Role model - of how NOT to behave: Michelle Wie

Here's the latest article on Michelle Wie

Given a mulligan, Wie would not have played this year

As I mentioned in my first entries in this blog, golf is not really a sport that interests me, but I watched from time to time to see the much-hyped Michelle Wie. Hyped not so much for her golf, as for the huge amount of money she got in endorsements.

And has she earned that money? No. She's looked bad in tournaments, she's come across as childish...she's soured lots of people on her.

And yet she still has fans. How can this be possible. She's won nothing since she turned pro, she's come in last several times, she gets injuries and then whines abou tthem instead of playing through them... and yet she still has fans. Worse, she still has endorsements.

Is she that pretty? I'm a straight woman, but I know beauty when I see it, in both men and women, and she doesn't look that beautiful to me. Attractive, yes, but worth multi-millions in endorsements before she ever did anything to merit it? Based strictly on her looks and her amateur career?

Yes, she's only just now turned 18...perhaps the maturity will come...but I doubt it. Blame her family, I suppose, or her entourage...nevertheless....she's been soooo bad for women's golf.

Wie is not entirely to blame, of course. The LPGA must shoulder its fair share, for creating exemptions designed specifically to allow Wie to play in some events...despite the fact that she continually did poorly in them!

Here's a link to a thread on rec.sport.golf about the LPGA's culpability.

(Although a link is provided in that thread to the source of the article in question, the San Francisco Chronicle, the link takes you to a dead page. One wonders if the LPGA brought pressure to bear on the Chronicle to have the article removed?

I just visited Amazon.com to see how many books have been written about Wie, and I see five, all written for kids, touting her as a role model. Latest one published April 2007.

This one isn't a biography, but rather a lesson in how other golfers can duplicate her swing.

"Dissecting one ofthe most envied swings in golf today,John Andrisani demonstratesthe five keys to mastering Wie'spower swing: the grip and setup,powering your backswing, creatinga "flat spot," improving tempo,and shifting balance to change thedominant side. With detailed, stepby-step photographs from renowned golf photographer Yasuhiro Tanabe, Andrisani breaks down Wie's swinginto easy-to-follow instructions."

Of course, the swing isn't much good if you've got a sore wrist which you never stop to let heal....