.
I see him a lot though and he's getting really good at, and has been really good for quite a while at analyzing and fixing what he's got wrong. This week he didn't play good at all on Friday, but he played great on Sunday and he played great yesterday.
That makes me proud that he's gotten a lot better at fixing himself. You don't really own something until you can do it yourself. If you have to have your instructor there all the time it's not really a good thing.
Golfer's Guide: Do you still keep in contact with Charles (Barkley) since the show and is he enjoying the game any more?
Hank Haney: (Laughs) He's still struggling. I do see him once in a while. We've done some things together and we're good friends. He's a great guy and he's one of my favorite people, but the golf game is still a struggle.
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