Lead Poisoning: Has Leadbetter Ruined Wie?

by Mulligan Stu on Jun 26, 2007 11:17 AM EDT

The Honolulu Advertiser today offers one of the best articles I've seen examining the current state of affairs in Wie World. Michelle Wie's troubles and travails, promise and potential are given a well-balanced treatment that is neither hysterical in its criticisms nor apologetic in its defenses.

I highly recommend it. It should be interesting and informative to detractors and supporters alike.

One section that jumped out at me is something I'm surprised we haven't seen more of: on-the-record criticism of David Leadbetter's work on Wie's swing. It seems undeniable that Wie's swing is worse today than it was when she was 14. But is her swing today the swing Leadbetter wants her to have - or is it only a stop along the way to the swing they are building?

The article includes the nugget that some golf media have started referring to the "Lead poisoning" of Wie, despite their great respect for Leadbetter. And the article quotes Wie's first instructor at length discussing what Leadbetter is doing (incorrectly, in the pro's view). Here is that section:

Back then, Wie was charmingly precocious, with a game so good it made grown PGA Tour golfers cry. At first sight, Tom Lehman called her the Big Wiesy for her natural, effortless swing, so reminiscent of Ernie "Big Easy" Els. An amazed Fred Couples called it "the scariest thing you've ever seen."

It still can be, but for very different reasons now that she is mired in the first prolonged slump of her life. The flowing, rhythmic swing that local teaching pro Casey Nakama built at age 10 to fit what would become her 6-foot-plus frame was long and flowing, "a beautiful golf swing to watch," he still calls it.

Now when pros talk about it -- those who have seen it early and often such as David Ishii, Scott Simpson, Parker McLachlin and Greg Nichols, and those who see it intermittently on tour -- they are all but unanimous in criticism of the changes that have made her swing tighter, shorter, steeper and quicker.

"When Couples and Lehman saw her back then they told her, 'Whatever you do, don't change that golf swing. Just grow into it,' " Nakama recalled. "It was a real compliment to me. I knew I was on the right track. They've changed it to make it more rigid, to try and hit the ball harder. She lost that flow and you can lose some accuracy in that.

"The greatest thing about this game is when you gain somewhere, you always lose somewhere. Whatever distance she gained she lost in accuracy. ... There was no doubt they intended for her to play with the men. That's why they tried to have her hit the ball farther."

Nakama, whose junior academy at Olomana is immensely popular, believes that was "all wrong." He thinks the only cure is to return to her original swing, which could keep her out of contention for some time.

"It's a big mess right now," Nakama said. "They've got to take one thing at a time and try to undo the whole thing. To get back to that nice, flowing golf swing will take about a year."