Barkley is game for Haney’s monumental task

Professional athletes – especially the best ones – really are amazing.

And it’s not just their talent. In fact, that’s sometimes the least impressive thing about them.

Most people – including yours truly – don’t have much of a clue what kind of dedication it takes to be the best or even one of the best at anything.

I watched the first episode of “The Haney Project: Charles Barkley” on The Golf Channel on Monday night. I watched it because I love Barkley’s personality and knew there would be some pretty high entertainment value as Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ swing coach, set off on the adventure of correcting Barkley’s wreck of a golf swing. (I won’t go into detail, but if you haven’t seen Barkley’s swing in recent years, do yourself a favor and hit YouTube on the Internet. It is quite remarkable that he hits the ball at all.)

As the first half-hour episode moved along, there was, indeed, some good entertainment. Barkley was at his usual best – funny and self-deprecating. But there was certainly a serious element to it, as well.

Twelve or so years ago, Barkley had a golf swing that looked much like many amateur golfers. But something happened along the way. Some speculate that once he started playing in charity events and hit some bad shots in front of big crowds, something clicked in his mentality. And once it did, his swing turned into a monumental mess.

But Barkley, to his credit, wants to fix it. And how badly he wants to fix it was evident in the first episode of the program.

During his initial meeting with Barkley, Haney described one of Woods’ typical days: up at 6 a.m. for an hour-and-a-half workout and practicing golf the rest of the day – in all about 12 hours of work every day.

Barkley decided that his first day with Haney would be similar. Retired basketball player, not in the greatest shape anymore, but there he was on the driving range just about all day. Haney pushed Barkley and he responded. He still has a long, long way to go to fix that swing, but he made progress.

The most impressive thing was the fact that Barkley had the mindset to go all day. Playing golf all day is fun – I’ve done that too many times to count. But practicing, repeating the same swing time after time after time, sweat pouring off your face – there’s really nothing fun about that.

But that’s why they’re professional athletes. And, of course, there is that thing called athletic ability.

Log In | Register as a new member