Tiger likes playing with big guns

Try to contain your excitement, but GolfDigest.com has released “Five Revelations in The Big Miss,” Hank Haney’s oh-so-totally-juicy tell all about the six years he spent working with Tiger Woods. According to Haney, Tiger seriously considered giving up golf to become a Navy SEAL.

“Tiger was seriously considering becoming a Navy SEAL. I didn’t know how he’d go about it, but when he talked about it, it was clear he had a plan….I thought, Wow, here is Tiger Woods, greatest athlete on the planet, maybe the greatest athlete ever, right in the middle of his prime, basically ready to leave it all behind for a military life.”

Apparently Tiger’s intense, military-like workouts were potentially jeopardizing for his knee:

During four days of special-ops training in Fort Bragg, N.C., “Tiger did two tandem parachute jumps, engaged in hand-to-hand combat exercises, went on four-mile runs wearing combat boots, and did drills in a wind tunnel. Tiger loved it, but his physical therapist, Keith Kleven, went a little crazy worrying about the further damage Tiger might be doing to his left knee…One morning I was in the kitchen when he came back from a long run around Isleworth, and I noticed he was wearing Army boots. Tiger admitted that he’d worn the heavy shoes before on the same route. ‘I beat my best time,’ he said.”

Interesting enough, Tom Callahan’s book on Tiger, His Father’s Son, published in 2010, also quotes Haney saying that the 14-time major champ thought about going into service after his father Earl passed away. From a New York Times article dated November 30, 2010:

“When Earl died, I thought there was a strong possibility Tiger was going to give it all up to go in the service,” Haney said.

Tiger was asked to confirm and replied, “I didn’t,” but when he was pressed…

“Well, I’ve always wanted to become a SEAL. That’s something that I told my dad from the very get-go, either I’m going to become a professional golfer or I’m going to become a Navy SEAL.”

So, if I were to nitpick, I’d say this isn’t technically a “revelation.”

In response to the excerpts from Haney’s upcoming book, Tiger’s agent Mark Steinberg told FoxSports.com:

“Based on the excerpts published today, Hank Haney’s claim that his book is about golf is clearly false.”

“His armchair psychology about Tiger, on matters he admits they didn’t even discuss, is ridiculous. Because of his father, it’s no secret that Tiger has always had high respect for the military, so for Haney to twist that admiration into something negative is disrespectful.

“The disruptive timing of this book shows that Haney’s self-promotion is more important to him than any other person or tournament. What’s been written violates the trust between a coach and player and someone also once considered a friend.”

The Big Miss is set to be released March 27, a week before the Masters.

(AP Photo)