I continued to be amazed at the ongoing saga of Michelle Wie. Anything that she does is front page news. So she fires here caddie. Big deal. Keeping a job as a caddie on the tour is harder than being a professional golfer. You can’t fire yourself, but you can fire you caddie if you are playing poorly and Ms. Wie really stunk up the joint at the Ladies British Open.
I attribute the Michelle Wie phenomenon to the lifecycle of a product. Odd analog I know, but bear with me.
First, you’ve never heard of the product. Second, you market the hell out of it. Third, everyone knows about the product and everyone is talking about it. Fourth, everyone buys into the hype and has to get one. Fifth, now that everyone has one, we search to see if there is anything else to quench our buying lust? Sixth, finding nothing, then we, the fickle public, move to the next “great thing” and start buying that.
Michelle Wie is the same thing. Right now Wie, Inc. is a novelty, a circus act, an entertainment. The public likes that. They like to talk about what’s new around the water cooler. Once the subject of Michelle Wie is old news, then we move onto something else more interesting.
Remember, before Ms. Wie turned pro, we talked all about the “young guns” on the LPGA. Now, since most of them have played poorly this year, we latched onto the latest sensation – Wieism (the worship of a winless wonder).
Now, unless Ms. Wie starts winning tournaments, she too will be old news. Faster than you can say Britney Spears.
Think of it as disposable celebrity.

Bruce Stasch, a self-described guru of golf gear, operates two online golf stores and Golf Gear News, a podcast providing thelatest news, interviews, info and tips. Here you'll find insight into the game that you don't find in the mainstream golf media. Expect him to talk about equipment, club building, gear and other weirdness that is the game of golf. He has played the game for more than 10 years and gives himself at least two mulligans per round.
Add to:
|
Archives
|