Hienullo.com

Farmhouse of the tech.

Charles Barkley’s disastrous swing failure and a surefire cure

Millions of golfers, of all interest levels and all skill levels, watched Golf Channel’s “Project Barkley” with lead instructor Hank Haney, who is also a Tiger Woods pro. It was easy for Haney to quickly see Sir Charles’s problem and it was just as easy for most viewers to spot his flaw because it was so obvious.

You could say that Charles has many flaws, but the one disastrous flaw that causes all the others is simply that Barkley doesn’t maintain his spine angle. Maintaining the angle of the spine is an irrefutable aspect of any good golf swing. The angle of the spine is the angle between the back and the hips and legs. The back should be flat and the arms should hang comfortably while holding the stick. That angle must be maintained for a golfer to have a consistent swing.

Yes, Barkley’s head drops a foot or more as he sways; its tempo is non-existent; his balance is terrible; it is fortunate that he hits the ball. But if you maintained the angle of your spine throughout the swing, you would not drop or move your head and you would keep your balance. Look at any image of your swing and from any angle and you will see that the angle of the spine created in the direction changes throughout your swing. Watch the swing of any professional or good golfer and observe the angle of his spine.

Haney tries to teach Charles when he tells Charles to turn, turn, turn … turn his head but don’t drop it. You’re telling Charles to roll your shoulders, torso, and hips, but keep the angle of your spine. In several episodes, the viewer also hears Haney say (in a somewhat raised voice) “keep your head up … keep your head up.” Several times we see Haney extending his left arm, with an open hand and holding Barkley’s head firmly or at least trying to keep Barkley’s head from falling off.

This teaching technique is the same as that used by Jack Grout with Jack Nicklaus, when Jack was 10 years old. Grout became frustrated with young Jack Nicklaus with what Grout called “pitching,” an early failure in Nicklaus’ swing. During a practice session, Grout and his assistant held Nicklaus’s head for two hours, while Jack continued to hit balls. The purpose of this long and painful practice session (it is written that young Jack was crying) was to help Nicklaus develop the sensation, the muscle memory to keep his head steady.

Charles does more than “shake” his head. Drops it 12 to 18 inches. Quickly and totally destroy the angle of your spine. To help Charles develop new feelings and muscle memory, Haney lined up dozens of balls on the field for Charles to hit. The purpose of this exercise was to get Charles to balance quickly and try to develop some muscle memory to keep his head up and the angle of his spine. But without any tactile feedback, that feeling and that memory are difficult to achieve. And so it was for Charles. If Haney had been able to hold Barkley’s head again, as Grout did, for two hours or so, and if Barkley had hit balls, Charles might be on his way to developing new muscle memory to maintain spinal angle and maintain firm head.

Now here is the cure. Charles needs to practice with a mechanical “Jack Grout (or mechanical Hank Haney if you prefer), a training aid that helps him maintain the angle of his spine, prevent his head from dropping, and perform his normal, full blows with real golf balls. “

There is at least one such device available called the PRO-HEAD Trainer. The PRO-HEAD trainer uses a golf cap that acts as the Grout’s hand and provides the tactile response necessary for muscle memory. With some time spent using this aid, Charles will soon have the feeling of maintaining the angle of his spine, eliminating head sway. Sir Charles will get rid of his disastrous foul and will soon get a steady swing

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *