Charles Barkley Beans Spectator With Errant Tee Shot

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

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