Get TMZ breaking news sent right to your browser! Charles Barkley Is Smoking It! - reader.golfdigest.com like, if you said, 'Hey, what's the weather like?' Inside Charles Barkley's quest to fix his flawed golf swing My friends call him Mr. Miyagi. The reporter has no trouble believing him after watching on social media what transpired prior to a pro-am at the PGA TOUR Champions first major of the season, the Regions Tradition, in Barkleys home state of Alabama in May. For decades, Charles Barkleys golf swing has been the butt of jokes. How Charles Barkley rebuilt his golf swing, according to the instructor who led the charge By: Josh Sens Mickelson called Barkley two days before the Match the day before Thanksgiving.. He goes, Wheres Petro? He kind of walked around the corner and grabbed me. He just needs to swing and let the ball get in the way.. I really enjoy golf personally, Barkley said. In his own telling, Barkleys woes began when he moved to Phoenix, and found that every functioning adult, from the barber to the banker, was either a Tour pro or a Tour pro-wannabe. Let's go back in step there. I like walking. Don't work on anything else. But he also said it hardly matters. By subscribing, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, 2023 EHM PRODUCTIONS,INC. ). I've seen Jordan swing before. It's as identifiable with Barkley as is his Hall of Fame basketball career, his unfiltered opinions and his robust shape. Are they right? No, man, I just want the damn weather. That verdict wont be final until the lights go on. For more than 20 years, Barkley hit almost every full shot with the golf equivalent of a stutter step. I dribbled it like 75 yards and it jumped over the bunker. He's loaded up that right arm and right shoulder in the backswing by pushing the arms across his chest and now they feel stretched and loaded because they are so he wants to use them. Better, I shouldn't say well, better the last couple of years. In the months since Tucson, Utley said that he and Barkley havent seen much of each other. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. You must love something dearly to make it your wedding theme; thats exactly what one couple did in honor of the Masters. Learn the perfect golf backswing in 3 simple steps! Learn how to master the golf takeaway with a simple 2" movement. Owned and broadcast by NBC Sports, this will be the 32nd year of the made-for-TV event which has a purse of $600,000 but also raises funds for local and national charities. At 63, the former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Roy Green has been around a while and seen lot of things, but if he looks back long and hard, through the misty rings of time, he can still make out a picture most people cant imagine. It was pretty cool. Online golf instruction videos to learn a proper and sound golf swing fast. That helped unload the up and down lever and let the club get back to full length. Among swing gurus and armchair shrinks alike, the yips have been compared to post-traumatic stress disorder. (Mickelson hitting from where Barkley's tee shot went and . Like most any first-timer, he stunk. Forced to play Mickelson's ball, Barkley shows nice touch to knock it to kick-in range for a par to tie the hole. at the American Century Championship, an annual celebrity event in Lake Tahoe. What did you learn from playing with Phil Mickelson in the Match? In order to propel his teammate to new heights, Mickelson gifted Barkley with a . Im talking about missing the ball totally. By signing up, you agree to the I followed John for 18 holes in Birmingham and he hit only one bad shot the whole damn day. Barkley didn't take up golf until the relatively old age of 26. A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLFs platforms. Charles Barkley: Talking golf, Tahoe celebrity event, NBA - Golfweek Ill tell you one thing, Green says. Where the golf ball should be positioned at setup. Charles Barkley: 'Golf is fun until you hit somebody in the head' When you ask him a question, instead of answering your question. The only thing I really asked him was, When youre playing with your buddies, Are you winning any money? Utley said. When you get old and fat there's only a couple of things you can do: golf and fish. Id never met him before, said Petrovic, whose lone win on the PGA TOUR came at the 2005 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. It is almost unrecognizable, as he showed it off at a PGA Tour Champions pro-am day with some fellow Auburn legends, causing Bo Jackson to be in such disbelief he had to run up and hug Chuck after the swing. On Friday, when Barkley takes the tee alongside Phil Mickelson, Steph Curry and Peyton Manning in the latest edition of Capital Ones The Match, a televised charitable event at Stone Canyon Golf Club, in Oro Valley, Ariz., he will do so as the worlds most famously bad golfer, notorious for the hitch make that, hitches in his swing. The week before last, Jim Murphy played a practice round with Barkley at Stone Canyon and says that Sir Charles was back or at least closer to his early 1990s self, splitting the fairway with his opening drive and recording a routine par en route to a solid round. In Greens recollection, a dark turn in the plot came about two decades ago, when he and Barkley visited San Diego for a Nike-sponsored event, one of those corporate shindigs built on fancy late-night dinners and long days on the links. What happened in Charles Barkley/Phil Mickelson vs. Stephen Curry This time it features 4 NFL stars, Manningcast may be coming to golf. Well start at the top of the backswing, where you can see that Chucks head moves a touch back, but not nearly as dramatically as he used to. In advance of the event, Barkley talks about his game, his new swing coach, Phil Mickelson and the NBA playoffs. He would hit it 300 down the middle and knock it to four feet for birdie on the 1st hole, and on the next tee hed be asking what he should change next.. I was appreciative that he admired my swing. Just how crazy has DeChambeau been off the tee? Formal instruction, though, was only one of Barkleys problems. What there is instead is constant chatter, much of it echoing in Barkleys head. This makes it virtually impossible to use your core to initiate the down swing like every good ball striker does. From that day on it became a lifelong passion. I feel really good, really good about where I am. After years of struggles, Charles Barkley's golf game is back. But Chucks so hardheaded. At that time I had made my second NBA All-Star team. How can I not hit something thats standing still. Utley said thats a misperception. I've known him a long time, him and Amy. Players field: 43 of top 50 in OWGR, no Tiger, Rahm falters with 76 in wind: 'It's f**king hard', Saudi law complicates Tour's counter against LIV, AFC beats NFC in Pro Bowl's long-drive contest, Deadly snake in cup surprises Aussie golfers. If you haven't watched my push versus pull video, that will enlighten you to understand why you're struggling with your golf swing. His shoulder's back here at the top of his back swing and notice how much it lunges forward and all this is doing is showing that he's being very right side dominate. Charles Barkley plays a shot during Capital One's The Match: Champions For Change at Stone Canyon Golf Club on November 27, 2020 in Oro Valley, Arizona. I love watching it. However, relative to his peers, Woods' peak driving distance season (2005) was slightly better when comparing distances to the PGA Tour average. and What advice do you have for golfers who have been struggling for years? "This the ugliest ball in the world right here.". I root against all super teams. The root of his problems werent mental at all.. Paige Spiranac calls Charles Barkley's new golf swing 'most surprising Heres who could be on it. If you taught Charles Barkley to use his core to bring the club down instead of trying to use his right arm and right shoulder like everybody wants to do, he wouldn't struggle with this anymore. This pro got Chuck to make a slight pause at the top, Green says. Top 100 Courses in the U.S.: GOLFs all-new 2022-23 ranking is here! Find more exclusive sports coverage: http://bleacherreport.com/Subscribe: https://www.youtube.co. A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLFs platforms. Heres who could be on it. Bubba Watson. ', Tour Confidential: Ryder Cup concerns, Brooke Henderson, LIV broadcasts, Charles Barkley opens up on potential LIV offer, says 'we all have sportswashed', TomBrady& Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes & Josh Allen: How to watch Wednesday's Las Vegas match, The Match's producer dishes on star QBs, PGA Tour rights fees and Phil Mickelson, The Match is back! The Haney Project | Instruction | Golf Digest And to see him and every year his teenage girls, and they're beautiful, and it's probably about 10 to 15 people who I see every year I come to Lake Tahoe. Barkley did just shank one though so ya gotta think Shaq's still got a good chance at getting the last laugh. Charles Barkley, former NBA star now PGA TOUR Champions fan So, even though as great a guy he is when you ask him a question, it's like, yo, what do you think of this putt? The real issue was never in Barkleys head. My arms are up here a little bit higher than where Mr. Barkley's are so my right shoulder's covered up but you get the idea. The massive distance has left DeChambeau just 149.2 yards to the hole on average for his approach shots this season. He remembers when Charles Barkley had a buttery swing. Barkleys problem, Utley says, boiled down to a misunderstanding of lag, a lost-in-translation lesson that led to Barkley loading the club and then never unloading it, which in turn forced him to dip in order to reach the ball. Beginning Golfers Learn the fundamentals of the swing, grip and setup, Golf Hints to Fix Your Takeaway and Backswing, Golf Instruction Tips and Tricks For Longer, Straighter Drives, How to Achieve a Tour Pro Golf Impact Position, How to Have a Perfect Golf Swing Plane w/ ONE Feeling, How to Prevent and Fix the Most Common Golf Injuries, How to Quickly Develop Insane Lag In the Golf Swing. It was all downhill from there, Green says. Yet he still was mesmerized by the game. Now, as he starts down, I want you to notice a couple things here. The sweat pours off Charles Barkley's bald head in rivulets as he hits his 604th ball of the day into a thick green tarp at an indoor range in suburban Dallas. The Hall of Famer had a disastrous hitch in his swing that made it look like he was trying to pump fake mid-downswing and led to him being abjectly awful at the game he loves so much. And hes working hard to get better. Learn how to hit the driver straight and get rid of your slice! We tried to warn him. Barkley had some extra motivation to hit the ball far. The NBA legend was in the middle of taking questions from a handful of local media outlets at a news conference just behind the range when he halted things. It has never looked like Adam Scott or Rory McIlroy but it seems like he's getting looser with age. Watch my belt buckle rotate. Learn how to master the golf takeaway with a simple 2 movement! I used to be a good player and then I started taking lessons from every person in the world. A long-drive contest was held at Bear's Best Golf Course in Las Vegas, with the AFC clipping the NFC on the final drive. So says the man himself, anyway, and evidence suggests that he might be right. The only question is if he can back it up. Sir Charles says he's down to a single-digit handicap after working with coach @stanutley. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks. The difference between op, got the wrong tool there between my swing and Charles' swing is this. Stars from different sports with a shared interest in golf, Barkley and Green became close friends and frequent playing partners. 20K 4.1M views 1 year ago NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley showed off a new and improved swing at the 2021 Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Alabama. Notice how his hips open without getting his back hip outside his back foot. I meet a bunch of same friends. Though the kid wasnt seriously injured, the incident reportedly rattled Barkley, whose troubles pulling the trigger only worsened. If I had went with my right shoulder and right arm from the top, I would be in the exact same position that Charles' is in, that the shaft gets steep, that my arms get buried and all of a sudden I'm hunched into the ball where if I swung down, I would stick the ball in the dirt and that's why Charles has this hitch in his swing. I dont really know, and I dont really care, Utley said. I'm going to talk about, of all things, Charles Barkley's golf swing. At Fridays micd-up Match, Barkley will have a chance to talk and talk. (Ed. You can see that as he starts down, his head drops a mile and that's because he's lunging at the ball with the right side of his body. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Golf is basically the only thing you can do when youre famous and there aint people always walking up to you wanting autographs and taking pictures. And in fairness I probably had, I've had 10 teachers, I had 10 different people talking to me at the same time. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Download the TMZ App on the Apple App Store, Download the TMZ App on the Google Play Store. First, let's talk about Charles' normal move. He does get his weight back off his heel here but his upper body has moved this entire amount. I only play in Lake Tahoe because I love coming there. WATCH: Michael Jordan's golf swing is nearly as bizarre as Charles He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook. That's how crazy he is. Philadelphia 76ers teammate Andrew Toney was going to play 18 on a day off, and Barkley, who had never picked up a club, asked if he could tag along. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. That is nearly the same number of drives of at least 350 yards as he had all of last season (30). Barkley stated that his work with Stan Utley, who is noted for his short-game specialty, has transformed his game. Barkley, Murphy says, was a solid all-around player, with sound tempo, soft hands and a sharp tongue. Golf Channel, All Rights Reserved. I would only play in Tahoe and with friends because it wasnt fun to play anymore. Szokol opens with 64, up 3 shots in Singapore, More PGA Tour changes: No cuts, smaller fields, Rahm sought Tiger's advice on staying No. Top 100 Courses in the U.S.: GOLFs all-new 2022-23 ranking is here! In 2003, the tournament switched to a modified Stableford system, a mercy rule, of sorts, implemented largely for Barkleys sake. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook. The Hall of Famer had a disastrous hitch in his swing that made it look like he was trying to pump fake mid . How to Swing a Golf Club Like a Pro FAST! Barkley didn't take up golf until the relatively old age of 26. For now, the more interesting question is how he got from there to here. I started taking lessons from every Tom, Dick and Harry, Barkley told the Subpar hosts. To break the habit, Utley says he told Barkley to feel like his wrists were throwing the club head backward to start the downswing. He is on pace to be the first player since 2005 to increase his driving distance by 20 yards over one season. Hes swinging free and easy, Utley said. Tiger snakes in bunkers, massive pythons eating wallabies in the fairway, and now, a lethal red-bellied beast lurking in the cup. GOLF.com and GOLF Magazine are published by EB GOLF MEDIA LLC, a division of 8AM GOLF, It wasnt for lack of trying: An unauthorized history of Charles Barkleys tortured golf swing, What is Jim Nantzs career lowlight? Let him tell you about adult film, Its f hard: Jon Rahm comes back to Earth at brutal Bay Hill. His reverence for the game and his celebrity status make Barkley great for PGA TOUR Champions. 'Something crazy. Nobody wants to suck. * DeChambeau currently at 149.2 this season. You think about it though. This is the exact moment where the hitch used to happen, but now hes just got great, stable movement through the golf ball. I'm not going to tell you that lie. May 5, 2021. Its crazy how hard golf is. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for The Match. He's averaging 323 yards per drive this season, up over 20 yards (+20.5) from 302.5. That is on pace to pass Bubba Watson (149.8 in 2014-15 season) for the shortest distance in a single season since 2005. And then the next day he said, 'Let's think about another thing today.' GOLF personality Paige Spiranac has hailed former NBA star Charles Barkley's improved swing as one of the 'most surprising turns' of 2020. Charles Barkley's tortured golf swing: Where and why it all went wrong Charles Barkley used golf balls with Shaq's face on them - Yahoo! I've had a lot of improvement in the last couple of years. And after about three hours of hitting balls, I hit more we were just hitting balls I was like, wow. note: The original clip we used to break down Barkleys swing has been deleted.). I'm also going to talk about one thing that he actually did that worked. No amount of statistical camouflage could hide what had become golfs greatest tragicomedy, heartbreaking but hilarious, as difficult to watch as it was to look away. That's just the way I'm old school. It wasn't like I was having fun on the golf course. (Phil! The Best Free Online Golf Lessons Over 80,000 Lessons Given! He knows that its not about changing the mechanics, Detsch says. Charles Barkley plays his shot from the first tee during Capital One's The Match: Champions For Change at Stone Canyon Golf Club on Nov. 27, 2020 in Oro Valley, Arizona. No way I cant hit a target thats not moving., I felt like just hitting it was hard. We want you to stop chasing a bunch of random things. Why? Nov. 27 at Stone Canyon Golf Club in Oro Valley, Arizona. Behold, the new and improved swing of Charles Barkley. Listen, I am excited. GOLF.com and GOLF Magazine are published by EB GOLF MEDIA LLC, a division of 8AM GOLF, How Charles Barkley rebuilt his golf swing, according to the instructor who led the charge, Its f hard: Jon Rahm comes back to Earth at brutal Bay Hill. The balance is such an incredible improvement, as he gets a really good hip turn while staying over his feet and not lurching backwards. And fortunately he has gotten back to a place where he can make a reasonably fluid swing, thanks to teaching pro Stan Utley. Golf. 6-keys: media/spln/golf/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. So it's pretty special to me in that aspect. But I want it perfectly clear, I'm rooting against those guys. I don't know him that well. Got two kids that are teenagers and he brings them out to the course. Recent word from Camp Barkley is that the big man may have finally exorcised his demons. He was flabbergasted even when recalling the meeting with the Hall of Fame forward. Over the years, Barkley has heard it all friendly heckling, hostile hazing weathering the comments with apparent good humor while redoubling his efforts to get well again. That's impressive. You go with three of your friends and you all are just having a great time. Almost yours: 2 weeks, on us 100+ live. That's Charles Barkley talking about the golf balls his partner, Phil Mickelson, gave him to use on the course Friday with Shaquille O'Neal's face plastered on them!!! Charles' setup is actually not bad at all. (Phil! They go to the back nine with a 3-up lead over Curry/Manning. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for The Match, I'm not going to lie, I had given up golf. I'm rooting against those guys. I love walking. In 2005, Tiger was 27.7 yards longer off the tee than the average player; DeChambeau is currently 27.1 yards longer than the PGA Tour average thus far this season. Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley talk on the eighth green during Capital One's The Match: Champions For Change at Stone Canyon Golf Club on November 27, 2020 in Oro Valley, Arizona. I said the other day if I would have known you guys were going to make fun of me for not winning the championship I would have joined a super team back in my day.