Michelle Wie's Swing Looks Different

[nevets88]

From a couple of days ago. Looks like early wrist set, shorter turn/less wrist hinge. Follow through looks different too. 

Last year?

 

 

[billchao]

It's like he's trying to do that Gankas lead knee external thing, only he's trying to keep her in ER in the backswing. All I know is, she's lucky she's athletic.

[No Mulligans]

Does she have the least amount of hip turn in her backswing of any current LPGA or PGA player?

[jbishop15]

I hate her new swing so much. She wants to hit a cut very badly, according to her instagram tags and captions of #fadelife.

[billchao]

2 hours ago, jbishop15 said:

I hate her new swing so much. She wants to hit a cut very badly, according to her instagram tags and captions of #fadelife.

#fadeisthenewdraw 

[jbishop15]

1 minute ago, billchao said:

#fadeisthenewdraw 

it drives me crazy. i don't get why she would change her swing this drastically. 

[iacas]

3 hours ago, nevets88 said:

Last year?

Seeing as how the video was uploaded to YouTube in mid-2016… probably not.

That swing is the same swing as the one she's been doing since late 2016 or early 2017. It's the same one that was in Golf Digest or whatever, and the same one that prompted this short topic:

I don't like it. I think it's not taking advantage of all that Michelle Wie has to offer, and I think it's handicapping her severely.

Now, I don't know her injury history, but I don't think this swing is doing her any favors in that department, either.

P.S. Look at the 2016 swing and even that one is better - more turn, more freedom, more speed… but still with the weird wide feet/stance and reduced hip turn. She was starting to do this a bit in even 2014:

But even then it wasn't as severe. And here's one from 2013, which actually starts to look pretty darn normal:

P.P.S. Honestly, this whole thing pisses me off. I feel like we were robbed of seeing some great golf played by an universally marketable (to the Asian markets AND to the U.S. markets) American gal. I wanted Michelle to inspire thousands of girls to play golf.

[Jack Watson]

Leadpoison handcuffs Wie’s talent.

[jbishop15]

I want to fight David Leadbetter. I wasn't a fan of the work he did with Lydia Ko, either, and was very, very happy when she gave him the boot. 

[Zekez]

Why is it that the top teaching pros in the world are teaching her a swing that a bunch of guys on a golf message board feel is totally wrong for her???

[Phil McGleno]

25 minutes ago, Zekez said:

Why is it that the top teaching pros in the world are teaching her a swing that a bunch of guys on a golf message board feel is totally wrong for her???

I will not speak for anyone else here-But I am a better instructor than Leadbetter.-He is known for being shite. Mystery as to how he keeps getting students but rather than just come on here and bash us, how about you tell us what you think of her swing and back it up?

@iacas is a top teaching pro. @mvmac would have been.

[Groucho Valentine]

Its a short and hurried monstrosity of the sinewy and athletic move she once had. 

[mvmac]

49 minutes ago, Zekez said:

Why is it that the top teaching pros in the world are teaching her a swing that a bunch of guys on a golf message board feel is totally wrong for her???

It's one instructor teaching her, not multiple instructors.

Just look at her swing dude, it looks ridiculous. Nothing like it was when she almost made the Sony Open Cut or won the Pub Links. She also hits it at least 10-15 yards shorter now.

18 hours ago, iacas said:

P.P.S. Honestly, this whole thing pisses me off. I feel like we were robbed of seeing some great golf played by an universally marketable (to the Asian markets AND to the U.S. markets) American gal. I wanted Michelle to inspire thousands of girls to play golf.

100% agree.

I thought she would dominate the LPGA Tour and maybe get to the point where she played several PGA Tour events a year.

[Zekez]

41 minutes ago, Phil McGleno said:

I will not speak for anyone else here-But I am a better instructor than Leadbetter.-He is known for being shite. Mystery as to how he keeps getting students but rather than just come on here and bash us, how about you tell us what you think of her swing and back it up?

@iacas is a top teaching pro. @mvmac would have been.

Sorry it wasn't a bash on anyone (well maybe a little bit on the top teachers, but not anyone here)..it was a legit question.  Why do the top teachers not see what the rank and file teachers see?

[iacas]

1 minute ago, Zekez said:

Sorry it wasn't a bash on anyone (well maybe a little bit on the top teachers, but not anyone here)..it was a legit question.  Why do the top teachers not see what the rank and file teachers see?

Again, it's just one instructor.

So if you're asking "Why doesn't David Leadbetter see what others see?", I don't know. If you're asking "Why doesn't Michelle see what others see?" I also don't know. We have no real insight into their relationship or thought process.

Doesn't mean we can't comment.

And… that doesn't mean they're right and we're wrong, or the opposite.

Michelle has all 5SK. That swing can produce those. I just feel, for myself, that it's not taking advantage of what she has to offer. That it's restrictive, costs her distance (that's probably not really debatable), and may be contributing to injuries rather than helping to prevent them.

[jbishop15]

If you look on her Instagram page, near the top she has some saved stories. One of them is called SLO-MO, and the first or second clip is a driver DTL swing that looks amazing. She shallows and everything, and has none of that ridiculous fade swing stuff. I don’t get it.

[mvmac]

7 hours ago, Zekez said:

Why do the top teachers not see what the rank and file teachers see?

They do, as do a lot of fans. Nobody really knows why Leadbetter and Wie are going down this route. We can guess that it's the same old bs reasoning of more restricted = more control.

Lydia Ko was working on a much more restricted lower body but nothing as wacky as how Wie looks.

[BallMarker]

Her stance is too wide and she's bent over too much.