Lydia Ko and Caddie Part Ways

[DavePelz4]

IIRC, in her speech for winning the Player of the Year several seasons ago, she thanked her support people and then said, I'd also like to thank my caddies...and there was laughter and she said something like..."all of my caddies."

[chrismikayla]

It's funny because Hamilton foreshadowed this a while back. I can't find the interview but he basically said he knew he would get canned if things started to go south with Lydia's play.

[middie8]

I haven't watched a ton of footage from her but she seems like a pretty pleasant person. Really easy going. What is the problem? What am I missing here?

[moonshine]

not to be rude but am i really supposed to care at all about this?

+1k

[Argonne69]

I haven't watched a ton of footage from her but she seems like a pretty pleasant person. Really easy going. What is the problem? What am I missing here?

 

I have a hunch it's her mom's decision.

[legitimategolf]

Maybe he kept bruising the bananas or something.

[Argonne69]

Statistically, Lydia's ballstriking haven't improved in the past two years. She is currently averaging 247 yards off the tee, compared to 249 yards in 2014. Her driving accuracy this year is currently at 70.8%, compared to 79.2% in 2014. Her GIR percentage is currently at 71%, and was 74.1% two years ago.

 

Now, personalities aside, shouldn't the point of selecting a coach be based on wanting to improve? If your numbers go down over time, what's it telling you?

 

It was mentioned this past weekend that Lydia is working on a new swing, which has contributed to her poor play lately. I have no idea if this is DL inspired, or something she started herself.

 

Maybe he kept bruising the bananas or something.

 

Nah, the munchies always seem to be in a nice plastic container.

[Santiago Golf]

Statistically, Lydia's ballstriking haven't improved in the past two years. She is currently averaging 247 yards off the tee, compared to 249 yards in 2014. Her driving accuracy this year is currently at 70.8%, compared to 79.2% in 2014. Her GIR percentage is currently at 71%, and was 74.1% two years ago.

 

Now, personalities aside, shouldn't the point of selecting a coach be based on wanting to improve? If your numbers go down over time, what's it telling you?

 

It was mentioned this past weekend that Lydia is working on a new swing, which has contributed to her poor play lately. I have no idea if this is DL inspired, or something she started herself.

 

Maybe he kept bruising the bananas or something.

 

Nah, the munchies always seem to be in a nice plastic container.

 

David made alot money off A-swing when Lydia won with it so quickly after changing to it, but in all reality she wasn't a-swinging. Then when she really started getting to a true a-swing fourm she started playing bad and now whatever they are working is probably some new model swing that David planning on rolling out to make even more money.

[Santiago Golf]

Lydia swing, pre-DL

,

 

Lydia first try at A-swing,

 

Lydia reverting back,

 

Lydia 2016 us women's open,

[SixtySomePing]

Joe LaCava probably could use some steady work...

[4rheel]

Did Hamilton help her line up her putts? I recall seeing her look back at her caddie whenever she missed a putt.

[AKL Kiwi]

I haven't watched a ton of footage from her but she seems like a pretty pleasant person. Really easy going. What is the problem? What am I missing here?

 

I have a hunch it's her mom's decision.

 

I think your on to something there Argonne. How close are Lydia's parents to MW's. I know from the start of her LPGA career Lydia wanted to copy MW even go to the same university and much of it was with coach and management.

[Cwebb]

Lydia swing, pre-DL

,

 

Lydia first try at A-swing,

 

Lydia reverting back,

 

Lydia 2016 us women's open,

 

Wow, that first swing looks spot on. Why anyone would attempt to change that is hard imagine

[Texsport]

Hopefully Leadbetter is next and she can drop the A swing nonsense.

 

That out-to-in loopy swing she's using isn't natural for her and will be inconsistent!

 

Texsport

[Argonne69]

Did Hamilton help her line up her putts? I recall seeing her look back at her caddie whenever she missed a putt.

 

Yes, I believe so. However, her recent poor play was due to poor ball striking. At the KEB, she managed only 62% of the fairways, compared to 70.8% for the year. She also managed 62% of the greens vs. 71% for the year. Her putting average was 0.75 higher per round.

 

She really seemed to be struggling with the swing change.

[Argonne69]

Hopefully Leadbetter is next and she can drop the A swing nonsense.

 

That out-to-in loopy swing she's using isn't natural for her and will be inconsistent!

 

Texsport

 

She is no longer using the loopy swing.

[4rheel]

Hopefully Leadbetter is next and she can drop the A swing nonsense.

 

That out-to-in loopy swing she's using isn't natural for her and will be inconsistent!

 

Texsport

 

She is no longer using the loopy swing.

 

Loopy swing meaning the A swing? I mean, I understand she wanted a draw for her drives but what was wrong with her accuracy before the swing change?

[Argonne69]

Hopefully Leadbetter is next and she can drop the A swing nonsense.

 

That out-to-in loopy swing she's using isn't natural for her and will be inconsistent!

 

Texsport

 

She is no longer using the loopy swing.

 

Loopy swing meaning the A swing? I mean, I understand she wanted a draw for her drives but what was wrong with her accuracy before the swing change?

 

I don't know if she was actually doing the "A Swing", but she had a pronounced loop for most of the year. It was really noticeable with her wedges. During the KEB the loop was gone. Karen mentioned that Lydia said she was working on a new swing. 'No idea if it's Leadbetter's latest and greatest, or something Lydia is trying on her own.

 

There was nothing wrong with her accuracy before. As I noted above, she has lost accuracy, and gained no distance in the past two years. Yes, she did manage to learn to hit a draw, but I see no statistical improvement because of it.

[4rheel]

Awesome! Now maybe she will return back to her old form.

 

That A swing was horrible and never understood why she took that swing on. My understanding of Lead-not any-better's A swing is that it was intended for beginners as an alternative swing to learn. Why he had a world class golfer learn it is unbelievable. There are better ways to learn a consistent draw for the driver.

[genetic_phreek]

I was volunteering for a tournament and had to deal with her mom and sister. They are not nice people. If Lydia is a fraction of what her mom and sister are then I wouldn't think she's as nice and innocent as she seems on TV.

[PZero]

I haven't watched a ton of footage from her but she seems like a pretty pleasant person. Really easy going. What is the problem? What am I missing here?

 

I have a hunch it's her mom's decision.

 

I'm sure it was her mom's call.

[taporsnap17]

She had a down few months by her standards. I personally feel that they pulled the trigger too soon unless something was happening in the background.

 

If she wasn't confident and happy and didn't think she would be, why not cut ties early?

 

Seems in this thread, there's a outpouring of hate (probably way too strong a word here) towards Lydia for I think is a professional choice made by her.

 

I've said for years that the biggest test for her career will be when she discovers boys

[Argonne69]

No hate whatsoever. It's the player's call. The player/caddie relationship is an odd one, and she is certainly not the first player to make a change.

[Leftagain]

No hate whatsoever. It's the player's call. The player/caddie relationship is an odd one, and she is certainly not the first player to make a change.

 

Ain't that the truth.. :lol:

 

Interesting that there's probably less than a handful of Ladies who've had long term caddies while it seems on the mens side most of the top guys never change. Maybe there's more 'rotation' in the lower ranks on the mens side but it's a full on roundabout on the LPGA...

[prorobo]

At least she didn't fire him mid-round like Korda.

[br61]

She had a down few months by her standards. I personally feel that they pulled the trigger too soon unless something was happening in the background.

 

If she wasn't confident and happy and didn't think she would be, why not cut ties early?

 

Seems in this thread, there's a outpouring of hate (probably way too strong a word here) towards Lydia for I think is a professional choice made by her.

 

I've said for years that the biggest test for her career will be when she discovers boys

 

No hate from me, I like watching her play but it pains me to see her with the new swing because I thought she was playing awesome consistent golf with the swing she grew up with. Just 2¢ worth of my opinion. :-)

 

I've heard some things about her mom but that is their lives as they choose to live by.

[gvogel]

She had a down few months by her standards. I personally feel that they pulled the trigger too soon unless something was happening in the background.

 

If she wasn't confident and happy and didn't think she would be, why not cut ties early?

 

Seems in this thread, there's a outpouring of hate (probably way too strong a word here) towards Lydia for I think is a professional choice made by her.

 

I've said for years that the biggest test for her career will be when she discovers boys

 

The biggest test for her career will be when the putts stop dropping, which inevitably happens to young phenoms when they grow older. That may already be happening to Lydia.

 

Problem is, her golf swing has regressed under Leadbetter. She had fine fundamentals working with her original pro in New Zealand. She could have played forever with that swing, and with a clear mind. Now she is playing golf swing, which is also a problem for Michelle Wie, and can lead to many problems.

[Argonne69]

She had a down few months by her standards. I personally feel that they pulled the trigger too soon unless something was happening in the background.

 

If she wasn't confident and happy and didn't think she would be, why not cut ties early?

 

Seems in this thread, there's a outpouring of hate (probably way too strong a word here) towards Lydia for I think is a professional choice made by her.

 

I've said for years that the biggest test for her career will be when she discovers boys

 

The biggest test for her career will be when the putts stop dropping, which inevitably happens to young phenoms when they grow older. That may already be happening to Lydia.

 

Problem is, her golf swing has regressed under Leadbetter. She had fine fundamentals working with her original pro in New Zealand. She could have played forever with that swing, and with a clear mind. Now she is playing golf swing, which is also a problem for Michelle Wie, and can lead to many problems.

 

As Michelle can demonstrate, poor ball striking can certainly put a lot of pressure on the putter, with poor results. I have a sense that Lydia's proximity to the hole has worsened over the past 2 seasons, so fewer putts are generally going to fall. Her GIR percentage has definitely dropped, and her wedge play has been spotty at times. The "old" Lydia would generally stick a wedge to within reasonable birdie distance to the flag. This year's Lydia has hit some extremely poor wedge shots.

[Shilgy]

Or she just had a slightly off season where the changes are not quite ingrained. And is still either #1 or #2 in the world based on this seasons LPGA results to date. Not time to panic yet imo.

[augustgolf]

 

 

I've said for years that the biggest test for her career will be when she discovers boys

 

That line is just waiting for comments, but I won't touch it with a 10' flagpole...