WHY THE HANK HANEY PROJECT WITH CHARLES BARKLEY FAILED

2009-06-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me say I respect Hank Haney. If he's good enough to have Tiger Woods hitch up to his wagon, he must be pretty darn good. However, Tiger knew a whole lot about golf and the golf swing long before he hooked up with Hank. I'd venture to guess that being a discerning pair of eyes for Tiger Woods isn't the hardest gig in the world. If the number one ranked golfer in the world comes knocking, you answer knowing full well that you're not going to be "teaching" Tiger anything. You'll be "confirming."

That brings us to the complete opposite of the spectrum: Charles Barkley. That was definitely a "teaching" job. I cannot say with certainty how long Hank worked with Charles. The show was filmed in it's completion before it was ever aired. That makes it easy to believe that Hank worked with Charles for the few short weeks it took the Golf Channel to air all the episodes. I suspect (but don't not know) that the time spent on "The Project" was months and not weeks. In fact, I'd guess many months. So just know that what I'm about to say is based on the TV show and the episode time line. What was left on the cutting room floor is anyone's guess. So, based on just what we saw and the results, here's where I take issue with what I saw. I think there are several reasons that Charles didn't progress as much as he, or Hank hoped. I will tell you that I blame none of that on Charles.

I must say that I found it amazing that the first thing Hank did was have Charles hit hundreds and hundreds of golf balls with his current, afflicted swing. Normally, repetition is the surest way to "groove" something. If the old adage "Practice makes perfect," or the later and more correct derivation of that, "Perfect practice makes perfect," it would seem to me that the very last thing you, as a teacher would do, is have Charles "practice" that swing. There is absolutely no way I would have let Charles anywhere near a golf ball in the beginning sessions. I believe that to be a huge mistake.

Secondly and forgive me for not knowing exactly how far into the process this finally occured, but I find it astounding that the very first thing wasn't getting Charles properly fit for a set of golf clubs. Charles Barkley is 6' 6" tall and can palm a basketball with ease. That means two things: His clubs would be too short and his grips far too small. One of the things I remember Hank mentioning to Charles was that he was "re-gripping" the club at the start of his swing. Gee, I wonder why? Holy cow! Standard sized grips for Charles Barkley would be like a "normal" sized human being trying to swing a golf club with grips the diameter of a Number Two pencil! So, the first thing I would have done was get Charles a proper set of clubs that fit him correctly. Many "teachers" suggest that you learn to play first and then get fit. That makes no sense at all. That's like telling someone with a size 12 foot to learn to walk in size 5 shoes.

So, now we're having Charles do the worst possible thing he could do which is "practice" and groove his bad swing and do that with ill-fitting equipment! I suspect that this went on for months and not a few weeks as the TV show would have us believe.

The next thing I took issue with was Hank yelling at Charles to "flatten it out." I could see that Charles had no idea what Hank was telling him. I, of course, knew he meant the swing plane, but I didn't see Hank ever try to explain to Charles what he was talking about, or even what a "swing plane" is. He may as well have been speaking Chinese.

So, on to having Charles hit thousands of golf balls with no idea of how to do it. Telling someone to do something isn't nearly enough. Showing them how to do it isn't either. A student must understand and know what to do and how to do it. "Flatten it out" meant nothing to Charles. He said that he "understood" what he was supposed to do, but he wasn't given a specific way to do it. I have my doubts that he really did understand and therefore, it's not his fault he couldn't do it.

There's no shortage of things I took issue with, but rather than writing a book, I'll just move onto the third thing that really made me crazy. Hank saying (about Charles' pronounced head dip and hesitation on his downswing), "It's not in his head, it's in his swing." That was the most preposterous thing I've ever heard! Of course it was in his head! All of it was in his head. The golf swing is not an "unconscious" set of movements. Unconscious movements are things like yawning and eye blinking. Those are movements made involuntarily. The golf swing starts in your head! In fact, without forethought, you'd never swing a golf club. No one on Earth walks around unconsciously swinging a golf club. The golf swing is comprised of movements you have to think about in order to accomplish. So, the truth is, every golf swing, whether good, or bad, starts with "thought." In other words, you have to "think" you want to do it, or you won't. Therefore, every golf swing starts in your "head."

Watching Charles Barkley swing a golf club makes it easy to forget that he was a world class athlete. He was required to and did many more physically demanding things on the basketball court than what's ever required to swing a golf club effectively. So, since Charles doesn't ever walk around hesitating, frozen between steps and dipping his head down as he goes along like a chicken, it's safe to assume that those things are, in fact, in his head. To think, or say otherwise is ridiculous. Charles does what he does in his golf swing for a reason! Hank never asked Charles why he does what he does. In my opinion, the most damning thing possible. Charles knows he's doing it. What he hasn't been challenged to discover is "why" he does those things. Only when he discovers why he's doing it, will he be able to stop doing it.

I have my own theory on why the head dipping and halting on the downswing have developed. The head dips because it's the first move of the stopping of the downswing. That's how he "applies the brakes." I also believe that it's from having clubs that are too short. Just the subconscious assumption on Charles' part that his clubs are too short will consciously cause him to try to "get lower" as he approaches impact. Mostly however, I think it's a part of the "braking mechanism" for him.

Charles plays in lots of tournaments and events where spectators are present. When he first started doing that, he wasn't a bad golfer. However, like so many golfers, in trying to improve, I'm quite sure Charles started tinkering with his swing, trying to take all the "tips" he'd ever gotten and all the swing "theories" he'd ever heard and read about and tried to make them a part of his swing. That resulted in his losing his natural, athletic ability and replacing that with a myriad of "swing thoughts." That resulted in the current "paralysis" he exibits. Add to that the fact that he is keenly aware that having completely lost his way, his ability to severly injure someone with an offline golf shot is a distinct possibility. Nothing will make you "gun shy" faster than ripping a golf ball into a crowd of spectators. So, I believe that Charles' swing is "fear-based." He's deathly afraid of the golf ball because he knows he cannot currently control where it goes. So, it's a chicken and egg thing. Which came first? The fear came first and everything he now does in his swing is fearful. He knows he could potentially kill someone. You too might hesitate to pull the trigger if you felt that way. So, now Charles is afraid even when there is no one around to hurt. Frankly, in his current state, he's right to be afraid.

So, what would I have done differently than Hank? The very first thing I would have done is get Charles fit for a set of clubs before swing number one. I would not have allowed him to strike a single golf ball until I made him tell me what he thought were the reasons for him making the moves he does. Until he came up with the reason for that, he wasn't getting near the object (a golf ball) that inspires such fear in him. Then, I'd explain to Charles what exactly a swing plane is and the very simple and repeatable way to ensure each club is on plane in every swing. I say this on my website and in my teaching, but no golfer possesses a swing plane. Your golf clubs have swing planes, not you. Until you understand that physical fact, you're going to have problems. Swing planes are dictated by your golf clubs, not by you. Each club has it's own. That's not "guessing," or "theory." It's a matter of physics.

The next thing I'd do with Charles is make sure he understood that the golf swing has nothing to do with a golf ball. The golf ball is an inanimate object. By itself, it can do nothing. It's not a part of the golf swing. You can possess a perfect golf swing without ever striking a golf ball. Anything that happens to a golf ball is a result of your golf swing, not a part of it. So, it made absolutely no sense to have Charles hitting golf balls before having a firm understanding of what's required to make the ball do what you want it to. The sad thing is, Charles possesses every physical "tool" needed to have a great golf swing. He just needs to have someone give him a concrete and simple way to own one. "Flatten it out" doesn't cut it. I honestly believe that taught properly, Charles could be a great golfer in a very short time and he'd be a lot less physically exhausted at the end of it all. The truth is Hank, it's all in his head and not addressing that was a one way ticket to failure.

The Curious Case of Ernie Els

2009-02-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

One of the world's best, professional golfers reduced to wearing "training aid" devices on his arms while practicing. A two-time US Open Champion and 16 time PGA Tour winner looking like a 30 handicapper might on the range.

Widely considered to have one of the best and prettiest swings in the world, one might (and SHOULD) ask: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Some of the flocking to so-called "swing doctors" is partly the fault of one Tiger Woods. He has come along and set a very high bar for the rest of the PGA Tour's elite players. Many of them have realized that their very best, isn't as good as Tiger's "pretty good."

So, many have decided that someone else has their answer and there are all too many willing "swing gurus" lurking around like vampires waiting to catch the scent of fear and blood.

There is nothing wrong with Ernie Els' swing! Well, there WASN'T anyway. Now, he's lost. Who knew that professionals suffered from the same "disease" as so many amatuer golfers. The fear that their "swing mechanics" have failed them.

For many amatuers, that may very well be the case, but Tour pros should know better. You have to keep in mind that the same guys who are "coaching" these pros are the same guys who teach the general public.

The bad news is, amatuer golfers handicaps haven't gone down in the last 25 years! That is PITIFUL!

Is that the fault of the general golfing public, or the people entrusted to teach them? Many golfers have never taken a lesson and they might just be better off for that.

It should be clear to everyone that SOMETHING IS WRONG! Look, I'll be the first one to admit that golf is not an easy "game." Afterall, you are trying to get a little ball into 18 separate 4 inch holes in the ground located within hundreds of acres of land.

By virtue of the way golf is "scored," even if you do the very best thing you can do in golf, which is get a hole in one, it STILL counts one AGAINST you! So, it CAN drive you nuts if you let it.

However, golf becomes infinitely easier if you are certain that you know what you're doing. In other words, if you have a swing that you can count on, repeat over and over and not fret about. The truth is, if you know what you really need to know, you can be your OWN golf coach.

Back to Ernie Els. If I was approached by Ernie for "coaching," I'd be happy to do that, but I certainly wouldn't tamper with his swing. I would simply point out to him that there's more to golf than "swing mechanics," and there's nothing wrong with his!

At the very highest level (and in fact, at ALL levels) golf is far more mental than it is physical. There are only so many ways to swing a STICK!

I would simply have pointed out to Ernie that he has a lot going on in his life. An autistic son and every stressful thing that goes along with that. That's going to take a toll on anyone, in any walk of life. I mean, don't you think that something like that would affect YOUR focus at work?

I would simply say, "Ernie, your golf swing isn't your problem. You're one of the very best players in the world and you got to where you are with the swing you have. Go home. Take some time away to get yourself where you need to be in your personal life. Love your family, love your son and come back when you are certain that you can focus properly on the SECOND most important thing in your life: Golf. Oh and Ernie? There's no charge for that."

ONE THOUGHT-ONE MOVE GOLF

WHY THE HANK HANEY PROJECT WITH CHARLES BARKLEY FAILED

The Curious Case of Ernie Els