Michelle Wie West is back. Here’s how she prepped her game

WEST CALDWELL, N.J. — Michelle Wie West is busy this week. On top of the duties that go along with her role as tournament host of the Mizuho Americas Open, the 36-year-old is also playing in this week’s event.

Wednesday at Mountain Ridge Country Club was evidence of the hectic schedule Wie West has to juggle in this (temporary) return to competitive golf. Her morning started with a press conference with the assembled media. Next, she entertained sponsors with a short-game clinic alongside Rose Zhang. A quick lunch followed, and then she trudged into the New Jersey drizzle to warm-up for her pro-am, her routine repeatedly paused to talk with fans or take calls with tournament stakeholders.

In typical Wie West fashion, she’s taking the chaotic week in stride.

“I can use this experience to hopefully become a better tournament host,” she said. “It’s almost like I’m an undercover employee so to speak this week, so I’m really enjoying it.”

Pulling double duty as a player and host is always a challenging proposition (see: Tiger Woods at the Genesis), but Wie West has another factor working against her: she hasn’t played a competitive tournament round in almost three years. With her 10-year exemption for winning the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open expiring after this summer, she announced earlier this spring she would tee it up at Riviera in June. As a part of preparations for her final farewell, she opted to use a sponsor exemption on herself this week to get some competitive reps in.

Nearly three years since her last competitive round, Wie West has been working diligently on her game to ready herself. Ahead of her return to competition, GOLF.com caught up with the five-time LPGA Tour winner for a breakdown of how she’s prepping for the week.

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How Michelle Wie West got her game back in shape

1. Relearning how to practice

Getting ready to compete among the game’s best doesn’t happen just by going through the motions. It’s about practicing with purpose and being efficient with her time on the range. For Wie West, that meant relearning how to practice. For help with that, she reached out to her peers and gathered new ideas, piecing together a routine that worked for her again.

“At first, it was really awkward,” Wie West said. “I’d get there and realize I had no idea what I was doing. It’s amazing how you kind of forget how to practice.”

2. Using SportsBox AI

After Wie West got her feel back for how to practice, she needed to figure out what to practice. That’s where the swing analysis app SportsBox AI came in.

“It’s been really amazing,” she said. “I really wish I had it back in the day because it would have shortened my practice time.”

Wie West explained that when she isn’t hitting the ball well, she notices that she sways too much throughout the swing. With SportsBox AI, she can easily zero in on her chest and pelvis sway measurements to make sure she stays within a tolerable range.

3. Gym work

Dialing in her swing didn’t happen just through hitting buckets of balls — it was also the result of plenty of time in the gym. Especially considering the swing faults that creep up in her swing.

“Sway really comes from your body being a little bit lazy,” she said. “Not loading and unloading the right way.”

Wie West’s workouts emphasize glute activation, rotational strength and movement patterns that translate directly to her swing. By addressing the physical foundation of her swing, she’s creating more reliable mechanics and a move that will hold up even during long weeks on — and off — the course.