Michelle Wie West reveals the one regret she has which cost her a longer playing career

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Michelle Wie West has been one of golf’s most recognisable figures for almost two decades, having broken all sorts of records on the LPGA when she emerged onto the scene as a teenager.

Michelle Wie West certainly pushed the boundaries during her career, competing in eight PGA Tour events while also making the cut on the Asian Tour at one stage. And she was one of the game’s biggest superstars across the LPGA and PGA Tour following the turn of the century.

So it may surprise some to know that Wie West won just one major during her career – the 2014 US Women’s Open at Pinehurst. In fact, she only won five times on the LPGA before stepping away from the game in 2023.

Unfortunately, Wie West was probably unable to realise the full potential many thought she had, and injury did play a factor in the career she would go on to have.

Michelle Wie West reveals a regret she has from early in her career

Wie West’s significance in the game makes her an all-time great regardless, but it appears that she feels that her career could have played out a little differently had she not been so desperate to get the reps in while she was a youngster.

“I just think it’s the old school belief of you’ve got to hit balls until your hands bleed. I think back in the day, before you had all the science and technology, it was quantity over quality truthfully. Who can stay out there the longest, and you hear the Tiger Woods mentality of running on the treadmill with a weighted vest, and all of the stories of you take your glove off and your hands are bleeding was the goal,” she said on On the Road with Iona.

“I wish I hadn’t done that, I felt like I would’ve had a longer playing career with a healthier body. So that’s one thing I definitely do regret is hitting that many balls on a mat, because it wasn’t even grass, it was a mat and you’re hitting off of concrete at that point.”

Wie West would face tough decision over whether she would change anything

It would be interesting to know whether Wie West would trade any of the impact she had for perhaps a more successful career individually. There are arguably not many players – man or woman – who managed to do a better job of breaking into the mainstream.

And it was because of the promise that she showed at such a young age that she had so many eyes on her career. She broke all sorts of records and smashed many a glass ceiling along the way.

But the trade off appears to have been that she could not build on that as much as she would have liked during what should have perhaps been the peak years of her career.

Having said that, that will almost add to her legacy, with many stars of the future able to learn from the regret Wie West has.