45 replies to this topic

[rafal]

Anyone hoping that Michelle would be able to become the golfer she always should be following her graduation just has to read this:

Quote

[Her parents] will be making the move from Palo Alto to Jupiter as well.  [Her parents] shadowed Wie during her regular practice sessions in  Northern California, traipsing along in a golf cart, and they travel  with her to every LPGA event. The habit drew not-so-muffled criticism  over the years, and it seems their role will not subside once Wie is a  college graduate.

Golf Digest

[rblmp32]

Bout time to cut that cord.

[Fenix]

I cannot believe I am about to say this, but I am actually looking forward to the Feherty interview with Michelle. Its pretty obvious she's no dummy, and I hope that comes through in the show. I also hope that she dominates women's golf but that may be pushing it. Her parents will have to let her go someday, and it may take until then for her to realize her full potential. Or fail miserably. Of course I am rooting for the former.

[Mr22putt]

I kinda feel sorry for MW
I think everything is controlled by BJ....with no input from Bo or MW.

It's their family.....BUT

Let the girl go and start letting her lead her own life...could anyone imagine your parents moving near by you when you went to university and then follow you to a new city as you started your career?

I think MW is naturally fun loving gal...but under BJ's watch....MW seems aloof and robotic at events.

BJ is inside the ropes at the range and practice green, whereas other parents keep their distance unless that parent is their caddy.

I saw once.....BJ following MW with not only a yardage book but sheets of papers that looked like topography maps of the course and Bo looking from outside the ropes with a range finder...WTF...LMAO.

Hmmmm....didn't Yani buy Annika's house 2 yrs ago.....I think she was 20 at the time and I believe lives there by herself and believe both parents live in Taiwan and Dad doesn't watch her play...except in Taiwan...as per a reporter from the event in Taiwan.

[finalist]

I feel sorry for her future husband!




... Wait, no I don't. Carry on.

[Sean2]

Poor Michelle. She may be an adult, but it has to be difficult to cut those strings.

[KYMAR]

I remember when her parents were sort of kept away at the Solheim cup a few years ago (in the US) and EVERYONE said how much she shined as she was seemed to feel free to be herself, get to know her teammates and she played some AWESOME golf. I guess i just assumed that she would finally be able to distance herself from the awful pressure she must feel. I also feel sorry for her at this point. I know her results aren't there and its frustrating because wow she has talent.

[HipCheck]

Keep comments clean please.

[Awsi Dooger]

Terrific picture of Michelle last week in Golf World, the opening photo in jeans and her Stanford garb. Absolutely beaming, so proud of her accomplishment.

I thought the article was interesting when it indicated Michelle's initial plan was to graduate in 6 years, until she realized her friends would be graduating and gone, so she accelerated the process to 4 and a half years. Very sharp.

She can't putt and her swing isn't quite as limber and natural as it was prior to injuries and added maturity. IMO, the parental aspect is a world class crock, conventional wisdom blubbery. It's like politics when big picture realities dominate and basically dictate the outcome a year or more in advance but analysts desperately need to nitpick something to feel better about themselves, a cheap focal point.

[rafal]

You cannot consider a situation where Wie lives with her parents in her mid-20's and is followed by her hysterical parents as conventional wisdom or crock.  It has everything to do with her inability to win and her diminished competitive instinct.

[pickerjohn]

I've always liked the wisdom on raising children of showing love
and support, and that the greatest gift you could instill in your child
was the ability to think for yourself.
On the subject of putting, confidence and concentration rule, Dave Stockton is the
best at teaching those things and he has plenty of proof with the results
of his students, why MW stopped seeing him I'll never know.

[Jamboy72]

I find it very hard to tell another parent how to do their job, but I am concerned about Michelle's ability to branch out and become her own person in the midst of what appears to be a very controlled situation

[torrejuan]

pickerjohn, on 23 March 2012 - 09:20 AM, said:

I've always liked the wisdom on raising children of showing love
and support, and that the greatest gift you could instill in your child
was the ability to think for yourself.
On the subject of putting, confidence and concentration rule, Dave Stockton is the
best at teaching those things and he has plenty of proof with the results
of his students, why MW stopped seeing him I'll never know.

No doubt. I'd rather have my teeth pulled than watch her putt.

[zerofade]

Proof is in the puddin.. She played and putted to her talent level at the Solheim cup.. And she was smiling and looked.. Happy.. No coincidence that her folks werent around.. Her parents are slowly destroying her career.. Only caveat is she was a full time student for the past 4+ years and was trying to compete against girls that are 24/7 working on their game.  So now she has no excuse. I give her a year to see how she does.. Her ballstriking is still by far the best of the ladies so.. We shall see

[broth518]

Michelle has underachieved based on her expectations and this doesn't sound good either. She had a lot of promise and reminds me of Charles Howell III...

[psd]

Awsi Dooger, on 21 March 2012 - 11:41 PM, said:

Terrific picture of Michelle last week in Golf World, the opening photo in jeans and her Stanford garb. Absolutely beaming, so proud of her accomplishment.

I thought the article was interesting when it indicated Michelle's initial plan was to graduate in 6 years, until she realized her friends would be graduating and gone, so she accelerated the process to 4 and a half years. Very sharp.

She can't putt and her swing isn't quite as limber and natural as it was prior to injuries and added maturity. IMO, the parental aspect is a world class crock, conventional wisdom blubbery. It's like politics when big picture realities dominate and basically dictate the outcome a year or more in advance but analysts desperately need to nitpick something to feel better about themselves, a cheap focal point.

That Golf World piece was so full of fluff it almost prompted me to write them.  For those who didn't read it, go and find it and have a little chuckle.  

It concludes by saying Michelle Wie is growing up and spreading her wings.  How?  By
1. Putting colorful highlights in her hair
2. Getting a puppy (which her parents have to keep at home as it is not permitted in the dorms)
3. By wanting to discuss art with Luke Donald

Not to pile on, but for a Communications Major and one so exposed to the media, Ms. Wie is not very articulate.  She may be book-smart enough to get into Stanford, but I'm afraid for her safety if she so much as crosses a street alone.

and another thing Golf World, a Stanford alumni is usually reserved for someone who actually graduated from the school. An alumna is a former student.  Tiger Woods is an alumna.

[eric_b]

I would like to add a couple of points:

Point 1 - family seems to play a bigger role in ladies golf....there are a number of lpga players (especially younger players) that have family members on the bag (mainly fathers)....in addition, i've read or seen a lot of interviews with lpga players that often have them talking about how close they are to their parents and how they want babies.....maybe this is marketing.....or trying to fit into some archaic gender stereotype....but the fact is, family seems to be a bigger deal on the LPGA.  So maybe this factors in somehow....maybe?

Point 2 - Michelle is a big girl and can make her own decisions....i'm a huge fan of the uninformed opinion....i, personally, have a lot of them.....but this is too little information, even for me, to make any kind of haphazard guess....anecdotally, we saw the solheim cup 2 years ago....and we all know how her parents follow her around and, for some, this might seem bad.....but maybe this works for her....

Point 3 - Regardless of what Michelle does....what about Yani?  5 birdies in 6 holes on the back 9 this past sunday while nearly freezing to death to beat the #2 and #7 in the world that she was playing with at the time.....sure, Michelle is talented....but this isn't the first time Yani has done something like this.  Just sayin'.....if you compare Yani and Michelle.....who exactly has more talent?  Maybe Michelle is more natural....better tempo.....whatever.....Yani is....well....Yani.  It's gonna take more than talent to take that on.

[Mainlinegolfer]

psd, on 23 March 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

Awsi Dooger, on 21 March 2012 - 11:41 PM, said:

Terrific picture of Michelle last week in Golf World, the opening photo in jeans and her Stanford garb. Absolutely beaming, so proud of her accomplishment.

I thought the article was interesting when it indicated Michelle's initial plan was to graduate in 6 years, until she realized her friends would be graduating and gone, so she accelerated the process to 4 and a half years. Very sharp.

She can't putt and her swing isn't quite as limber and natural as it was prior to injuries and added maturity. IMO, the parental aspect is a world class crock, conventional wisdom blubbery. It's like politics when big picture realities dominate and basically dictate the outcome a year or more in advance but analysts desperately need to nitpick something to feel better about themselves, a cheap focal point.

That Golf World piece was so full of fluff it almost prompted me to write them.  For those who didn't read it, go and find it and have a little chuckle.  

It concludes by saying Michelle Wie is growing up and spreading her wings.  How?  By
1. Putting colorful highlights in her hair
2. Getting a puppy (which her parents have to keep at home as it is not permitted in the dorms)
3. By wanting to discuss art with Luke Donald

Not to pile on, but for a Communications Major and one so exposed to the media, Ms. Wie is not very articulate.  She may be book-smart enough to get into Stanford, but I'm afraid for her safety if she so much as crosses a street alone.

and another thing Golf World, a Stanford alumni is usually reserved for someone who actually graduated from the school. An alumna is a former student.  Tiger Woods is an alumna.

I think you better check this.

[SheriffBooth]

Maybe Michelle Wie loves her parents and loves having them nearby?  Perish the thought!

[ptjn1201]

I think it's fine to have her parents nearby, but maybe they shouldn't follow her around the course for a few years.  Some athletes play worse when family is in the crowd -- and not just the LPGA.  There have been baseball players for generations who have performed poorly in their hometowns, trying too hard to impress after begging teammates for comp tickets for family, friends, old school chums and the like.  And let's face it, nowadays, if you want to watch every MLB game your son is playing in, it's just a cable package away.  I would think BJ is a distraction (not necessarily in a bad way), and takes her mind away from the golf at hand.  I think it's different when the father is the player's caddy -- in that case, they really are on the same team and they can hash out any differing ideas they may have.  But with Michelle's father in the crowd, you can imagine that there has to be more second-guessing going on.

[finalist]

Only I know what's the best for MW, but I'm not telling anyone.

[rafal]

SheriffBooth, on 23 March 2012 - 01:10 PM, said:

Maybe Michelle Wie loves her parents and loves having them nearby?  Perish the thought!

If she wanted to step away then she would.  But it's hard to wean yourself from a controlling relationship precisely because love is involved.

Look at the latest pictures from KIA.  Her father is right there behind her at the range, recording her swing with a CELLPHONE.  What is he doing there exactly...how is recording anyone's swing with cellphone helpful.  It's all terrible.  Is he doing it because he loves her?  Or she loves getting swing tips from her dad on the way to 77-79 +12 at her sponsor's tournament?

Edited by rafal, 23 March 2012 - 05:27 PM.

[1t2golf]

psd, on 23 March 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

That Golf World piece was so full of fluff it almost prompted me to write them.  For those who didn't read it, go and find it and have a little chuckle.  

It concludes by saying Michelle Wie is growing up and spreading her wings.  How?  By
1. Putting colorful highlights in her hair
2. Getting a puppy (which her parents have to keep at home as it is not permitted in the dorms)
3. By wanting to discuss art with Luke Donald

Not to pile on, but for a Communications Major and one so exposed to the media, Ms. Wie is not very articulate.  She may be book-smart enough to get into Stanford, but I'm afraid for her safety if she so much as crosses a street alone.

and another thing Golf World, a Stanford alumni is usually reserved for someone who actually graduated from the school. An alumna is a former student.  Tiger Woods is an alumna.

I would check your Latin on the definition of alumnus, alumna and alumni. It's gender specific, not used to differentiate between someone who has attended or graduated from a school. Alumni is just the plural of alumnus (masculine). Woods is an alumnus. MW is an alumna (feminine) (plural is alumnae). Alumnus is also used when it's not gender specific.

[Awsi Dooger]

rafal, on 23 March 2012 - 05:00 AM, said:

You cannot consider a situation where Wie lives with her parents in her mid-20's and is followed by her hysterical parents as conventional wisdom or crock.  It has everything to do with her inability to win and her diminished competitive instinct.

It's absolutely a crock. I'm being far too kind. The same type of inept overreaction to current form that leads posters on this forum to doubt if Tiger Woods will ever win again attaches to situations like Michelle's parents and allows them to project all type of magical changes to her game if her parents were a thousand miles removed. Already in this thread we have the predictable reference to the Solheim Cup, a whopping sample of a few rounds.

Sorry, but conventional wisdom is something I'll happily spit out, particularly when I've been winning nearly every NCAA tournament wager based on my devotion to preseason ratings, in a world where every clod rejects preseason ratings as meaningless.

BTW, Michelle is not yet 23.

[rafal]

Awsi Dooger, on 24 March 2012 - 01:45 AM, said:

rafal, on 23 March 2012 - 05:00 AM, said:

You cannot consider a situation where Wie lives with her parents in her mid-20's and is followed by her hysterical parents as conventional wisdom or crock.  It has everything to do with her inability to win and her diminished competitive instinct.

It's absolutely a crock. I'm being far too kind. The same type of inept overreaction to current form that leads posters on this forum to doubt if Tiger Woods will ever win again attaches to situations like Michelle's parents and allows them to project all type of magical changes to her game if her parents were a thousand miles removed. Already in this thread we have the predictable reference to the Solheim Cup, a whopping sample of a few rounds.

Sorry, but conventional wisdom is something I'll happily spit out, particularly when I've been winning nearly every NCAA tournament wager based on my devotion to preseason ratings, in a world where every clod rejects preseason ratings as meaningless.

BTW, Michelle is not yet 23.

She will live with them in her mid 20's.

And most see the situation for what it is.  You're a minority, but I appreciate your comments.

[jmvargas]

whatever it is it's not working.....she just had another poor showing...

.......77-79(+12) when the cut was +5!!!

[Jim Clark]

rblmp32, on 21 March 2012 - 07:23 PM, said:

Bout time to cut that cord.

Simple reply and 100% correct.

[Tmiller72]

Maybe dad is afraid that his checks will stop coming in if he let's her go on her own?

[bobfoster]

I know this sounds weird in the US ... but it is quite normal in a lot of Asia.

[PedronNiall]

It wouldn't be a problem if they just lived with her, but they clearly seem to be exerting quite a bit of control over her golf life as well. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe I've ever seen anything about Wie's dad being a PGA certified instructor, a club champion, a former pro, or a guy just known to have a firm grip on the game of golf. Being a domineering parent doesn't qualify one to analyze a golf swing.

Living together, fine; destroying her career, not so much.