O(I)MG: 16-Year-Old Lydia Ko Dumps 11-Year Swing Coach

Barely a week removed from signing with IMG--eh, em--teenage sensation Lydia Ko has fired the only swing coach she'd known and according to her new agent, is in the market for a full-time swing coach.

From an unbylined AP report:

Guy Wilson, who has worked with the 16-year-old Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was "incredibly disappointed" the partnership is over. Ko hasn't publicly commented on the decision.

Michael Yim, her agent at IMG, said Monday that Ko worked with various teachers at the Leadbetter Academy in Florida before going to Taiwan for the Swinging Skirts tournament, an event she won two weeks ago in her second start as a professional. Kim said Ko plans to meet with other teachers before deciding on a full-time coach.

Wilson goes on to make it clear he's not taking this too well.

Meanwhile, contrary to the statement made by her new agent about coach-shopping, Ko is believed to have decided upon David Leadbetter as her new coach.

Golf Channel Digital, master of breaking all the news that's fit to post without a living author's name attached, noted that fellow Golf Channel staffer Damon Hack tweeted of Ko's plan to work with David Leadbetter.

Hack's first Tweet:

Leadbetter on Lydia Ko: "She was with us for 3 days after Naples and liked what we worked on. Simple stuff." (cont)

— Damon Hack (@damonhackGC) December 23, 2013

And it seems Leadbetter is already taking credit for Ko's recent win in Taiwan:

Leadbetter on Lydia cont. "Must have worked. Went out and won Swinging Skirts the next week in Taiwan."

— Damon Hack (@damonhackGC) December 23, 2013

And GolfWRX's Ben Alberstadt says Ko is signing with Callaway.

Comments

[Canadian golf coach Bob P]

Where are the 2 superstar 13 year olds from Korea that Leadbetter worked with years ago
He managed to take them from the top of the golf world to non existent
Ask Bob Tway what he thinks of Leadbetter
Leadbetter is famous for getting more players off the tour than on the tour
3 days with Leadbetter and Lydia Ko wins who is Leadbetter kidding he's got man of war feed her stay out of her way and let her win
Any good coach knows when u get a good player teach her how to play with the swing she brought "NEVER" make swing changes it's suicide
The game has 3 pieces. 1-control the present moment 2- visualize and feel the upcoming shot. 3-be in control when the ball stops
When the ball stops on any golf shot ask yourself 1 simple question am I in a position I can learn from?

[metro18]

Lydia is 16. She has won 5 professional tournaments and ranked 4 in the Rolex World Golf Rankings.
You think she has a "normal" life till now?
She has done what any smart thinking person of any age would do. She has turned pro and taken the money. Seriously to those who cry foul and say she is too young and needs to grow up etc..... if you were in the same boat or had a kid in the same boat, what would you do? Golf and life are fickle, so you take what you can and when you can, as she has done.
Now, I'm a Kiwi and I think that Guy Wilson is a superstar, but.... she needs someone around her more than "10 times per year". Maybe more a mentor than a coach, but she needs someone on hand. Guy couldn't or wouldn't do that. His call and hers too.
You go Lyds - you are a superstar, but one thing, please don't forget the country and people who gave you your start. You have a Kiwi passport. A Kiwi accent and a Kiwi outlook. Stay that way and all will be good. Go Lyds!!!

[Easingwold]

Lydia isn't a superstar yet. But the future looks bright. She has been playing a "pro circuit" already, because she is so damn good. She might as well get paid for it. I have to remind our American friends here that many teens leave school at 16, not 18 as they do in high school in the States. The mind set is totally different at 16 in, say Britain, than it is in the States at the same age. That goes for the parents perspective of their children at 16 too. It's different than in America.
Leadbetter didn't do Faldo and Price too much harm, did he ? Els and many top pros went to him, some had some good out of him, some didn't. It seems to me, all the top pros go around the merry go round of golf coaches. Leadbetter is just one of many.

[8802]

Well, it wasn't a report, it was a quote from her Colin. Are you so skeptical of golf writers that you think it is fabricated?
As for the age, personally, I'd like to see most try college for a few years at minimum. Not everyone is cut out for it but they should try, and preferably away from their parents. Any parent that thinks they have to be with their kid all day has got some type of separation problem. While I know it wasn't you who made the Lexi Thompson comment, she is actually a great example of why 16 and 17 is too young. Game is obviously ready, as is Lydia's. Did you see Lexi handle a few tournaments last year when she exploded and then had no idea how to handle her dad on the bag, the cameraman in her face, or the other players in her group. Complete meltdown. It was actually very awkward to watch as she just couldn't deal with it. Money must be the only thing that matters and the baloney about her mom being the greatest mom in the world is absolutely a joke. Even a mediocre mom wouldn't expose her daughter to the amount of pressure she will be under to make money. Success won't be measured in dollars.

[The Constructivist]

OK, I've had time to think about this a little further. What do you all think?

http://mlyhlss.blogspot.com/2013/12/when-personal-meets-professional-meets.html

[Carl Peterson]

I think, based on your previous comments here, that I won't bother reading your blog.

[ol Harv]

Hey Easingwold, where do you get this theory on children and parents in America? Is this an observation or do you have some type of data that shows this? I'm seriously interested to know how you've come to these conclusions?

[ol Harv]

Hey Easingwold, where do you get this theory on children and parents in America? Is this an observation or do you have some type of data that shows this? I'm seriously interested to know how you've come to these conclusions?

[Easingwold]

@ ol Harv

Data ? Personal experiance Harv. I did most of my schooling Stateside ,some here. Parents in America see their children leave school there at 18, then go to college or work. Here, as in many places they leave school at 16. It's a different mindset for the parents and the children. All I'm saying is to Americans, 16 is just finishing the sophmore year in high school and some think of Lydia that way. Here, we would see her getting a job, if not further education. Starting work 2 years earlier, tends to make 16 year olds a little more mature, fending for themselves, than say someone still in school.
Like I said, a different mindset.

[ol Harv]

Which "mindset" is right in your opinion Easingwood? Did you go to college at 16? Where are all the 16 year old Europeans on the PGA Tour?

[deuxcents]

Lots of experts in here.
How many have worked with or spoken with Leadbetter (or Sean)?

Colin, thanks for the comments. Working in the North golf, it's
actually nice to hear from someone who actually knows the Ko family.

Every 2-3 year group of juniors there are players who look like the "next one".
What percentage of any of them become a "decent" one?

I have personal experience with Lead, and can only tell you he was the best swing
instructor I have ever personally seen. He is a better guy than an instructor.
I've seen him do amazing things to help people, including me in my early professional days,
that he had no reason to do, other than trying to help.

Players choose coaches, nobody is forced to work with anybody. There is a reason
players choose to go to Leadbetter, some of it swing related, some of it human being related.

I stop in this National Enquirer of golf like a NASCAR fan waiting for a wreck.
You never fail to disappoint

[Easingwold]

The mindset suits where you live Harv.
All I was saying is take that in mind, when judging individuals Like Rory ( who turned pro at 17) and Lydia at 16. They grew up knowing school finished at 16. Girls generally mautre earlier than boys, like tennis for example, so they can compete with women at 16 more than boys at 16 can with men. Most boys aren't ready before 18 physically anyway.

[johnnnycz]

@CanadiangolfcoachBob:

The last of your three steps/parts really hits the nail on the head. Amen. +1


The learning part of golf happens between impact and when the ball stops moving....the ole Cause vs Effect paradigm.

[vinnie gambino]

Do we know if Hank Haney got a call from Mrs Ko or IMG?

[The Pro from Dover]

@ Vinnie You may be on to something there!

@deuxcents I have had personal dealings with Mr. Leadbetter. And I could tell you a couple of things you are not aware of.

But that is for another time.

[DTF]

"Remember that Lydia and her parents could only select from all the conflicting advice they got about what to do next."

So the Ko's don't fall into the "major innovators" category?

"You're right I'm a naive New Zealander and perhaps forgot that in the USA the mantra is follow the money- pity the USA."

Colin, that's a funny one! Obviously you took a bungy jump with a cord the was a foot too long!! Either that or your blokart flipped at high speed....you anti-American blowhard.

[Colin MacGillivray]

Hey DTF my jibe was in response to some ad hominem shit which I got from some 8806 I think was his number. I don't do name calling much. There's no point in writing abuse about a pen name. My jibe therefore was aimed at the US - had to poke something. And the home of "Greed is Good" seemed appropriate.
Better to stick to the topic- a young woman and her mothere doing their best.

[highside]

David Leadbetter has complicated a game that requires simplification. He is poison.

[DTF]

8802 was his handle. Maybe tell him he's "unbalanced and has the MOI of a gnat"... ;0) (8802 is a classic old Wilson flange design putter and by today's standard it is technologically void and very difficult to putt with )

Greed is good is a movie, fiction. So leave the good ol' USofA out of it! Or, we could discuss Kim Dotcom's lavish lifestyle and voracious consumption there in NZ, all endorsed by the NZ Immigration and other political officials....but there's no need for this...

[8802]

@DTF, Isn't it amazing how the non-Americans have this reputation for being so laid back and not into labeling "like Americans" but do it just as much. Colin was pissed because earlier in the thread I posted an older quote from Mr. "laid-back, not into money" Kiwi himself. He said about Lydia "she may choose to reject sponsorship unless it's exactly on her terms. New Zealanders are notorious for not chasing cash and settling for a nicer life." Just wanted him to see how far off he was. If her mom is not chasing cash than I don't know what she's doing? If she wasn't "chasing cash" she would have kept her daughter in school because that's important. He didn't like being questioned so started with the anti-American slant, along with Easingwood, who continues to show his ignorance by posting comment after comment about American teens and parents being so different than the European's and other parts of the world. Kind of has a "Jimmy the Greek" tone to it, doesn't it?? Are you familiar with him Easingwood and Colin?

[Easingwold]

8802, where was I anti American here ? My point was many Americans think Ko is too young to turn pro. But, it was fine for her to play as an amateur and not get paid ? Many Americans think she should go on to further education, but as World no. 4 she will play in most of the big events anyway. 16 is considered young in America because they haven't finished school yet, but in many countries, they do. That's just a fact some of you seem to struggle with. So tell me, why is Lydia wrong to turn pro, or her parents wanting the best for her ? Well ?

[Easingwold]

Michelle Wie , bless her, went on to further education, fat lot of good that did her, didn't it ? It seems some think Wie's parents and Ko's are the same , exploiting their daughter. Why do people assume this without knowing Lydia or her parents ?

[DTF]

I am on record many places saying Lydia should, and would turn pro. Also said playing "college golf" would have been a complete waste, dumb move.

If there's one thing I know for sure, Easingwold is squarely in the anti-American camp.

Easingwold, explain to me how Wie completing a Stanford degree is somehow a negative?

[Easingwold]

DTF, I am not anti American, I even lived there for 14 years. Sometimes, we don't agree, but I agree with you in the college golf thing.

A degree is a fine achievement, but little use if one can't apply it. Watching Wie , at times I wonder if she could.

[8802]

@Easingwood, "fat lot of good that did her"?????? Sounds to me like it's not the Americans who are so greedy afterall. Is there no need to go to college unless it's to make a ton of money? Maybe she learned to live without her mom and dad up her butt every second of every day (of course they moved there as well). Maybe she got exposed to different points of view and different people and grew as a person. Lot of good that does Easingwood. Sounds to me like you would rather see a girl with a huge bank account than a mature adult who can take care of the large bank account and get along with different types of people and handle themselves and fit in to society because they are well adjusted people. By the way, in this thread and several over the past few months, you have clearly stated that it had nothing to do with when the kids got out of school. Rather, you said that American parents and American children were different in how they raised their kids and grew up. No schooling was mentioned.

[jerry gallo]

Mr. Easingwald, when was the last time you "applied" your algebra and geometry knowledge? Were they a waste? Going away to college is about more than the degree.

[Easingwold]

8802, if Wie learned how to prise herself away from her parents by going to college, then I'm happy for her. But I'd never use the word mature when describing Wie, far from it.

Jerry, I never got the chance, but made the best if what I had. But that's another story.

[Easingwold]

Once more on this "Anti American thing", is rubbish. But it is natural for Americans to think of children 18 ( leaving school age) as some countries think of their children at 16, ( their school leaving age)

It's a different mindset as to when a child is ready to get a job or go on to college. That was always the main point.

Resorting to name calling is just a waste of time, don't you think ?