In another part of his life, Hank Haney would have been at Augusta National this week. As Tiger Woods’ swing coach from 2004-10, he would monitor every one of Woods’ swings, looking for tweaks to perfect it while preparing one of the greatest players ever for another run at the Masters.
This week, though, finds Haney, 69, far away from golf’s most intense spotlight. He’s teaching at the new Hank Haney Golf Studio in Deerfield, just a mile or so from his boyhood home. Instead of working with the best of the best, Haney now instructs amateur players of all ages and abilities, ranging from low handicappers to the dreamer who just wants to break 90.
The latest chapter in Haney’s life has been an unlikely twist. He is back living in his hometown for the first time in more than 40 years, teaching a similar level of players as when he broke in as a young professional at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park.
“It’s not just that my life has come full circle,” Haney said. “Coming back to Deerfield, my career has gone full circle too. It’s pretty amazing.”
After leaving Chicago in 1982, Haney made his mark as one of golf’s most celebrated swing instructors, gaining renown for his work with 1998 Masters and British Open champion Mark O’Meara and Woods. He always joked that because of the weather, “Chicago is a great place to be from.”
Haney eventually settled in Scottsdale, Ariz., and seemed to be anchored there until his son took up hockey at age 8.
“Henry was good right away,” Haney said. “One day my friend (Hockey Hall of Famer) Mike Modano came by to watch him skate. He turned to my wife, Suzanne, and said, ‘You guys will be leaving soon.’”
Modano knew the Haneys needed to get Henry to a hockey hotbed if they wanted him to develop and maximize his potential. So in 2023 the family moved to the Chicago area, eventually settling in Glencoe. Now 12, Henry will play next season for the Chicago Mission’s 12-and-under team, one of the country’s elite junior programs.
On numerous occasions Haney heard people tell him he was crazy to uproot his family just so his son could play hockey. However, he never felt that way.
“I’m a coach and I value coaching,” Haney said. “There’s great coaching here. It’s just a better situation for him.”
The situation also has been great for his family. Haney says he has revised his statement about Chicago to, “This is the greatest place where you could be.”
“My wife is from Arizona and she loves it here,” Haney said. “Maybe you take things for granted when you live here for a while, but after being away from here and coming back, you realize this is a great city.”
Haney also has rediscovered his passion for teaching. After parting with Woods in 2010, he decided to step away from being an instructor. Haney spent 150 days a year on the road working exclusively with Woods. He figured he achieved the pinnacle of his profession and it was time to do something else.
For the better part of the next 10 years, Haney did a Golf Channel series called “The Haney Project,” a radio show on SiriusXM and corporate speaking, among other endeavors. Then in 2020, he noticed he had some extra room in his house in Arizona and built a golf studio.
That prompted Haney to do in-person lessons again with a variety of players. It brought him back to his roots, reminding him why he became a teaching professional.
“When you first start teaching, you teach beginners, you teach the kids, you teach ladies clinics. And you sit there and think, ‘I wish I had somebody with some talent,’” Haney said. “Then you teach touring pros for 35 years and you can’t wait to have those amateurs back because they appreciate it.
“I don’t care how good somebody is. I don’t care if they’re absolute beginners. I just want to work with anybody that wants to get better, that has a passion for golf.”
Haney’s passion is evident when he works with a student. His voice rings out in the studio.
“That’s it. Way to go,” exclaims an animated Haney, celebrating the incremental successes of a player improving a swing.
Haney had been giving lessons at The Golf Practice in Highland Park. He is thankful to the facility’s Chris Oehlerking for helping him reestablish his Chicago roots.
He decided, though, that he wanted to operate out of his own place. He spent the winter and early spring putting the finishing touches on a facility that features four high-tech golf simulators, a short-game area and a putting green that can be adjusted for various breaks.
Looking around, Haney said, “I hope golfers will think this is a very cool place.”
The walls feature photos of Woods and O’Meara, reinforcing that his students are taking lessons from “the guy who taught Tiger.”
Naturally, there is a premium to get Haney’s tutelage; his fee is $600 per hour for a lesson. The studio fees are $375 per month for unlimited use of the facility or $550 per month that includes one lesson with Haney. He is looking to keep the membership exclusive at about 75 members. (For more information, go to hankhaneygolfstudio.com.)
Haney says he will closely watch the Masters this week, but he doesn’t miss being there. Been there, done that.
Instead his focus is on the studio. The location brings a lot of memories from his days growing up in Deerfield. He used to ride his bike to nearby stores on Deerfield and Waukegan roads. Sunset Valley Golf Club in Highland Park, where he first fell in love with golf, is just down the road.
“My dad dropped me off at Sunset in the morning on the way to the train downtown and then picked me up at night on the way home,” Haney said.
He never thought he would end up back in Deerfield. Or that he would open a studio to teach golf so close to where he grew up.
“It all feels a bit surreal,” Haney admitted — then quickly added, “but I couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out.”
Freelance reporter Ed Sherman was the Chicago Tribune golf writer from 1997-2008 during 27 years in the Tribune sports department.
