The great miss it is a record of the time that one of the best golf coaches spent training one of the best golf athletes of our generation, Tiger Woods.

Hank Haney offers his readers a great insight into Tiger’s complex personality without frills.

While there is a lot of praise for Tiger’s abilities, don’t be shy about coaches’ honest appraisal of those elements that keep even the greatest of them from reaching their full potential.

An unbiased evaluation of Hank Haney’s track record attests that he is one of the best golf coaches of our day. His detailed account of the time spent training one of the best golfers is not without a little selfish boast. However, it must be recognized that, in the opinion of this writer, he is not taking undeserved license or “exaggeration” in his personal references.

I was surprised to learn that Mr. Haney’s assessment of Tiger’s short game was “mediocre.” He attributed this more to Tiger’s field management than to his innate ability. Under Haney’s tutelage, Woods improved to become one of the top ten short players on the tour.

There are The great miss a lot of human interest. Haney’s tenure was during some of the darkest moments in Tiger’s personal life, from his career suspending his broken leg, to his addiction / treatment, and the destruction of his family life.

To Haney’s credit, he doesn’t take low judgment shots and even records some of his inadvertent false mistakes that plagued Woods during this difficult time in his career.

Another surprising revelation in The great miss it is the nature of the rivalry between Phil Mickelson and Tiger. Expect a professional rivalry between these two main competitors.

However, what was not so evident in the public persona that Tiger presented, Haney’s description of the relationship between these icons suggests that Tiger has a somewhat dismissive attitude towards Mickelson.

Haney believed that the difference in the way they handled the public seemed to be a point of irritation for Tiger. Phil’s attractive personality and relationship with his fan base is very different compared to Tiger’s style of detachment.

Although Haney didn’t venture much into the reasons for disdain, he didn’t think it was a matter of jealousy as much as a matter of style that Tiger simply found irritating.

Coach Haney takes time to defend himself against critics of his coaching style. He identifies with many of the same personality traits as Tiger, forcing both of them to seek valid measures of improvement.

Haney clearly admires Tiger Wood’s skills and considers the time he spent with one of the greatest golfers of all time the best moment of his coaching career.

In general, I found The great miss a fascinating glimpse into the world of two of golf’s greatest figures who have done much in their respective roles to elevate the game of golf.