By Ryan

After attempting to fix Charles Barkley’s infamously awful swing in the first season of GOLF CHANNEL’s reality series The Haney Project, guru of the golf swing Hank Haney takes on a slightly better but no less entertaining pupil in actor Ray Romano. Haney will try to help Romano — a frequent player at celebrity golf tournaments — break an 18-hole score of 80 in The Haney Project: Ray Romano, premiering March 1 at 9pm ET on GOLF CHANNEL. Haney will work with Romano over the course of the seven-episode season, which visits the Ray Romano and Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic in Los Angeles, the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville, Texas, and other locations.

It won’t be tough for Romano to best Barkley in the swing department, but Romano has big shoes to fill when it comes to matching Sir Charles in the entertainment department. “It’s pressure to follow Charles,” Romano told us. “Have you seen Charles’ swing? He looks like he gets hit by lightning in the middle of his swing. And it’s so interesting to watch somebody try to fix that. For me, I’m just the average Joe Schmo golfer and [Hank’s] going to try to fix that. I’m under a bit of pressure to figure out how this was going to be entertaining.”

Here are the descriptions of the first four episodes from GOLF CHANNEL:

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Categories: Reality TV, Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Ray Romano, Reality TV, Sports, The Haney Project, TV News & Program Updates

By Ryan

So it’s been a while since we’ve seen Sir Charles swing the golf bats on The Haney Project. The last episode, “Lights, Camera … Hesitation?” aired nearly a month ago. So the show gives us a little recap of what we’ve seen so far, and it’s a video montage interspersed with words pulled from those motivational posters: OPTIMISM… HOPEFUL … FRUSTRATION… RECOMMITTED…

It’s been 30 weeks since Charles began working with Hank, and after the debacle that we saw in the last episode, Charles is going to go back to work and fully commit himself to fixing his game. But he’s going to play a round in Atlanta just for fun with Ahmad Rashad, Jerome Bettis and Charles’ buddy Chico Robinson, a security official at CNN’s Atlanta headquarters. Hank Haney is nowhere to be found, so Charles is on his own. “I’m going to kick [Hank's] ass when the show is over,” Dammit Charles says. “I’m so tired of getting yelled at.”

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Categories: Reality TV, Sports by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Sports, The Haney Project

By Ryan

It’s been two weeks between new episodes of The Haney Project. The previous episode, “Welcome to Arizona,” was filmed just before Christmas 2008. This episode, “Lights, Camera … Hesitation?” begins at the Barkley, Bean, Bryant & Friends Celebrity Skins Game at the YMCA Par 3 in Lakeland, Fla., which was held Feb. 6, 2009. So what happened in that monthlong span between episodes? Well, Barkley had his infamous DUI in the early morning hours of Dec. 31, and he was put on leave by TNT. He was still on leave from TNT at the time this episode was filmed. I guess I’m a little surprised there wasn’t even a mention of the incident anywhere in the episode — did he use any of the time on leave and disappearing from the public eye to work on his golf game?

Charles spends the first part of the episode schmoozing with people and kissing babies at the charity event. I’d say it was some kind of PR ploy, but he’s done this tournament for the past three years, and it’s good of him not to bail on it. Charles tees off, and there’s no hesitation on the first hole. He’s not hitching, but he’s not hitting good shots, either. The ugly hitch shows up again on hole 3, and again on hole 4. Charles is cursing on the tee box at a junior golf charity tournament. Classy. Charles is struggling, so Champions Tour player Andy Bean decides he’s going to raise the stakes: If Charles shoots par on the ninth hole, Bean will donate $5,000 to First Tee. Charles bogeys the hole, and the children weep.

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Categories: Reality TV, Sports by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Recap, Ryan, Sports, The Haney Project

By Ryan

The Haney Project gives us our first glimpse of Charles Barkley’s house in Scottsdale, AZ. He’s got little dogs running around everywhere — Charles has no idea what breed they are or anything. It’s like The Osbournes in there. We also get a look at Charles’ home course, Gainey Ranch Golf Club, which is what I imagine Golf Heaven looks like.

Haney learned a lot while they were on the course in Atlanta (in last week’s episode). When Charles starts getting bad, he keeps getting worse. Charles has been keeping his head steady on the practice tee, but when he gets on the course, the head starts dropping. Haney says he’ll hold his head still on every shot if he has to — he’s a brave man.

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Categories: Reality TV, Sports by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Recap, Sports, The Haney Project

By Ryan

Charles calls into Howard Eskin’s Philadelphia radio show to talk smack. Howard, like most people, is suffering in this bad economy. Howard was in the ass-kicking business, and business is bad since Charles left. Eskin doesn’t think Haney has a snowball’s chance in fixing Barkley. “I’ll run around in my underwear on the golf course if this thing works,” he says. Charles should hold him to that.

We get a little run-down of Charles’ hit list, people he has to beat at golf someday because they’ve talked so much trash about his golf game. Here’s the list as we know it:

1. Michael Jordan
2. Tiger Woods
3. Dave the Bartender (CHOPS Restaurant & Bar in Philadelphia)
4. Howard Eskin (sports radio personality for WIP-AM in Philadelphia)
5. Roy Green (former NFL wide receiver)
6. Seth Joyner (former NFL linebacker)
7. Jim Murphy (director of golf at Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.)
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?
11. Colt Knost (PGA Tour golfer)

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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Recap, Ryan, Sports, The Haney Project

By Ryan

Charles has been hard at work, practicing his game, losing weight and improving his flexibility. Charles says he’s practiced on his own 10 or 15 times since he’s last seen Haney. Haney might have been skeptical before, but he sees great progress. “You’re so much better, it’s ridiculous,” Haney says.

Today, Charles is going on his first golf course adventure with his new swing. A few minor celebrities show up at the tee box: former NHL star Brett Hull and golfer Tommy Armour III. Charles starts out well, but by the time Hull and Armour show up, he’s slipped a little. “We’ve had a serious regression here since we’ve gotten here,” Haney says. Hull thinks Charles is beyond help. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” he says. But a few tips and adjustments from Haney, and Hull and Armour are suddenly impressed with Haney’s work. Comedian George Lopez and CBS golf analyst David Feherty show up, and now there’s a crowd of minor celebs watching Charles. “Haney’s a genius,” Feherty says. “I’m lost for words, and that seldom happens.” “I thought we’d have a black president before Charles fixed his swing,” Lopez says.

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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Recap, Sports, The Haney Project, Tiger Woods

By Ryan

Sir Charles is late. It’s 9am, and he’s already behind on his “Tiger Day” of practice. Haney says he’s “wounded,” but Charles says he’s stuck in bad traffic — he had to pick up the wine coolers and bearclaws for Urkel, I guess.

But Haney won’t knock Charles’ work ethic. “As far as amateur golfers, I’ve never had a student who’s worked as hard as Charles,” he says.

Charles is a little discouraged, though. “I’m not getting better at golf, I’m getting better at the drills.”

Tiger Woods must’ve been really bored during his rehab, because he was calling Haney every night wondering how Charles is doing.

After hitting more balls with Charles working on flattening out the swing and stopping his hesitation, Haney seems really impressed, calling their work that morning “a breakthrough.”

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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Recap, Sports, The Haney Project

By Ryan

Charles Barkley is heading off to have breakfast with his new golf coach (and possible savior) Hank Haney. We learn from friends that Barkley was a pretty good golfer years ago, but his game has since deteriorated into a punchline. Barkley seems sincere in his love of golf and his desire to fix his problems, and he’s saddened and humbled by what’s happened to his game.

We learn from a cognitive therapist that Barkley’s swing problems are mostly mental. Being a celebrity and feeling like he’s in a fishbowl has put pressure on him, and being watched and scrutinized — not to mention laughed at — during celebrity golf events may have messed with his head.

A side-by-side comparison of Barkley’s golf swing shows us the way it was in 1994 and what it looks like now. Wow. The difference is amazing. Not to mention the difference in Barkley’s girth.

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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Recap, Sports, The Haney Project

By Ryan

Former NBA star Charles Barkley once famously said, “I am not a role model.” We didn’t know it back then, but he was talking about his golf swing.

Maybe you’ve seen any number of videos on the Internet featuring Barkley awkwardly hacking away on the tee box at a celebrity golf tournament. (Google “Charles Barkley Golf Swing” and see for yourself. We’ll wait.)

Dreadful, isn’t it? It’s the golf equivalent of Elaine dancing on Seinfeld. Sweet fancy Moses.

Shortly after Barkley’s swing caught on like wildfire on the web, GOLF CHANNEL announced that it would undertake a daunting endeavor: The network would put Barkley under the tutelage of world-renowned golf instructor Hank Haney, who trained some golfer named Tiger Woods, and film Barkley’s progress for a TV series. The end result is The Haney Project: Charles Barkley, a seven-episode reality series premiering March 2 at 9pm ET on GOLF CHANNEL (HD).

When we talked with Barkley in the middle of shooting the series in December, he was aware that his golf swing was bad. He just wasn’t aware that it was entertainingly bad.

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Categories: Reality TV, Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Charles Barkley, Golf, GOLF Channel, Hank Haney, Sports, The Haney Project

Posted by Ryan

GOLF CHANNEL’s latest reality series takes an inside look at life at the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head, S.C., as the students at the world’s top junior golf school prepare themselves athletically and academically for a shot at a college golf scholarship. In School of Golf: Hilton Head Island, airing Tuesdays at 11pm ET, we get meet renowned instructor Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ swing coach, and the young golfers he’ll try to mold into pro-tour hopefuls during the 2007-08 school year.

These kids aren’t beginners when they step into Haney’s school. They’re already in an elite class of junior golfers (and likely come from an elite social class, too). The first episode introduces a handful of the students the series will follow.

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Categories: Reality TV, Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Amy Wang, Hank Haney, Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy, School of Golf: Hilton Head Island, Whitney Johnson