Wie

[Solutions Etcetera]

Michelle Wie's game has gone to the dogs. Are we supposed to still post nothing but glowing reviews of her performance? That's not taking the high road, that's putting your head in the sand and being a pollyanna.

I love your context, but if you read this thread you'll see there is very little here about her game. Mostly indictments on her character, her parents' character, and other personal remarks. Hardly the high road.

 

If all of you didn't get so worked up about her she would have gone away by now. But controversy sells, and the media/sponsors know it. I wonder how many tuned into the LPGA event just to see her fail when they would have otherwise ignored it.

[brettcra]

Michelle Wie's game has gone to the dogs. Are we supposed to still post nothing but glowing reviews of her performance? That's not taking the high road, that's putting your head in the sand and being a pollyanna.

I love your context, but if you read this thread you'll see there is very little here about her game. Mostly indictments on her character, her parents' character, and other personal remarks. Hardly the high road.

 

If all of you didn't get so worked up about her she would have gone away by now. But controversy sells, and the media/sponsors know it. I wonder how many tuned into the LPGA event just to see her fail when they would have otherwise ignored it.

You're right. She's lasted this long because people post about her on a message board. It has nothing to do with her multi-million dollar contract with Nike.

 

And if you read the posts, the indictments on her character, parents character, etc. have everything to do with her game. Most feel that her parents got greedy and sold her out at a young age, and that's why she never learned to compete and work her way through the amateur rankings. Many people feel she doesn't have respect for the game, that she's blase about it and feels entitled to play (and quit) whenever she wants. That's a character issue that hinders her game.

 

If the high road means pretending these issues don't exist, then I hope this site never takes it.

[Solutions Etcetera]

If the high road means pretending these issues don't exist, then I hope this site never takes it.

Ahhh, more drama. I am reasonably confident that just as much "pretending" is done on the issues many claim do exist. However I am certain you know all of the facts, know better than her parents, her, etc. I am guessing you call all the NFL games on Tuesday as well.

 

I just find it amusing that you all take this so personally. You guys should all go to work for the Enquirer... than you could truly pontificate publicly. (c;

[brettcra]

If the high road means pretending these issues don't exist, then I hope this site never takes it.

Ahhh, more drama. I am reasonably confident that just as much "pretending" is done on the issues many claim do exist. However I am certain you know all of the facts, know better than her parents, her, etc. I am guessing you call all the NFL games on Tuesday as well.

 

I just find it amusing that you all take this so personally. You guys should all go to work for the Enquirer... than you could truly pontificate publicly. (c;

I certainly don't take any of this personally. I actually couldn't give a frog's fat arse whether Michelle Wie ever swung another club again. And of course none of us know the facts. But that doesn't mean we can't have opinions, and this is the place to post them. You are free to disagree with them, but just because someone has a different opinion than you, that doesn't make them a "basher". Granted sometimes on this site people post dumb stuff just to rile people up, but in this thread I don't think it's the case.

[dalehead]

The whole Wie thing strikes a nerve with me. It's seems to me she represents an attitude of entitlement. A few years back there was a big deal made of Annika playing in a PGA event. Annika seemed more nervous, greatful and cautious during the tournament. Wie acts like she has a right to play in the PGA without ever winning anything, just because she's been hyped. So she's 6'2" and drives the ball 300 yds. A lot of folks fit that bill. Maybe not at 14 years old though.

 

See, this is one of the myths that I think has caused her problems. She does not drive the ball 300 yards. Certainly not with any regularity. She has been described as Fred Funk long, and no disrespect to Fred Funk. Her driving average at the Samsung this week was just over 245 yards.

 

Indeed, some have said that her trying to hit the ball longer to keep up with PGA tour players has led to an overall loss of rhytmn in her swing.

 

Somehow the press got the idea a few years ago that there was this teenage phenom who could drive it as long as the men and who wanted to play on the PGA tour and in the Masters. It may have just been a vehicle for the press to tweak Augusta National, because reporters were soon asking Hootie Johnson about Michelle Wie playing in the Masters. Some even went so far as to say she should be issued a special invitation.

 

The truth about her game, apart from driving, is that her iron play is average (for a pro), her short game is below LPGA and certainly PGA standards, and her putting is mediocre.

 

As much as anything, she is the victim of a media willing to overhype anything for their own ends.

[Solutions Etcetera]

none of us know the facts. But that doesn't mean we can't have opinions, and this is the place to post them.

 

I guess... its just that some of them seem pretty mean spirited.

 

As much as anything, she is the victim of a media willing to overhype anything for their own ends.

 

Agreed!, and the media is just as responsible as anything else for the expectations we may have had for her. I actually feel for her as she definitely seems overwhelmed.

[mat562]

If you sign multi-million dollar deals with high-profile sponsors and then go out of your way to claim that you can do something never before seen in the history of women's professional golf (like play regularly on the PGA Tour) I'm afraid that it is inevitable that you will attract a great deal of media attention.

 

It's not intrusive or un reasonable media attention - like gormless photographers stalking celebrities to get a photo of them putting out their bin at night - but perfectly understandable media coverage of someone who thinks they are special.

 

When it turns out that she's not special; in fact she's not even average in the eyes of the standards required for the LPGA Tour, (let alone the PGA Tour) it inevitably becomes negative publicity and negative discussion amongst the average golf fan.

 

Wie has gone out of her way since her early teenage years to cultivate an image and a persona of being 'special.'

She's accepted invitations to tournaments and has played embarassingly poorly. She's feigned injury to avoid the consequences of playing so poorly. And she's done the whole thing in a big-headed and superior way (which may well have a lot to do with her seemingly svengali-like father)

 

I don't feel sorry for her at all. She's got a healthier bank balance than I'll ever have for, frankly, not a lot more talent, and a lot less good grace than I've got. There are players on the LPGA circuit who have done markedly better than her, without any of the opportunities handed to her on a plate, and with more decorum and manners. And they still come off worse when it comes to the marketability stakes because of some percieved 'specialness' that has failed to materialise.

 

How long will women's golf keep pandering to a spoilt teenager with no semblance of ability or sense of proportion for either what she's capable of or what she means to the sport?

 

It annoys me, as, quite frankly, it's an insult to the rest of the LPGA Tour players.

[Swingtheclub]

After hearing more on Mischelle tonight on Callaways Approach and Golf Central. I am more convinced than ever the girl simply needs to send Mommy and Daddy back tot he Island.

 

The people are actually staying with her at Stanford, from what I understand.

 

The big question is does this girl have the intelligence to see this and dump her parents. Remember she just turned 18 , frankly I do not know how smart she is but even more so I question her maturity and doubt that this is going to happen.

 

Its really and unbelievable waist of talent.

[sergizmo]

It annoys me, as, quite frankly, it's an insult to the rest of the LPGA Tour players.

 

That's one of the things that really gets to me about this. Wie is making more money than Lorena Ochoa, and that is just flat out wrong. I don't want to hear all the tired and false arguments about the publicity she brings and yada, yada, yada. Michelle Wie is way overpaid and a lot of the other ladies including Lorena are way underpaid.

 

I think a lot of the pretty intense negative feelings stem from the fact that the whole Michelle Wie saga seems to be one of celebrity culture at it's worst; A lot of grandstanding, publicity seeking antics coupled with a petulant, self centered attitude has paid off. She has made this much bank and gotten this many exemptions off of hype and not actual substance.

[atlanta golfer]

I hope she turns it around and takes advantage of her great talent.

 

If not, I hope she or her parents / manager were smart enough to invest the money properly, if they did then she is set for life already.

 

Looking at her face and demeanor, it does not look to me like she enjoys this game.

 

No matter what, this tells you why you pay so much for new golf clubs - the marketing expenses are just as higher or even higher than what it costs to manufacture the product. That's why personally I stay away from Nike products, plus a few others......if they put that much into what they pay people to endorse their products, how much is left to really design and make a quality club?

 

I'm all for endorsements and advertising, but there are limits! I'd rather put my money into the product, not the face selling it on tv.

[Milo]

Whatever we might think of the girl, her sponsors, her parents, her managers, her looks, or her attitude the fact is that her game is terrible. She has my sympathy in spades.

 

Never mind if Sony and Nike and Omega are upset, she has no business playing in a regular LPGA tour event never mind being invited to the Samsung. They should stop pressing her to honour the letter of her contract and give the girl a time out for a few years. They took a gamble on her and it failed. Happens in business all the time - get over it and move on. In reality it's chump change to those companies anyway.

 

There is virtually no doubt that she, personally, did not want to play this event but was forced into it.

Put yourselves into her position. You know your game sucks, you know the rest of the players can't stand you and are totally against your playing in the event and you know the press will hammer you for it big time.

 

Enough is enough. It's time to do the right thing for the girl. Her parents need to meet with the sponsors and work out a deal where she can drop out of golf and enjoy her college years in relative peace. If that does not happen don't be surprised if she deliberately injures herself, or worse.

[pickerjohn]

I was thinking today, after reading about Agent #2 giving up

on the Circus, where would Michelle be today, if her Father (in

my opinion, the real culprit) had told her at age 12, to go and

enjoy yourself and I'll support you in any way that I can.

She might be on the ladies golf team at Stanford with a creditable

resume in Ladies amatuer golf.

[Solutions Etcetera]

The big question is does this girl have the intelligence to see this and dump her parents. Remember she just turned 18 , frankly I do not know how smart she is but even more so I question her maturity and doubt that this is going to happen.

How old were you when you "dumped your parents"?

[Swingtheclub]

The big question is does this girl have the intelligence to see this and dump her parents. Remember she just turned 18 , frankly I do not know how smart she is but even more so I question her maturity and doubt that this is going to happen.

How old were you when you "dumped your parents"?

 

18 I joined the Military and did not even tell them I was doing it, when they asked I said it was time for me to grow up and make my own decisions.

 

I am not saying she can not have a relationship with them but its time she made her own decisions.

 

Geessssssssss they went to college with her

[Solutions Etcetera]

BTW... I just noticed another Wie thread spawned this morning (I think that's 5 in the last week or so).

 

I guess we just can't get enough of her.

 

(c:

[Solutions Etcetera]

18 I joined the Military and did not even tell them I was doing it, when they asked I said it was time for me to grow up and make my own decisions.

Maybe you needed that... and maybe they knew you needed that. Remember that different cultures see things very differently.

 

I had two very close friends growing up that were oriental. Their families were VERY hands on. So much so I often felt uncomfortable around their fathers... but it didn't seem to faze how they turned out... one's a happy dentist, the other a happy rocket scientist.

 

YMMV

 

Anyway... not much else to say here so I think I'll give it a rest.