Out of the Rough
By Jim Brighters, Golf Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Monday night is without question my
toughest television night of the week.
Admittedly, there isn't much I watch religiously. Thursday night features two
favorites, while Sunday offers some quality DVR projects. But Mondays, boy
they are tough.
At 8:00 p.m. (et), there's "The Big Bang Theory," followed by "How I Met Your
Mother." While neither show is great, that's television in 2009, so we run
with it.
One hour later, I've still been known - at the ripe age of 32 - to flip on
some WWE wrestling. However, when it comes to 9:00, my time is occupied by
"24." It is my only "can't miss" show on television right now and I even had a
friend who named his cat Jack Bauer. While a dog deserves the moniker of a
world-saver, it's still an honor for both Jack and the cat.
Also, I participate in my local watering hole's dart league, and some games
are Mondays, so those nights are basically full.
These undertakings often take precedence over an interesting live sporting
event, but The Haney Project with Charles Barkley on The Golf Channel, gives
us something else to add to the DVR.
Monday night's debut set a nice tone for what could be an enjoyable golf
reality show. (Forget anything larger than that, like national appeal. It's a
golf show, at the end of the day.)
Sir Charles is still among our most likeable current or former athletes, after
years of retirement. His work as an NBA analyst for TNT is a wonderful
combination of raw analysis mixed with biting sarcasm. Barkley is certainly
the funniest commentator on television right now.
He could also use some good fortune. Admittedly all his own doing, but Barkley
has faced some, shall we say, public relations nightmares recently.
First, his gambling tales are the stories of legend. Think of the problems
John Daly has had. Compared to Barkley, Daly looks like my 92-year-old
grandmother playing nickel slots in Atlantic City.
His recent arrest for drunk driving was bad. His reason for getting behind the
wheel was worse. Watching a humble Barkley can only help his image and this is
one of the few areas where Barkley lacks in confidence.
But remember, the name of the show bills Hank Haney - Tiger Woods' swing coach
- ahead of Barkley, and this show gives you an inside look at someone integral
to the success of Team Tiger. Haney's objective is to fix Barkley's dubious
swing.
The story of Butch Harmon's dismissal from Team Tiger supposedly had to do
with Harmon getting a little too big for the common good. Now, we get an
inside look at how Tiger's current swing coach does business. That's
compelling enough, but there's more to Haney.
Make no mistake, Haney is taking this challenge very seriously. In the first
episode, he called Barkley out and asked if he'd work as hard as Woods, his
star pupil. Obviously, Barkley doesn't need a game worthy of contending at
Augusta, but you still get to see how Haney works.
He's tough. The first session with Barkley, Haney had him hitting at least
1,000 balls, and Charles is constantly wiping sweat from his head. It's almost
comical. Haney acknowledged he worked him that hard the first time out to test
his commitment. Again, this is serious business for Haney.
Aside from being a tough teacher, Haney comes through with some personality.
He uses some profanity (all bleeped out so don't buy the "unscripted,
uncensored" tag) and at one point curses out of sheer disbelief at Barkley's
swing. Haney laughs and enjoys Barkley's company, but this is about fixing a
toxic swing.
And that swing is the real star of the show.
This doesn't work if Barkley only needed a few minor swing changes. His swing
looks like a seizure in progress. It reminds me of the episode of "Seinfeld"
in which Jerry tells George he doesn't need to see someone about his problems,
he needs a team. Barkley needs a total overhaul of his swing, and watching it
happen is entertaining.
I could definitely see this as an ongoing series for The Golf Channel. Haney
could work with different celebrities and fix what ails them. However, it
better be with bad celebrity golfers who have personality. Otherwise, you have
a guy giving pointers to fairly talented golfers. The Golf Channel has plenty
of programming for that.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- Here we go with Tiger - I thought he looked great. He held nothing back. The
fact is that Tim Clark outplayed Woods in the second round of the WGC-
Accenture Match Play Championship. Woods played a fine round. Clark played a
better one. His loss had nothing to do with bum knees or rust. Woods performed
at a level that makes me 100 percent certain he'll be ready for Augusta.
- Woods may not be the favorite at the Masters if Geoff Ogilvy keeps playing
this well. He's got two wins so far this season and he is perfect for Augusta
National. Ogilvy hits the ball so high with every club that he can get the
ball to sit on those crazy greens. And Ogilvy made almost every putt he looked
at. Awesome performance.
- I loved the Dove Mountain (Saguaro and Tortolita nines) course at the Ritz
Carlton Golf Club. It's carved out of the desert and overhead shots looked
tremendous. The greens were diabolical, bordering on goofy, but the back nine
was a great challenge.
- Everyone take heed - Rory McIlroy may be a top-10 player by the end of the
season.
- East-coasters probably didn't notice, but Lorena Ochoa came from behind and
won her first event. I've got a funny feeling she might be in the hunt for the
Grand Slam right up to the Women's British Open. Paula Creamer and Ai Miyazato
are the only ones close to her right now, and Creamer coughed up the 54-hole
lead.
- Non-golf thought - After winning all of those Oscars, I finally checked out
"Slumdog Millionaire." It's a great movie, but when I think of Best Picture
winners, it comes up a little short.
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