It was in the week before the US Open that Nike produced such a putter, one where the toe did not rear up at the end. Michelle loved it straightaway.
Having finished down at 119th in the LPGA’s putting stats in 2012 and risen to 51st by the end of 2013, she was up at 34th post Pinehurst.
For another aspect of Wie’s game which has changed dramatically across the years, Leadbetter points to Wie’s driving. When she was playing alongside the men, she could keep up with or even out-hit some among them. Ian Poulter was just one of the names Leadbetter used to advance.
"At 14," said Leadbetter, "Michelle had a whippet-like body and swing and could hit for miles. Today, she can still hit long when she has to but she’s a more solid striker and a straighter one."
On a different tack, nothing appeals to Leadbetter more than the way his player has done so much to balance the ledger at a time when more and more girls are thinking that they should give up their schooling to concentrate on golf.
"Parents," he says, "look at Charley Hull and Lydia Ko and think that that’s the way to go but I say to them, ‘Look at Michele. She’s 24 and is that really too old?’"
He thinks that Michelle’s years at Stanford, where she graduated in the realm of media studies, contributed hugely to where she is now. "Michelle," he says, "is a thoroughly well-rounded individual, someone who can handle everything to do with golf and the on-tour lifestyle."
He understands the argument that girls are different from boys in that they develop more quickly physically. Also, he will never dismiss out of hand the suggestion that starting young will enable a player to stop at 30 and have a family.
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