Charles Barkley started well with his passion for golf. But then something happened, leading to his continuous deterioration. Extra lessons, guides, and advice from different people worsened his swing. Former NBA player Austin Carr joined the UCSS crew for a conversation and was asked about Sir Chuck’s golf swing. Carr explained how Chuck wasn’t initially bad at it, but the voices and narratives in the media veteran’s head ruined his performance.

“I used to play with Charles years ago and he didn’t swing like that. Somebody got into his head with that hesitation move. And on top of that, I bet you his back kills him when he finished playing that because you can’t stop your momentum like that consistently and not hurt yourself,” Carr said.

The co-host of the show, Jay Crawford, also detailed the same. He recalled how once, he intentionally asked Barkley if he could watch his swing in one of the golf events by Michael Jordan in the Bahamas. That’s when Barkley revealed that the reason behind his awkward swing was taking too many lessons. 

“And he said what I (Barkley) did wrong was….took lessons and that, you know this in any athletic endeavor when you’re on the line when you start thinking you beat..you want it all to happen naturally and instinctively. And that was his old swing. And he said I used to have a pretty smooth swing. It’s when I got voices in my head,” Crawford recalled.

Chuck has always been open about how he struggled to improve his swing and took lessons from many golf coaches such as Hank Haney.

Who improved Charles Barkley’s odd swing?

Barkley, however, began to show improvements after meeting Stan Utley. Before that, it seemed tough for him to make a change in his awkward swing. He never gave up and continued to participate in all golf events, but pro golfers, such as Tiger Woods, sometimes, imitated his bizarre swing to tease him. Even his former best friend Michael Jordan, PGA golfer Max Homa, and others did that.

But, after a few sessions with Utley, Barkley began to see improvements in his swing. In an interview, the Phoenix Suns legend shared that he was no longer scared to swing and had become comfortable with it. Don’t believe us? Ask Stephen Curry, who, along with Peyton Manning, shockingly lost to the Philadelphia 76ers legend and Phil Mickelson in The Match: Champions for Change in 2020.

Last year when amateur golfer Curry won the American Century Championship, Barkley made his first back-to-back birdies, which was a clear indication of his improvement after a long period of deterioration.

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