Lydia Ko Thread

Is it just me, or does the rest of the golf world see how Lydia Ko's change from teacher Guy Wilson (New Zealand) to Leadbetter has created a steady downfall of her game?

But, what else would you expect?  Look at the bizarre swing changes Leadbetter made to Michelle Wie's swing - she now ha a hip injury due to that crazy left hip forward move he most recently "taught" her.  Her game continues to go south.  That same tinkering with what was one of the best swings ever seen (Lydia's) is apparently to blame for Miss Ko's recent failures.

Someone has to get the message to Lydia ko that her future is in jeopardy if she continues on this same path.

There's something to be said about not changing instructors/coaches when you're making positive progress.

And having a coach that helps get you to #1 at such a young age... How could you leave that coach?

She had a smooth relaxed swing and had a driving average of 253 yards.  #1 in the world, at 17.  Keep doing what you are doing; it arguable worked for you better than any golfer in history.

Yup, she's nuts, and I think Steve Williams blasted her for the move.

But don't blame Leadbetter so much, I think he was critical of the move as well, and he's just doing what he does, even if it's not that great.

This lands on Ko, and I would not be surprised to see her fall very far in the near future, golf is hard, and it's ruthless, you don't mess with success in this game.

Seems like it's just a matter of time before IB Park takes over the #1 ranking.  She is (literally) married to her coach.  She can't replace him without risking a divorce.

Look back to December 2013/January 2014 and you'll see that IMG, Callaway, and Leadbetter all came to be a big part of the career of Lydia Ko, the brand new professional LPGA tour player, in one fell swoop. Which is unsurprising, because those three entities share a very close relationship.

As soon as she became an IMG affiliate...well, she became part of a business operation focused on her as a brand. Some things have to fall by the wayside - including little known golf coaches from New Zealand... A big deal with one of the big equipment manufacturers, and a big name coach with close ties to her management company and equipment sponsor.

Ko is in 86th place after the 1st round of Manulife LPGA classic.  BTW, I thought Ko's less than stellar recent results were due to fatigue.    Ko claimed she rested all week.   Hopefully, she's fully recharged and give IB Park a battle for the #1 ranking.

This is not an easy answer. The answer is yes. The guy is a giant and he hits it barely out of his shadow. Leadbetter made his swing very very controlled which for a person of normal height and weight would mean we would be a 10 handicap, but for him it meant he could be successful during the persimmon and early metal wood days. Once the large headed driver hit the scene he was out. So you could argue that he helped build a swing for a guy that could have probably hit it 20 yards farther, but worked him into a control player with a fabulous short game and thus a great career.

What he is doing with Lydia Ko is tragic. Her athleticism was fantastic to watch. Now she is headed down the path of Wie who has lost tons of yardage but is a big girl so she can compensate. Ko was going to be a world beater but with Leadbetter will be a flash like Yani.

Come on, folks.   3 tournaments ago, Ko won.   Then she finished 41st and 16th.   For #1 ranked player to finish 41st or 16th is not a surprise.  Sure, it wasn't her usual top 10 finishes in the last two tournaments.   But the last two tournament results can't be qualified as steady downfall.   Let's give it a few more tournaments to call it a downfall and slamming Leadbetter for it.   For all we know, he may not be the reason behind the Ko's would be downfall (if it really happens).

Ledbetter

Wie ... down, up, down

Ko ... ....................... blip down ..........

I mean, he has two students who should dominate.

We will see... A Swing or A Disaster.

From a non-expert opinion Ko should have stuck with her original coach.  She's young, her entire life is changing and kids even at her age and maturity need something consistent and familiar to hold on to while the rest of their world is turned upside down.

I don't know enough about Ledbetter to say he's a good coach or bad but I don't believe he's entirely responsible for the dip in performance.

I doubt very much that he's teaching them the A swing.

I don't know... he says it works well with Touring Pros... one claiming a lot more yardage off the driver.

Would not surprise me. Just think how many books and accessories he's sell if Ko succeeded with the A Swing. They convinced her to dump her successful instructor; she is young - they are already dumping her old swing...

Besides, it makes for great copy -- "A" Swing or "A" Disaster

Lol, yes, it does make for good copy. :-p

That does make sense.

On the other hand she had 32 consecutive (including 4 international non LPGA rounds) under par rounds ending a few months ago.  Since then she's had 5 even or over par rounds out of the last 14 LPGA rounds.  32 and 0, followed by 9 and 5.  That really feels like something has changed.