David Leadbetter (born 27 June 1952) is a golf instructor, originally from Worthing in Sussex, England.

Career

Leadbetter began his career on the

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

and

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tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, but had little success as a player. Having an interest in the techniques, mechanics and psychology of the sport, he soon moved into instruction and came to wide notice in the 1980s when he rebuilt the swing of

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...

, who then went on to win six major championships. Leadbetter now runs an international chain of golf academies headquartered at the ChampionsGate Golf Club in

Davenport, Florida Davenport is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,043 at the 2020 Census. The city's population has increased dramatically since the 2 ...

, U.S. which has 36 holes designed by

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...

. There are also branches elsewhere in North America and in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Since launching the first Leadbetter Golf Academy over 30 years ago, David has coached players to 26 Major Championship titles and over 150 individual worldwide tournament victories. Seven of those players have even held first place in the Official World Golf Ranking. Leadbetter himself concentrates on teaching tour professionals and on instructing other coaches in his methods, who then teach his ideas at his academies. Apart from Faldo his students include

Nick Price Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1 ...

Charles Howell III Charles Gordon Howell III (born June 20, 1979) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on LIV Golf and formerly on the PGA Tour. He has been featured in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking and ranked 9th on the PGA Tour m ...

Michelle Wie Michelle Sung Wie West (; born October 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the ...

Lydia Ko Dame Lydia Ko (born 24 April 1997) is a New Zealand professional golfer, member of the LPGA Hall of Fame, and the reigning Olympic champion. She first reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings on 2 February 2015 at of age, makin ...

and Byeong Hun An. Pros who formerly worked with Leadbetter included:

(1984–1998),

(1997), and

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is nicknamed "the Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major ...

(1990–2008). He was ranked second to

Butch Harmon Claude "Butch" Harmon Jr. (born August 28, 1943) is an American golf instructor and former professional player. Early life Butch Harmon was born and raised in New Rochelle, New York. His parents were Claude Harmon, Sr. and Alice Harmon (1918-19 ...

on the 2005-2006 edition of ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...

's'' list of the "50 Greatest Teachers" in the United States. Throughout his career, Leadbetter has also written eight books about golf swings. He has also overseen the development of various golf training media, products and services, including the SwingSetter, SwingSetter Pro and a number of A Swing approved training aids released with the book. His books have sold two million copies making him one of the best-selling golf instruction authors in the world.

Trained champions

The following golfers whom Leadbetter coached went on to win the following tournaments: *

Kathy Baker Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Support ...

- 1985 U.S. Women’s Open *

Ian Baker-Finch Ian Michael Baker-Finch (born 24 October 1960) is an Australian golfer and sports commentator best known for winning The Open Championship in 1991. Early life Baker-Finch was born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. He grew up in the same Queens ...

- 1991 Open Championship *

- 1994, 1997 U.S. Open, 2002, 2012 Open Championship *

- 1989, 1990, 1996 Masters, 1987, 1990, 1992 Open Championship *

Trevor Immelman Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tourn ...

- 2008 Masters *

Danielle Kang Danielle Grace Kang (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur twice, in 2010 and 2011. She won the 2017 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, an LPGA ...

- 2017 Women’s PGA Championship *

- 2015 Evian Championship, 2016 ANA Inspiration Championship, 2015, 2016 Best Female Golfer, 2014 LPGA Rookie of the Year, 2015 LPGA Player of the Year *

Se Ri Pak Pak Se-ri or Se-ri Pak (, ; born 28 September 1977) is a South Korean former professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour from 1998 to 2016. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007. Career Born in Taejon, she attended i ...

- 1998 U.S. Women’s Open, 1998 LPGA Rookie of the Year, 2007 World Golf Hall of Fame *

Suzann Pettersen Suzann Pettersen (born 7 April 1981) is a retired Norwegian professional golfer. She played mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and was also a member of the Ladies European Tour. Her career-best world ranking was second and she held that positio ...

- 2006 Women's PGA Championship, 2013 Evian Championship *

- 1992, 1994 PGA Championships, 1994 Open Championship, 1993, 1994 PGA Tour Player of the Year, 2003 World Golf Hall of Fame *

- 2014 U.S. Women’s Open *

Josh Dockum Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J *Big Josh, stage name for America ...

- General Manager/Director of Golf/Head Golf Professional/Whole Staff - Pin Oak Links - Manchester, IA

Criticism of Tiger Woods

In February 1997, it was reported that Leadbetter criticized famous American golfer

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

, saying "Right now, Tiger is a one-dimensional player who swings full on practically every shot.....Another thing that will prevent Tiger from winning a major is pressure. There’s a big difference between winning at Las Vegas and winning at Augusta… He has to pay his dues

- - Tiger went on to win the Masters 2 months later by twelve strokes. More than two decades later, in December 2017, he questioned the hunger of the top male pros due to the money involved in golf now and also the media frenzy that follows Tiger Woods everywhere.

Video games

Leadbetter appeared in the 1992 video game '' MicroProse Golf, David Leadbetter's Greens'', a

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

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of ''MicroProse Golf''. He also appeared in the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

-exclusive ''My Personal Golf Trainer'', released in the fall of 2010. ''Trainer'' is distinguished from other golf games on the platform by requiring the use of the

Wii MotionPlus The is an expansion device for the Wii Remote, the primary game controller for the Wii. The device allows more complex motion to be interpreted than the Wii Remote can do alone. Both the Wii and its successor, the Wii U, support the Wii MotionP ...

, while also supporting the

Wii Balance Board The is an accessory for the Wii and Wii U video game consoles. Unlike the usual balance board for exercise, it does not rock but instead tracks the user's center of balance. Along with ''Wii Fit'', it was introduced on July 11, 2007, at the Elec ...

, taking complete advantage of the Wii's

motion controls In computing, a motion controller is a type of input device that uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, or other sensors to track motion. Motion controllers see use as game controllers, for virtual reality and other simulation purposes, and ...

and accessories to provide authentic golf training.

Personal life

Leadbetter and his wife, Kelly (an

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

professional), their sons Andy and James and their daughter Hally, live in Sarasota,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He is also an endorser/spokesman for

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

, Callaway,

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

, and Golf Pride grips.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leadbetter, David American golf instructors British golf instructors English male golfers American golf writers 1952 births Living people Sportspeople from Worthing People from Sarasota, Florida