GOLF CHANNEL premieres “The Haney Project: Ray Romano” March 1

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:

Episode One: A New Challenge (March 1, 9 p.m. ET)
Hank Haney sets off on a new challenge: Ray Romano. After meeting for the first time, Haney analyzes Romano’s game to see where help is needed. The scene then shifts to Las Vegas where Haney watches Romano in action as he performs stand-up with Brad Garrett.

Episode Two: Mental Breakdown (March 8, 9 p.m. ET)
The series catches up with Haney and Romano at the Ray Romano and Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic. Haney can’t help but give everyone tips on their game, and fellow comedians jump at the chance to talk about Romano’s golf swing. Following the conclusion of the tournament, Romano runs into problems when trying to recap his performance.  Later, Haney joins Romano on the set of TNT’s Men of a Certain Age, where Haney’s coaching comes in handy once again.

Episode Three: Cash Cart (March 15, 9 p.m. ET)
Haney notices Romano is spending more time dwelling on what he thinks he is doing wrong than listening to instruction. Later in the episode, Cash Cab host and fellow comedian Ben Bailey shows up at the course and challenges Romano to golf trivia on his Cash Cart.

Episode Four: Halfway There (March 22, 9 p.m. ET)
Halfway through the series, Romano’s progress is tested.  Afterward, he invites Haney over to his house for poker with the boys.

Photo: Credit: Mark Ashman/Golf Channel