Wernddu Golf Club

Tiger Woods writes:

It's been nice to have some time off and hang out with my family. We had a good trip on the boat and did a little fishing. Mostly, it was just fun to get away.

Obviously, it's been a great year on and off the course. My eyes light up every time I see my new daughter. Sam Alexis is four-months-old and growing every day. She can grab things now and has held a golf club in her hands. I didn't start swinging a club until I was 11 months, so she's got seven months until that happens.

For Elin and I, it's all about the little firsts: Our first Halloween with Sam; our first Thanksgiving; our first Christmas. I've never been much of a holiday guy, but this is a pretty cool feeling. Everything has changed since we had Sam.

For once, I won't be traveling or competing on Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family and friends, and plan to watch some football on television. * * *

Contrary to rumors, I have not split with Hank Haney, my friend and swing coach. He's spent more time at home helping his wife deal with health issues, which is the way it should be. Besides, I've become much better at correcting my swing flaws, and that's ultimately where you want to get to with a coach-pupil relationship. Hank is still going to be my coach; that's not changing.

Take care and I'll talk to you soon.

Tiger

Rumors have been circulating that Tiger Woods canned his coach Hank Haney. The Golf Channel reports that the rumors aren't true. Hank Haney has even phoned in to say that Tiger Woods's driving is not the Achilles heel that everyone says it is.

"Haney, who is understandably sensitive to criticism that Woods has become less accurate with the driver in his hand since the two began working together, has put together a stack of statistics that chart Woods progress over the last five years.

"Haney’s research shows Woods is 9.1 yards longer off the tee than he was five years ago while losing just 6.67 per cent in driving accuracy. World No. 2 Phil Mickelson, by comparison, is 9.2 yards longer but has lost 9.57 per cent in accuracy."

My take: I wonder if Hank is including all those times Tiger has to pull 2-iron off the tee in order to hit the fairway!

Golf.com has an excellent interview with Natalie Gulbis, including some video footage. The most important questions: Golf: Does an average Joe have any shot of dating you? Natalie: Absolutely. I'm pretty open-minded with who I date. Golf: Does he have to be a good golfer? Natalie: No. That's not even close in the criteria. That's way down on the list, of whether or not they can play golf. [Laughs]