Brett,
Don't get me wrong for one second, I think her talents as a golfer are great for the Sport of Golf. I'm rooting for her to win the Pub Links all the way. But, to remain true to John's topic, yes, I think the event is broken. I think Michelle Wie is playing by the rules and a status which has been
PERSONALLY AND PRIVATELY crafted and handed to her by the Executive Director of the Golf's largest governing body.
You ask:
Do you think Michelle Wie's lifestyle is more conducive to good golf than that of the big-time college golfers in the PubLinks field? How much more benefit can she get from access to her world-famous swing coach than a college player gets from access to full-time coaching plus frequent work with famous swing teachers, short-game experts and mental-game consultants? I doubt she practices at any better facilities than the top college teams use.
Yes, I do.
I'll lay a dollar to a dime she has nothing but the very best trainers, yoga/pilates/fitness trainers, food and health instructors and DOCTORS that IMG's money can buy. Michelle's "handlers" probably even make her bed for her.
As you know, collegiant players aren't allowed those immenities from outside sources because they would be in violation of NCAA rules. Some of these "collegians" do in fact come from families of substance and wealth. There are others that do not. All of them balance their studies, their golf games, and even their side jobs to try to make it all work. It's all a part of working hard while growing-up--a process that doesn't seem to ever stop! While Michelle Wie undoubtedly is a good daughter, student and can be viewed as a positive role model to many others in her age group and bracket (The Anti-Brittany Spears if you will) and with the help of IMG handlers, she will become the same sheltered and protected individual that will have the personality that IMG has carefully crafted for her so that she can sell, sell, sell.
She is a 15-year old "little" girl that is ready to turn professional, and is ready to completely bypass college and/or the rest of her high school education; or get it by way of the very best tutors and home-schooled educators that money can buy, just like many of today's younger tennis stars--further proof that modern golf is becoming more and more like modern tennis.
After all of my rambling my question to you is,
does this sound like she's a public course player? (Well, maybe two years ago she was!)
I doubt she practices at any better facilities than the top college teams use.
Brett, I'm not crazy about the collegiants playing Pub Links either, unless they play, and are handicap-card carrying members of a true Public Links. (This would mean by definition that the Karsten Course at OSU, even Notre Dame's Warren Course as anything but a Pub Links.) And I agree with you, there is without a doubt, a definition there of the term that is as convoluted as the latest edition of the USGA ball specs!
At this point, to even grant her the same Amateur status as Bobby Jones or Francis Ouimet is borderline ridiculous, and a harrowing image of what has become of the state of the Sport.
John, I found the opening chapters of The Future of Golf to be some of the most insightful, most accurate descriptions of the failings of the Game to date. Ben Crenshaw, Peter Aliss, Ian Baker-Finch, Nick Faldo and many, many others also feel the same. But what do they know compared to you!
