Quotes of the Week

• By Golf Channel Digital
• Dec 9, 2012 12:11 PM ET

"I think things have changed, and he's clearly not the golfer that he was. But I still think Tiger's the best player that there is. Now, he's not No. 1 right now, but I still think he's the best player. But having said that, he's not the player that he was when he was winning 45 percent of his tournaments." – Hank Haney, on his former student, Tiger Woods.

"I don’t want to pour cold water on it, but I don’t think it should be in the Olympic Games. I still think of Olympics as track and field and not golf, to be honest with you. We have our most important championships (the four majors). You have golf in the Olympics, you have diluted the importance, in a sense, of the four major championships." – Tom Watson, on golf's return to the Olympics in 2016.

"People may hear the recording and think I yelled at those guys every day. Coaches know that sometimes the guys need a hug, and sometimes they need to hear the hard truth about their performance." – Huntingdon College golf coach Matt Mahanic, a month after being fired for his profanity-laced rant to players.

"Oh boy. This is a tough topic for me because I have to be careful of what I say." – Keegan Bradley, at a junior clinic prior to the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Bradley was responding to juniors' questions on the proposed ban on anchored putting.

"Matt was a good friend of mine, (or) so I thought. He said some things that offended me, and I approached him to clarify it and clear the air, and he pretty much laughed in my face." – Grant Buchanan, who is James Nitties' caddie, on Matt Kelly, who is Marc Leishman's caddie. The two got into a fight, while their players were warming up for the first round of the Australian Open. They punched each other and wrestled around on the ground in front of both players and spectators.

"We’re judged on wins ultimately, and this year has been a great year." – Rory McIlroy, after being named PGA Tour Player of the Year.

"People are always like, 'You're taking a shot at him.' I'm not taking a shot at him. But it's just the way it is. Everybody can see it. But you know what? You don't even have to see it. It's like what Bill Parcells always said: 'You are what your record says you are.'" – Haney, again, on Woods.

"I was there, and he (Kelly) didn't do anything. He stood there, copped what he got and didn't do anything apart from that. I was proud of him, to be honest." – Leishman, on the fight between Kelly and Buchanan.

"That’s not a stroke, but it makes it easier to play. My son Michael, with a conventional putting stroke, he couldn’t make it from 2 feet, but he went to a belly putter, and he makes everything. The game is fun for him now, so there lies the danger. Do we take the ability for people to have fun away?" – Watson, again, on being torn on the anchored-putting ban.

"The more putts I make with this putter, the crazier it’s going to make people. I hope that this is going to be a huge issue because I hope I’m going to be making as many putts as possible." – Bradley, again, on continuing to use his anchored putter because the proposed ban won't take effect until 2016.

"Until I invent a better way to putt for myself, I’ll stick to the broomstick." – Adam Scott, who will also continue to use the anchored putter.

"I’m kind of fed up with all this ‘mashed potatoes’ and all this rubbish that the crowd is kind of enjoying shouting right now. Keegan had a guy out there who was – after every shot he was 'Yabba Dabba Do-ing,' and it was just stupid. It’s not a lot of fun, and it’s kind of becoming a little bit of a cool thing to do for the spectators. It kind of gives them their two or three seconds of fame. But it gets a little frustrating for everyone." – Graeme McDowell, on fan behavior during the World Challenge.