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The post GOLF’s Subpar: How a call from David Leadbetter convinced Charles Howell III to turn pro appeared first on Golf.

Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by Charles Howell III who explains how a call from his coach David Leadbetter, after he won the team and individual NCAA National Championships, convinced him to turn pro.

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The post This Patrick Reed swing change has him on brink of history appeared first on Golf.

The post This Patrick Reed swing change has him on brink of history appeared first on Golf.

Captain America is on the cusp of history, albeit on the other side of the world.  

After a second-round 64 at the DP World Tour Championship, in Dubai, Patrick Reed has a four-shot lead, putting him in pole position to become the first American to win the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, nee the Order of Merit.

Yep, first American ever.

You’re forgiven if you haven’t been keeping tabs on Reed’s steady ascent up the Euro Tour’s points list — 2020 has served us one or two distractions — but there Reed sits, in the top spot. Even if he finishes second at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Sunday, only three players could overtake Reed for the title.

So, how has he done it? First, with a sneaky good run. With all the bluster in 2020 around Bryson, DJ and the new fleet of young guns, Reed has been showing up, week after week, especially in events that most influence the Race to Dubai standings — i.e., the majors and WGCs. Here are Reed’s seven 2020 starts that count toward his RTD total:

The consistency didn’t just happen. Reed has credited his steady play to the work he has done with his swing coaches, David Leadbetter and Irishman Sean Hogan, who has worked with the likes of Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Lee Westwood.

On Friday, Reed was asked which part of his game he has most been trying to improve.

“I think the biggest thing is the consistency,” he said. “In the past, when I was swinging well and hitting the ball well, I could hit it close all day. But it was the days I was a hair off that the ball was just getting away from me too much — whether it was off the tee, iron shots into the greens — I was having to lean too much on my short game.”

Reed’s short game stacks up against anyone’s but there are only so many times even the deftest chippers and putters can pull rabbits out of their hats.

“Today and this week and ever since I started kind of with the new swing, it just feels a little bit more controllable,” he continued. “It feels as if I don’t have as big a curve going on irons and stuff, and because of that I feel like whether it’s a right flag or left flag, I can aim closer to the hole rather than trying to aim farther away and trying to sling it in there.”

Reed concluded: “I think that’s been the biggest difference so far. The misses are playable as far as you can still handle them, get up-and-down or even have a putt for birdie.”

There’s a lesson in there for all of us: Whatever your own personal version of bad is, learn how to manage it and better scores will follow.

How Reed manages the weekend in Dubai will decide his run at history, but if he can continue to maintain his consistency and manage his mistakes, the field will have much work to do to catch him.

Reed’s closest pursuer, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, knows what he’s up against.

“Don’t get me wrong, his whole-round game is brilliant,” Fitzpatrick said of Reed, “but I’ve always admired him for his chipping and pitching. Every time I watch him you always think it’s going to be — he’s going to hole it or it’s going to go close, and I think he’s very underrated on that front. When he is going to be out of position tomorrow, which is inevitable, everyone is, that’s just the way golf is, in my mind I back him to get up-and-down nine times out of 10. You wouldn’t necessarily say that for some players, but he’s one of those guys. So it’s definitely going to be a grind.”

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The post David Leadbetter says Lydia Ko’s parents are ‘a case of unbelievable ignorance’ appeared first on Golf.

The post David Leadbetter says Lydia Ko’s parents are ‘a case of unbelievable ignorance’ appeared first on Golf.

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Leadbetter has been just one of the changes Ko’s made over the years. She’s also went through a couple of different instructors and several caddies.

“It really is a very sad situation to observe,” Leadbetter said. “The problem is when you start changing everything. As many changes as she’s made, not only coaching, caddies and equipment, and sports psychologists and trainers, she’s also changed her body type now. Who knows what’s going on inside her head right now.”

This isn’t the first time Leadbetter has criticized the role Ko’s parents have played in her career, but Ko told ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg last year that she trusts her parents. “In the end, if I’m making any decision, whether I’m going to shop or change caddies or change coaches, I’m always going to talk to my parents about it,” Ko said. “No matter what, I’m going to ask them.”

Ko’s best finish this season has been a T6 at the Dow Great Lakes Invitational. She missed the cut in her last two starts, both of which were majors.

“My advice would be look to take a break right now,” Leadbetter said. “She doesn’t need to play for the rest of the year. Just get her head together, relax, get away from the game and rethink this whole thing.”

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The post David Leadbetter officially teams up with Patrick Reed ahead of Masters title defense appeared first on Golf.

The post David Leadbetter officially teams up with Patrick Reed ahead of Masters title defense appeared first on Golf.

One of the most well-known golfers and golf instructors are officially teaming up.

Swing coach David Leadbetter said during an interview on pro golfer Brad Faxon’s Sirius XM radio show on Monday that he will officially be joining Patrick Reed’s team ahead of the 28-year-old’s return to Augusta National Golf Club next month.

Leadbetter said on Faxon’s show that the defending Masters champion asked him to join his team and that he accepted the offer.

Reed’s wife, Justine, sent a text to Tim Rosaforte of Golf Channel on Monday confirming the hire of the 66-year-old Leadbetter to her husband’s team.

“We are very proud to announce that Mr. David Leadbetter will be joining our team and we all look forward to working with him,” Justine said.

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After a poor first-round 77 at the Valspar Championship which consisted of three double bogeys, Reed was seen with Leadbetter on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort early Friday morning before his second round. It came about after Reed’s wife, who was also his former caddie, called the renowned swing coach last Thursday to help her husband out.

Leadbetter and Reed worked together for 90 minutes on Friday morning. After observing Reed, Leadbetter told the media that he felt Reed’s swing was getting too long, which had also been Justine’s concern. “I wouldn’t say Bubba(ish), but very long,” Leadbetter said.

Reed has worked with two other coaches for several years: Kevin Kirk (since 2012) and Josh Gregory (since the end of 2015). Reed’s caddie, Kessler Karain, told GOLF.com, “He just wants a second set of eyes on his swing. The last couple rounds he’s been a completely different golfer.”

Leadbetter was unsure whether this session with Reed would lead to more consultations. “You never know with these guys,” he said. “He seemed to like it, so we’ll see how it goes. Today was the first time I’d really met him.”

But clearly it worked, as Reed reportedly returned to the course for another lesson with Leadbetter on Saturday morning after missing the cut at the Valspar by nine shots following a second-round 75.

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Now, Leadbetter will be tasked with helping Reed get his first win on Tour since his triumph at the Masters last spring.

“He’s been searching a little bit,” Leadbetter said to Rosaforte. “He seemed a little frustrated. He seems very happy [with the progress]. He likes the sensations and shots he’s seeing. We’ll see what happens.”

Leadbetter went on to say to Golf Channel that he likes Reed’s swing and that it didn’t need “major reconstruction.”

After struggling at the Valspar, Reed is back in action this week at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. With 40/1 odds to win this week, Reed will be paired alongside Sergio Garcia, Andrew Putnam, and Shane Lowry.

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The post Patrick Reed consults with swing coach David Leadbetter after introduction from Reed’s wife appeared first on Golf.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Patrick Reed has not looked his Masters-winning self in recent days. Last weekend, he closed out an otherwise stellar Players Championship campaign with a fourth-round 78. On Thursday, here at the Valspar Championship, Reed made three double-bogeys on his way to an opening-round 77. So it was no surprise to see him grinding on the range before his second round at Innisbrook’s Copperhead course on Friday morning.

What was surprising was the instructor at his side: David Leadbetter.

With Reed’s swing out of sorts, Justine Reed — Patrick’s wife and former caddie — put in a call Thursday to enlist the services of the renowned swing coach. Leadbetter was game to assist, which led to his and Reed’s almost-90-minute session at Innisbrook.

Patrick Reed had a consultation with Tour guru David Leadbetter on the range at the Valspar Championship this past Friday.

Twitter: @JohnstonGarrett

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After observing Reed, Leadbetter told the media that he felt Reed’s swing was getting too long, which had also been Justine’s concern. “I wouldn’t say Bubba(ish), but very long,” Leadbetter said.

Reed has worked with two other coaches for several years: Kevin Kirk (since 2012) and Josh Gregory (since the end of 2015).

Reed’s caddie, Kessler Karain, told GOLF.com, “He just wants a second set of eyes on his swing. The last couple rounds he’s been a completely different golfer.”

Leadbetter was unsure whether this session with Reed would lead to more consultations. “You never know with these guys,” he said. “He seemed to like it, so we’ll see how it goes. Today was the first time I’d really met him.”

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Patrick Reed says he’s in better mindset than he was a year ago

Gary Koch, the NBC analyst and six-time PGA Tour winner, said of Reed’s emergency meeting with Leadbetter: “Doing this with another coach this close to the Masters shows the sense of urgency Reed’s feeling. I don’t recall in my time seeing this happen in all my years I’ve been watching the Masters.”

Leadbetter said he also couldn’t recall a reigning Masters champion soliciting swing advice just weeks before his title defense, but said, “It was not open-heart surgery today, just something small that we worked on.”

When Reed started his second round at the Valspar at 1:14 p.m ET., he was 12 shots off the lead. He is paired with Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia.

He has not won since claiming his first major title at Augusta National last April.

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The post Breaking down Michelle Wie’s new-look, pain-free golf swing using AI technology appeared first on Golf.

The post Breaking down Michelle Wie’s new-look, pain-free golf swing using AI technology appeared first on Golf.

A new day, a new Michelle Wie golf swing.

Wie’s game had hit a notable slide after the 28 year-old captured her first major in the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open. She ended that season 6th in the World Ranking and with $1.9 million in winnings, but two years later she was down to 173rd in the World Ranking and earned just $76,109.

But Wie rebounded, thanks to a homemade, unorthodox swing: She kept her lower body tense and incorporated a lot of wrist hinge. She started playing big left-to-right cuts, and it worked: She jumped to 29th in 2017 and was a key figure in the victorious U.S. Solheim Cup team.

The problem? It was a massive strain on her wrist. She withdrew from this year’s Ricoh Women’s British Open in the beginning of August a wrist injury and has embarked on a significant swing change so she can play pain-free in the future.

Her first start since her WD is this week, in the LPGA’s season-opener.

“I just had to change things out of necessity,” she said at this week’s UL International Crown. “I couldn’t swing the way I used to…I worked with my trainer, David [Leadbetter], and we just tried to figure out what position doesn’t hurt. Went there, and just trying to swing as pain-free as I can. It actually feels pretty good. Thankfully he I talking to David that thankfully I’m used to just ripping up my swing, so just another day.”

Here is Wie’s swing from earlier this season.

But the early signs of Wie’s newest swing change are very positive.

We enlisted the help of Joe Plecker, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and Chief Swing Officer of Play with the Pros,  a state-of-the-art golf teaching app owned by GOLF’s parent company that uses artificial intelligence to improve golfers’ games. He used the Swing AI technology to help us better understand Wie’s new move.

Plecker oversaw the analysis and saw three key issues in Wie’s old swing, which I’ve highlighted in her Swing AI Swing Potential Index: Her stance, upper body turn, hinge (which affects her tempo), and body sequence release.

As Plecker points out in the frame below, Wie’s wide stance from earlier this year meant her lower body remained tense and was unable to turn fully behind the ball on the backswing.

That caused issues later in her swing. As Plecker points out below, notice the way Wie’s leg is straight; her stance was preventing her from effectively transferring her weight throughout the swing, which is why she’s hanging back behind the ball in the photo.

Her new swing looks much better, on all fronts.

Here’s Wie’s swing from earlier this year (left) vs. now (right). Her stance is already narrower, and you’ll immediately notice less wrist hinge throughout her swing — a move that will help keep her pain-free.

It starts on the first move away from the ball.

Less wrist hinge is particularly noticeable halfway through her backswing.

And that decreases the amount of lag on the downswing.

Rather than a quick, narrow move predicated on lots of wrist hinge, Wie is focusing on creating width with her arms throughout the swing and transferring her weight from back-to-front more smoothly. There are key moves that will help her stay pain-free and, hopefully, play some great golf in the process.

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Once on track to become one of the greatest professional golfers in history, Lydia Ko has lost her way. And the turn has come largely on the heels of massive turnover in her camp in late 2016, when Ko replaced her caddie, coach, equipment and fitness trainer essentially all at once. The results have worsened for the former World No. 1, who is currently 16th in the World Ranking and hasn’t won since the period of upheaval more than a year ago.

Her former coach, David Leadbetter, has come forward with his side of the story. The renowned instructor (and member of GOLF’s Top 100 Teachers in America Hall of Fame) worked with Ko from Nov. 2013-Dec. 2016 and was dropped as part of Ko’s purge. Ko had experienced a lot of success during their time together: she won the LPGA Rookie of the Year and became the youngest-ever world No. 1, a spot she held for 84 weeks.

In a 1,215-word post on his personal website, Leadbetter defended his work with Ko, and the implementation of a swing technique at his academy he calls “The A Swing.” Leadbetter wrote the post as a response to a feature story penned by Kevin Van Valkenburg for ESPN the Magazine, where Van Valkenburg explored Leadbetter’s swing technique and the influence Ko’s parents have on her career. Leadbetter wrote:

“What many people didn’t understand, was that the A Swing, which was a commercial name for a book we published, was for the most part technique that had worked in the early years with Sir Nick Faldo and Nick Price, amongst many others. It was adapted to Lydia in order to make her swing more efficient. If you looked at the statistics, especially greens in regulation, this proved to be true. It was a very simple approach, one she understood and had minimal maintenance.

“We honestly felt like this was the best approach for Lydia, because not being the strongest player, it provided natural energy to her swing.”

Leadbetter also writes that Ko had been burning out in late 2016, and that her father pushed for a coaching change.

“She had a very busy schedule in 2016, including the Rio Olympics. Unfortunately, in our opinion, Lydia’s schedule was such that a lot of fatigue and tiredness had set in. Somehow through it all, she managed to win a silver medal, despite the fact that she was physically and mentally exhausted – a classic symptom of burnout.

“Along with all of this, her father, a non-accomplished golfer, heard rumors that she needed to change her swing and made suggestions to Lydia to change it – independently of her coaches.

“In this day and age, we have ways of measuring energy output in the swing. In the last quarter of the year, she had lost 20% of her energy which could only mean one thing – complete fatigue. Unfortunately, to the unknowledgeable, this can be misconstrued as experiencing swing issues. Well, you will have swing issues when you’re too fatigued to workout, practice, and are mentally drained. At the end of the year, she and her “team” decided that even though she had won five tournaments including a Major earlier in the year, that they wanted to move on.”

Leadbetter closes by wishing Ko the best, but takes a pessimistic view on her future playing career.

“Lydia is a great young lady, we only wish the best for her. We honestly felt that if the decision was left entirely up to her, that she would still be with us.

Lydia can certainly win more tournaments, even Majors, but there’s no possible way that she can play better than she played for those first three years. It just goes to show, that not always is the grass greener on the other side of the hill!”

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The post First indoor Leadbetter Golf Academy in the U.S. coming to New York City appeared first on Golf.

The first indoor Leadbetter Golf Academy in the United States will open in New York City next month.

Konnectgolf, which was founded in 2017, is a private social and indoor golf club that features simulators and hitting bays with Trackman, craft beer, a food and beverage menu, leagues, competitions and, now, David Leadbetter Certified instruction.

Located at 590 5th Ave. in Midtown Manhattan, it is expected to open in mid-February. PGA Senior Professional Steve Keogh will be the lead instructor.

“New Yorkers expect great service, convenience, and are always looking for fun, new experiences,” said Ralph Kartzman, a Konnect co-owner with Lee Hetfield, in a release. “We’ve created the perfect private club experience for golfers at all levels.”

There are 34 Leadbetter Golf Academies across 15 countries, and the network has more than 60 certified instructors. David Leadbetter is one of the world’s most renowned golf instructors, having taught several major champions and professionals throughout his career. He’s a GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher and the 2017 PGA Teacher of the Year.

To learn more about Konnectgolf, click here.

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The post Who will be Tiger Woods’s next swing coach? We handicap the field of contenders appeared first on Golf.

The post Who will be Tiger Woods’s next swing coach? We handicap the field of contenders appeared first on Golf.

In a procedure that has become as familiar to him as back surgery, Tiger Woods has separated himself from yet another swing coach. Woods broke the news Friday on Twitter, announcing that he parted ways with Chris Como, his swing consultant of the past three years. In the short run, at least, Tiger will fly solo. But we’re betting that hey’ll tire of being his own swing doctor, so we have drawn up odds for who he’ll hire next.

David Leadbetter: 10-to-1 odds

At his golf academies, Leadbetter has helped countless struggling golfers swing more like Tour pros. Maybe he could get Tiger back to swinging a little more like … Tiger Woods.

Claude Harmon: 15-to-1

Like his father, Butch, Claude is a pedigreed instructor. Unlike his father, he has no Tiger baggage. For Woods, it would be like “going back to Butch,” without feeling like he’s given in to what so many have urged him to do all along.

Dave Pelz: 25-to-1

What’s wrong with Tiger’s short game? Is it just a case of rust? Or is he haunted by the heebie-jeebies? If he hired Pelz and his chipping woes continued, we would have the answer. It wouldn’t be for lack of practice or technique.

Cameron McCormick: 50-to-1

There is so much talk these days about whether an aging Tiger can keep up with the young bucks. He could start by hiring the guy who helped make Jordan Spieth the wunderkind he is.

Notah Begay: 75-to-1

Not only a close friend but a former college teammate, Begay is an insightful student of the swing who brings three of the qualities Tiger values most: loyalty, loyalty and loyalty. And since he’s already following the action as an on-course commentator, he could offer playing lessons as well.

Butch Harmon: 100-to-1

Harmon has said that he would never work with Woods again, and besides, that Woods would never ask him. But in retrospect, the end of their wildly successful partnership has often seemed like a high school breakup: an immature decision that neither party could fully explain.

Michael Breed: 500-to-1

For a guy with a history of back trouble, maybe the best option is to sit at home relaxing with the television tuned to Breed’s instructional show, The Golf Fix.

Johnny Miller: 1,000-to-1

Sure, Tiger knows a lot about the golf swing. But he’s never had the benefit of working with a two-time major winner who could tell him when he’d choked under pressure or caught a shot “just a groove high.”

Hank Haney: 5,000-to-1

Though theirs was not the most amicable of breakups, it’s hard to ignore the happy times they had. Just think what could happen if they got back together: Woods could win another six majors, and Haney could write another best-selling book.

Mac O’Grady: 100,000-to-1

When it comes to the golf swing, few people are wonkier than Tiger, who is famously fond of diving deep into the weeds. One of those people is O’Grady, the eccentric, ambidextrous golf savant who reportedly once tried helping Seve Ballesteros by burying Seve’s swing flaws in a box in a desert. Wait. That’s not wonky. That’s just weird.

Brandel Chamblee: 5,000,000-to-1

Chamblee has made a side career of scrutinizing Tiger, so it wouldn’t be a huge leap to turn that gig into a full-time job. Question is: how would Woods respond if his coach told him he was getting “a little cavalier” with his swing?

Donald Trump: 10,000,000,000-to-1

But wouldn’t it be fun to sit around speculating which of the two would get fired first?

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