Hank Haney Book Claims Tiger Woods Hired Bodyguard Who ‘Spoke To’ Golfer’s Dead Father

A new book by Hank Haney, former coach of golf legend Tiger Woods, sounds like a quirky read for fans of the golfer.

While no further evidence is required that Woods is an … interesting and perhaps complex personality, Haney’s book reveals all sorts of odd little Woods factoids. These include the revelation that the golfer hired an ex-SEAL bodyguard who claimed Woods’ dead father, Earl, was “speaking to him on a regular basis and giving him instructions on how to help Tiger.” Okay!

In the book, Haney describes how Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams described the (unnamed, obviously) bodyguard as “weird.”

There’s plenty of other bizarre little anecdotes in Haney’s book, such as:

>>Woods once considered becoming a SEAL himself. Haney writes that Woods went on six SEAL excursions in 2007, and was even shot with a rubber bullet on one trip, returning with an epic bruise on his thigh.

>>Woods can reportedly hold his breath for four minutes, thanks to a so-called ‘lung packing’ technique.

>>Woods can utilize a deadly choke hold.

>>As a practical joke, Woods ordered the adult channel package at the K Club, a month before the 2006 Ryder Cup, to deliberately embarrass room-mate Zach Johnson, a devout Christian. It worked.

>>Elin Nordegren, Tiger Wood’s former wife, was banned from smiling on the golf course if he won because he felt he was “supposed to win”.

All of which, I think we can agree, is a tad quirky. Still, nothing trumps the bodyguard-talking-to-dead-Dad card. Anybody else get reminded of this while reading that?

Haney’s The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods is out now.

[Via NESN]