Lydia Ko, women’s World No. 1, moved on from coach David Leadworser/Dr. Mengele at the end of last year.
Leadbetter, who has fallen massively out of favor among PGA Tour pros, is best known on the women’s side of things for turning Michelle Wie’s once long and flowing swing into an unrecognizable, dysfunctional mess that fails to produce results.
SEE ALSO: Lydia Ko fired her coach, now he’s throwing serious shade
Ko fans have to be happy to hear that the 19-year-old phenom has linked up with Gary Gilchrist, who is the best coach of LPGA golfers in the game. Seriously, he’s like the inverse of David Leadbetter. Gilchrist coaches three of the top four women in the world.
The South African’s stable includes World No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn and China’s Shanshan Feng (No. 4). He also coached Yani Tseng when she was No. 1 in the world and is Paula Creamer’s instructor.
And even more encouraging: These remarks from Ko.
‘When I talked to the other players that were with Gary, they told me he was very simple and wasn’t very mechanical,’ Ko told local media in Auckland. ‘That was the aspect I thought would be great. I tried a few lessons with him and we ripped the swing apart.”
“I think that was really important and it’s been good to see the changes we’ve made. I think if you looked at the swing, it might not look so different, but to me, it feels a little different. It kind of cleared up my mind and that’s very important going forward.”
Did you read that? Ko revealed two superb things.
- She’s ripping up the Leadbetter blueprint
- She’ll be playing with a clearer head
This is only confirmation that she made the right decision with Leadbetter. Now if she wins, that will confirm that she chose the right coach and the right clubs.
When Ko switched coaches, she switched her sticks too. She was adopted into the PXG family, the new kids on the golf equipment block with the overpriced lemonade stand. This “prestigious” golf brand is dedicated to showcasing their female athletes and did not sign any more PGA Tour players at the beginning of the season.
One small step for womankind, one giant leap for golf. Now let’s just hope she can perform!
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