For decades, Charles Barkley’s golf swing has been the butt of jokes. 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.
Barkley has been trying to fix his swing for years, working with various coaches and trying to get through the mental block that caused the hitch and it appears he has finally unlocked whatever he needed to swing a club normally. Behold, the new and improved swing of Charles Barkley.
https://twitter.com/LaurenSisler/status/1389960143274659842
The new swing of Charles Barkley ⬇️pic.twitter.com/Ubn4gpKoSB
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 5, 2021
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. According to Chuck, the credit belongs to his new coach Stan Utley, who has him down to a single-digit handicap which is a wild improvement from the 20+ number he was at previously.
Sir Charles says he's down to a single-digit handicap after working with coach @stanutley. That drive was a missile right down the middle.
— Drew Carter (@Drewdle25) May 5, 2021
We’re gonna break out the Konica Minolta BizHub Swing Vision Camera to take a closer look at what Chuck has changed and how well he’s hitting it now. (Ed. note: The original clip we used to break down Barkley’s swing has been deleted.)
We’ll start at the top of the backswing, where you can see that Chuck’s head moves a touch back, but not nearly as dramatically as he used to. The balance is such an incredible improvement, as he gets a really good hip turn while staying over his feet and not lurching backwards.
Notice how his hips open without getting his back hip outside his back foot. Chuck’s never had a big full turn, but his hand placement is good and high and he’s getting some lower body action going which is important. Now, where the swing really changes is in the downswing.
This is the exact moment where the hitch used to happen, but now he’s just got great, stable movement through the golf ball. Look at the way his right knee is driving down and to the golf ball, as his hips rotate through. His head has gotten almost back to square with the golf ball and the stability on his lead leg is incredible, as he’s driving that weight through but keeping that leg stable rather than waving through the ball.
Now we get to right after impact, which is just about picture perfect. He’s keeping his head down and behind the ball. His hips are still firing all the way through, with his body turning and thrusting upwards while his left foot and leg remain strong and locked down. His arms are at full extension, driving through the ball rather than trying to scoop and lift it.
And then the follow through, where that left leg is still locked down, perfectly vertical, his back leg has turned through, the hips have fired all the way around and his belt buckle is facing the target. He’s in great balance, hands finish nice and high and his head has barely moved at all.
It is truly an incredible swing transformation and it should provide some hope to everyone out there that if Charles Barkley can fix his golf swing, you too can can put the work in to fix something in your life.
