Michelle Wie SF Gate article is so poignant

[Aguirre]

I'm not going to accept criticism of the fantastic work of nature that are Michelle Wie's legs.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Aguirre

[iacas]

3 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

One of the pros up at the range who's seen both up close told me that both Thompson and Wie are taller than I am. I'm 6'1". Or at least I used to be. Maybe I'm 6'0" now.

She's not 6'3". She's just taller than me, by a little bit.

16 minutes ago, Aguirre said:

I'm not going to accept criticism of the fantastic work of nature that are Michelle Wie's legs.

Seriously.

2 hours ago, natureboy said:

I like her too, but she lacks definition in her legs IMHO relative to a lot of her competitors.

?

Look at the "Body" photos of Suzann.

Michelle's legs are fine. Both meanings.

[Aguirre]

So I help organize a charity golf tournament every year at Cedarbrook Golf Course in southwest PA. My group has come close to winning most years, but never won. Scramble format, four dudes in the 7-12 handicap range. We can all get it out there 250 and then some if we hit one well.

The 10th hole on the Gold Course is a 537 yard Par 5 from the whites, with a downhill tee shot and a sharply uphill second. My buddy smashed one down the right side one year, and it caught the cart path and rolled a mile. I then knocked a 5 wood onto the green for a 20 foot eagle putt. We unfortunately missed it.

Michelle Wie (when she was like 18 or something) played a Men's US Amateur public links qualifier there one year. She did qualify. On the same hole, she hit driver/4-iron onto the green. From the tips. The hole is 582 from the tips. 

I have to ask the pro about this when I'm out there soon. You know Bryon Polander, iacas?

Edited July 13, 2016 by Aguirre

[atb5079]

So someone please do elaborate on all the hate for Leadbetter as I am very curious? Have the times passed him by? Or what exactly is the reason for all the hate?

[gregsandiego]

17 minutes ago, atb5079 said:

So someone please do elaborate on all the hate for Leadbetter as I am very curious? Have the times passed him by? Or what exactly is the reason for all the hate?

Does he really have that much to publicly critique? Here's a nice recent photo via twitter.

 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Aguirre said:

I have to ask the pro about this when I'm out there soon. You know Bryon Polander, iacas?

No, but I'll be at that course tomorrow…

[Aguirre]

1 minute ago, iacas said:

No, but I'll be at that course tomorrow…

Ha, how about that. Drink a lot of water if you're playing because we're apparently six miles from the sun this week.

[gregsandiego]

While reading these posts and twitter  I found something interesting. Something indicating maybe Michelle Wie doesn't see her self as much a  big time celebrity...

A food/photo blog.

Posted on a free wordpress.com.

Non monetized.

Hardly any followers.

 

https://michellewiezy.wordpress.com/

 

[MrDC]

I don't buy this notion that she hates golf and can't wait to get out, BS.

She's loving life and having a lot of fun, she's just playing a game that befuddles us all, it's really, really hard and only a select few rise to the top, she may be spending too much time being a foodie and not enough time at golf, who knows? I don't think it's a huge crime though, as long as she's happy.

[gregsandiego]

25 minutes ago, MrDC said:

I don't buy this notion that she hates golf and can't wait to get out, BS.

She's loving life and having a lot of fun, she's just playing a game that befuddles us all, it's really, really hard and only a select few rise to the top, she may be spending too much time being a foodie and not enough time at golf, who knows? I don't think it's a huge crime though, as long as she's happy.

 I agree with you. I don't think someone who hates the game could do this well. Her food blog is quaint and basic. 

[natureboy]

15 hours ago, Aguirre said:

I'm not going to accept criticism of the fantastic work of nature that are Michelle Wie's legs.

15 hours ago, iacas said:

Seriously.

Look at the "Body" photos of Suzann.

Michelle's legs are fine. Both meanings.

I agree with you both that Michelle has 'fine' gams aesthetically. 

Petterson doesn't have a ton of definition either, but a lot more mass in the thigh. Michelle looks a bit more 'delicate' around the thigh bone (hardly any hamstring definition) than many (but hardly all) of her competitors. I think that may actually enhance her 'elegant' look, but detract slightly from her athleticism on the course - and possibly susceptibility to injury.

If you have less power in the legs then you compensate with extreme turn from flexibility or extra upper body effort. IMO a lost opportunity for 'easier' power that may be less wearing on the body over thousands of swings.

Edited July 13, 2016 by natureboy

[Gunther]

4 minutes ago, natureboy said:

I agree with you both that Michelle has 'fine' gams aesthetically. 

Petterson doesn't have a ton of definition either, but a lot more mass in the thigh. Michelle looks a bit more 'delicate' around the thigh bone (hardly any hamstring definition) than many (but hardly all) of her competitors. I think that may actually enhance her 'elegant' look, but detract slightly from her athleticism on the course - and possibly susceptibility to injury.

If you have less power in the legs then you compensate with extreme turn from flexibility or extra upper body effort. IMO a lost opportunity for 'easier' power that may be less wearing on the body over thousands of swings.

I've seen her squat and leg press.  My legs aren't as strong as they once were but she probably does almost double what I can do now.  I doubt there are many stronger than her on tour.  She just has a different body type.

[natureboy]

4 minutes ago, Gunther said:

I've seen her squat and leg press.  My legs aren't as strong as they once were but she probably does almost double what I can do now.  I doubt there are many stronger than her on tour.  She just has a different body type.

Video / picture link? Could be due to a different body type.

[mchepp]

42 minutes ago, atb5079 said:

So someone please do elaborate on all the hate for Leadbetter as I am very curious? Have the times passed him by? Or what exactly is the reason for all the hate?

He basically is making excuses for the reasons his students don't get better. Michelle was decently long by the standards of the women's game and is now shorter. In 2009 she was 4th on the LPGA tour in driving distance and in 2015 she was 26th having lost some 12 yards or so. You can argue she has was injured, getting older, whatever, but the LPGA driving distance has been increasing and she is going in the opposite direction. 

Leadbetter has been saying she doesn't listen to him, now in the article he says she hit too many balls as a youth. All excuses and basically blaming her. I have been saying for 3+ years that she needs to move on. She needs a new coach.

For Ko, the verdict is still out. Personally I like her swing before she hooked up with Leadbetter, now it is still pretty good, but not as good. She was never long and Leadbetter has built her swing to be more repeatable which is probably smart in the short term. Let's reexamine her game in 3-5 more years.

[Gunther]

26 minutes ago, natureboy said:

Video / picture link? Could be due to a different body type.

She sends them out from time to time via social media.  I don't save them but if you scroll through her Twitter you may be able to find some video.

[GolfLug]

The article is 'poignant' because obituaries tend to read like that. As far as golf careers go, how is being 26 and with still plenty of time to overcome injuries and bad coaching the 'end'?

Lot of buildup was about a 14 year old girl that hits it 'three hunnid' and a full swing finish that looked like one of them fancy European car logos. There was an expectation of her having a Tiger like effect on LPGA, which everybody bought in to including herself, seemed like.

Still a great player and one of the best things to happen to the LPGA.   

P.S. I am glad that they left the then 11 y/o Lucy Li alone after a some hoopla initially. At least I'm not hearing much..

 

[natureboy]

1 hour ago, GolfLug said:

The article is 'poignant' because obituaries tend to read like that. As far as golf careers go, how is being 26 and with still plenty of time to overcome injuries and bad coaching the 'end'?

Lot of buildup was about a 14 year old girl that hits it 'three hunnid' and a full swing finish that looked like one of them fancy European car logos. There was an expectation of her having a Tiger like effect on LPGA, which everybody bought in to including herself, seemed like.

Still a great player and one of the best things to happen to the LPGA. 

Also wasn't there a pretty big influx of international talent around the time she was breaking in, particularly from Korea that raised the competitive bar?

Creamer related in an interview that all those good players forced her to up her game. Wie may have won more under the prior standard of play and may struggle to win because she hasn't continued to round out her game or does unproductive tinkering (putting?).

On long game, in 2015 and this year she's average or below in total driving while still being top 30 in distance. Length and accuracy are both important and accuracy might be even more of a premium in the LPGA than the PGA because of the upper body strength factor for getting through the rough with speed. Perhaps a big factor in why she was ranked 48th in GIR in 2015 and toward the bottom this year. If you take her GIR into account she may actually be an above-average putter despite the focus on her unusual technique.

[GolfLug]

31 minutes ago, natureboy said:

Also wasn't there a pretty big influx of international talent around the time she was breaking in, particularly from Korea that raised the competitive bar?

Creamer related in an interview that all those good players forced her to up her game. Wie may have won more under the prior standard of play and may struggle to win because she hasn't continued to round out her game or does unproductive tinkering (putting?).

On long game, in 2015 and this year she's average or below in total driving while still being top 30 in distance. Length and accuracy are both important and accuracy might be even more of a premium in the LPGA than the PGA because of the upper body strength factor for getting through the rough with speed. Perhaps a big factor in why she was ranked 48th in GIR in 2015 and toward the bottom this year. If you take her GIR into account she may actually be an above-average putter despite the focus on her unusual technique.

Yeah, I guess parity is growing in the women's game too. Especially distance wise. Top 100 in driving distance are averaging a hair above 250. So if distance was her huge advantage which allowed her to cover up for some wild shots (I think as accurate with usual shot play as anybody else, but too many outliers) then maybe not so much anymore. Having said that her win at US Open at 2014 was comprehensive, with lot of variety of shots that displayed how much she had matured as a shot-maker too. The putting stance.. well, what can you say, the girl is fearless. All power to her!

Her social media posts also tells about a very thoughtful and many faceted personality. Honestly not sure if that has anything to do with her golf game.

Who knows another 5 years and she will be only 30 (or 31..). I can't even remember me from that long ago at that age..  . Lot of gas in the tank.