cat fight: butch v. tiger
In case you missed it, things hit an all-time low between Butch Harmon and Tiger Woods during the U.S. Open. Acting as a sports analyst for British TV, Butch was highly critical of Tiger’s swing and his attitude. Butch basically said that Tiger’s been making some bad swing changes, which he’s been very secretive about. Butch also said that Tiger’s been in “denial” about how bad his swing really is right now.
When asked about Butch’s comments this weekend at the U.S. Open, Tiger said he didn’t understand why Butch would say such a thing: Butch doesn’t know what he’s been working on and he hasn’t ever called Tiger to talk about them.
NBC then followed up with Butch, who stood by his critical comments, saying that it’s part of his job as an analyst.
My take: This is really ugly for golf. I think it’s really in bad form for Butch Harmon to be taking pot shots at one of his former students. It’s OK for Johnny Miller to make highly critical comments of Tiger’s swing, but Johnny wasn’t Tiger’s teacher. The things that Butch has been saying are self-serving and tinged with petty vindictiveness. Being a teacher (in another discipline) myself, I think it crosses the line to publicly criticize a former student’s ability, his mental state, and work ethic. If you really think the path Tiger’s on is that bad, your former student of 10 years deserves to hear from you first. Whatever you think about his swing, Tiger’s right on target on this one.
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