Charles Barkley Beans Spectator With Errant Tee Shot

Posted May 16, 2009 9:10AM By Ryan Wilson (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Golf

So, yeah, Hank Haney's had a tough 2009. Tiger's struggling (not really, but that's the perception, which is sometimes worse), and Haney's other high-profile student, Charles Barkley, has made little progress in conquering the demons that possess his golf swing. And that was after more than nine months of work.

On Thursday, the Birmingham News Jon Solomon saw Barkley's "new" swing in action at the Regions Charity Classic and it looked a lot like the "old" swing that landed Chuck his own reality show. On the No. 6 tee, Barkley, presumably aiming for the fairway, missed. That may be understating it a tad. On the upside, spectator Tommy Parrish, standing obscenely close to the tee box ("a couple of hundred of feet away"), now has a story for the Kiwanis Club meetings. (Moving pictures after the jump.)

Reverting to his infamous golf hitch seen on a Golf Channel television show, Barkley lined the shot directly toward Parrish. Ducking his head helped Parrish, a Jasper resident nervously keeping an eye on his young grandson. But only so much.

Whack! The ball struck the back of Parrish's neck.

Don't worry, it was just a flesh wound. Barkley even autographed the golf ball that almost killed Parrish, so there's that.

Parrish later told Solomon that "I've been watching his show and thought his golf game had improved a little bit ... But it hasn't." And that's the thing: after nearly a year of work, thousands of swings, and countless hours with Haney, Barkley hasn't improved. It's mystifying, really.

But as Chuck pointed out Monday's show, "If I wasn't so rich and handsome, I'd kill myself. But I have too much to live for." There's something to be said for not taking yourself too seriously. Being rich doesn't hurt, either.

via barenucks.com

Did You See That?

John Daly of USA looks happy with his putt during the final round of the BMW Italian Open at Royal Park I Roveri on May 10, 2009 near Turin, Italy.

Stuart Franklin, Getty Images

Porto's coach Jesualdo Ferreira celebrates winning the Portuguese Premier League title after beating Nacional in their soccer match at Dragon stadium in Porto May 10, 2009.

Fernando Veludo, Reuters

Troy Corser of Australia and BMW Motorrad Motorsport and Tommy Hill of Great Britain and Honda Althea Racing crash into each other in the first corner of race 1 of the World Superbike Championship in the Monza Circuit on May 10, 2009 in Monza, Italy.

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Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (bottom) collides with Washington Capitals' Sergei Fedorov during second period in Game 4 of their NHL Eastern Conference semi-final hockey series in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May 8, 2009.

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Michael Waltrip (55) catches fire as his engine blows in turn three during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., Saturday, May 9, 2009.

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Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis, center, is congratulated by teammate Bill Walker, right, as J.R. Giddens celebrates after Davis made a game-winning shot with time running out during the second half of a second-round NBA playoff basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, May 10, 2009. The Celtics won 95-94.

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San Diego Padres shortstop Chris Burke makes a diving attempt on a ground ball hit up the middle by Houston Astros' Miguel Tejada in the fourth inning during a baseball game in Houston on Sunday, May 10, 2009.

Bob Levey, AP

Aaron Ward #44 of the Boston Bruins gets punched by Scott Walker #24 of the Carolina Hurricanes during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinal round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the TD Banknorth Garden on May 10, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Brian Babineau, NHLI / Getty Images

Chad Dawson, right, punches Antonio Tarver during the sixth round of their IBF light heavyweight championship boxing match at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Saturday, May 9, 2009 in Las Vegas. Dawson won by unanimous decision.

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Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, right, celebrates with guard J.R. Smith after Anthony hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the second half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinals, Saturday, May 9, 2009, in Dallas. Denver won 106-105.

Matt Slocum, AP

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-16-2009 @ 9:56AM

streetready said...

Let's see, I'll stand in front of a guy (non pro)hitting a golf ball instead of behind him. No brainer. He deserved to get pummeled.

5-16-2009 @ 10:19AM

obamaizadope said...

The dope he hit has to be an Obama supporter. Anyone with a brain wants to be in a different County from where this idiot is playing golf..

5-16-2009 @ 12:37PM

jayfarmer said...

Excellent assumption, since the majority of the country does support our fairly elected president. I'm sure if he was a dittohead he'd have been home blogging about his sorry situation instead of having a day out with family...

5-16-2009 @ 10:47AM

Steve said...

To this day I cannot understand why Barkley is even a news item. Not only is he a moron who can't speak English correctly; but he has no entertainment value and weak sports analysis.

5-16-2009 @ 11:28AM

BUMintheSUN421 said...

WHAAA HAAA HAAA...!! HAAA HAAA..!! WHAAA HAAA HAAA HAAA HAAA..!! AHA..!! AHA.!! WHAAA HAAA HAAA..!! HAA HAAA AHA HAA HAAA WHAA HAAA..!!

5-16-2009 @ 12:04PM

John said...

Was Barkley Drunk????

5-16-2009 @ 12:05PM

hobbsoldbg65 said...

That moron will never learn to play golf. He is too stupid. What a collosal waste of Haneys time.

5-16-2009 @ 12:34PM

Mouse said...

Again, AOL editors suck a lot. It's BEAMS, not BEANS. Idiots. They must take after Barley's golf skills.

5-16-2009 @ 1:10PM

douglof25 said...

um no your the moron. It is bean as in BeanBall or twords your BEAN which is also known as your head - maybe you were dropped on your bean as a child and no one told you

5-16-2009 @ 1:25PM

I think it can be used either way, then. And I fell on my head lots of times. Doesn't mean my IQ isn't as low as your self-esteem.

5-16-2009 @ 1:05PM

care4rfallen34 said...

What the F*&^ is up with Jon Daly???? Why is he wearing the piece of monkey S*&^ outfit????? That is the ugliest s*&^ I have ever seen. lol!

5-16-2009 @ 1:06PM

I'll pay Jon to never ever wear that S*&^ again in this lifetime. lol!

5-16-2009 @ 1:37PM

InsideSports said...

I love Charles Barkley! I had the privilege of watching him play all through his career here in Phiadelphia, in Phoenix and Houston. He was the best! During the 8 years with 76ers they never put a real team to surround him. He had "bargain basement" players around him, and a couple slightly better than that.

Now that he has retired, I can see why he loves the game of golf, as he has a great personality, loves to socialize, and golf would provide a wonderful way for him to keep sports in his life, but the "hitch" he has I believe is from his skeletal-muscular makeup, as Charles always had a slight limp when he walked. You could barely notice it, but it was there.

If Charles didn't have that hitch to his swing, he would be very happy. I understand that. Being such a fierce, great athelete at basketball, I can only guess the hitch in his golf swing is not in his "head", as Haney says, but in the muscular-skeletal somewhere.

I wish him all the best in figuring a way around the hitch in his swing. I just want him to be able to enjoy the golf game.

5-16-2009 @ 1:39PM

hilryshaves said...

obamaizadope: well said, I was hoping he'd actually hit the teleprompter of the united states so that we might be rescued from the tax, and inflation freight train barreling down the track at us..

5-16-2009 @ 3:06PM

Lorraine said...

see the problem here is nobody hollered 444444444 when charles approached the ball!! rofl..

5-16-2009 @ 6:49PM

justhear36 said...

Jesus Christ, Mouse, you are one incredible idiot. To post that sh*t and be dead wrong. It's "bean" moron, not beam. Unbelievable how stup people are unleashed on the rest of us just because they have a computer. And, um, Doug, it's "you're" not "your". Doesn't seem like "your" too far behind Mouse.

5-16-2009 @ 8:11PM

Justhear 36 You used your wrong. you're meaning you are, your meaning belonging to.It should have been "doesn't seem like you're too far behind mouse." I love it when people out their own ignorance while trying to correct someone else's.

5-16-2009 @ 8:25PM

tfarnon said...

Barkley made the news here a few years back at some celebrity golf tournament up at Tahoe. He wasn't the guy to watch if you wanted to watch *golf*, but he and his partner were so terrible, and so comically terrible, that they were fun to watch. I don't remember the details, but both Barkley and his partner managed to do everything you'd expect to see in a cartoon.