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Haney didn’t take his job lightly, nor did Barkley. Their monthly sessions lasted two days at a time, each one stretching on for 10-12 hours as Barkley hit 1,000 balls and Haney watched every swing. Barkley got pretty good on the driving range and can play several holes at a time without hesitation. But then his signature non-move comes back. It’s not as dramatic as it used to be, but it’s still there.
Barkley said working with Haney gave him a new appreciation for how hard such elite golfers as Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson work at their games.
“People have no idea how hard hitting 1,000 golf balls a day is. It was physically demanding, but it was mentally demanding. Hank was talking to me the entire time,” he said. “I hit over 1,000 balls for a couple days. Tiger and Vijay Singh do that every single day? If you do that every day, that’s really impressive.”
He also appreciates the hours one of the world’s greatest golf instructors put in helping him.
“A regular person like me is never going to get that kind of hands-on instruction,” Barkley said. “I don’t think a regular person is going to get a great instructor to spend 12 hours a day with them working on their swing and talking about golf. For Hank to do that was really cool for me.”
Haney said he just wants to see Barkley to have fun. “My expectation was to get Charles to play and enjoy the game. Charles loves the game and golf loves him,” Haney said. “We’ve had four million people go on YouTube and look at his golf swing.”
The public interest, Barkley said, it really cool. When he was pursuing his Hall of Fame NBA career, he would go into hostile arenas filled with 20,000 people who wanted him to fail. Now, everywhere he goes, people want him to succeed.
“I’ve been really shocked traveling around the country and people really want to see me do better,” Barkley said. “People were surprised that someone at my level of success put himself in that situation where you could be humiliated on a weekly basis. People were really wishing me well.”
And they all know how to cure his swing. “I get more golf tips than any person in the world,” Barkley said. “When I got to the dry cleaners, when I’m walking through the supermarket — everybody wants me to try something. Little old ladies walking in the street are giving me golf advice. I laugh. It’s hilarious.”
So — at times now — is his golf swing. Last year, it was so bad, Harrah’s made him a 500-1 shot to win the Tahoe tournament. This year, in recognition of the improvements he’s made with Haney, Harrah’s has shortened those odds.
He’s now 499-1.
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