The Haney Project

Everyone knows that Charles Barkley has the worst swing in golf. Think about that statement for a minute. Charles Barkley is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He could set up a post better than anybody ever seen. Now he is trying to improve his golf game. The first question is why golf? The answer to that question is easy. Golf is the game of a lifetime. No matter how old or young, golf is a sport for everyone and golf teaches you about life. Charles Barley, as a retired athlete, needs a release. His outlet has been reported to be gambling at times and golf is a much better means of spending his time. In golf, you have good friendships, good conversations, good times, and a strong challenge.

But a broader question remains about Charles. How did he get like this? I mean, Charles Barkley is a great athlete and an athlete that can shoot a ball can swing a club, right? Well, to address this question one has to go back to the folks that have played golf with Charles over the years. They all say he used to have a good swing. At some point, after playing all the celebrity tournaments and goofing around, he picked up the famous "hitch". This hitch is a jerking halt in his swing after he begins his downswing to hit the ball.

There is a debate among his friends. Is the hitch in his swing mental or fundamental? Some would say that he does not swing smoothly because he has too much going on in his head during the swing and that mentally he is apprehensive about hitting the ball in a full range motion. Others would say that his problem is that as he swings, he realizes that he is not headed in the right plane to make proper contact so he is hitting the brakes and trying to hit the ball. Ask Tiger's coach Hank Haney and all he will say is that he thought he could have fixed him by now. Mechanically, Barkley is not doing the right things so the hitch does not appear to be a mental case of the yips. But after hitting thousands of balls and seeing sprees in which Barkley hits some of the best shots one could ever dream to see, when the hitch appears out of nowhere, you have to wonder.

Should Barkley begin to question if this hitch is trying to tell him something about himself? Should he just give up golf and find another outlet? Or should he face down his demons and get his house in order, golf and otherwise? I don't know, but having watched this televison show on the Golf Channel religiously so far, I know this to be true. I have never seen a more likeable and humorous guy.

Literally, if I could have dinner with any living person that I have never had dinner with before, I think I would pick him. He is hilarious, does not take him self too seriously and is always in good spirits even when he has bad days. You will join me, if you watch The Haney Project, in rooting Charles Barkley on and hoping that Hank Haney can fix his swing! I hope to see Charles in a celebrity tournament soon, swinging smooth and scoring low.

Good luck Charles!