Fairways or Runways?
No professional sports organization has remolded it’s appearance more than the image conscious LPGA Tour. And why not? The golf remains as competitive as ever. The stars are getting younger and younger. The tour is in need of big time corporate backing. That’s where the players and a few business savvy agents come in to the picture. I won’t go into the past image problems of the tour. Each person has their own opinion on that. However the organization has admitted that they need to “sexy” things up a bit. That time is now, and I’d be willing to bet that we are going to see ratings on the rise.
Natalie Gulbis has long carried the label of tour siren. She’s put out an annual swimsuit calendar, modeled for Maxim Magazine and even starred in a sexy reality show. She draws among the largest galleries on the LPGA Tour not only because she can really play, but because of her appearance. Since the Natalie Craze kicked into full swing, others have become recognizable for their marketing prowess, too.
Paula Creamer is one of the top ranked women golfers in the world. She combines ‘girl next door’ good looks with a touch of glamour. She too spends an extra few minutes picking out her attire and her appearance at tournaments are a proven draw. But aside from the world’s upper echelon, several agencies have captured the trend; trying to make a name with their client looks before they actually break through with their game.
LPGA Tour Players Anna Grzebien (left) and Kim Hall (right)
The Wilhelmina 7 is a hand-picked group of seven LPGA pros represented by Wilhelmina Artist Management, a division of the renown New York modeling agency that includes such clients as singers Fergie and Ciara and actress Heather Graham. They were recruited because they are among the most attractive women on tour and plan to marketed as such. While the woman golfer wears golf shirts, shorts and spikes in the daytime, they also where bikini’s, lingerie and evening gowns when the mood strikes them.
Kim Hall, Anna Grzebien, Stacy Prammanasudh, Minea Blomqvist, Sandra Gal, Johanna Head and Mikaela Parmlid, with only a couple of LPGA victories among them will make appearances together hopefully garnering popularity for the sport in a tough financial time.
Anna Sees Blue Skies for LPGA's Future
Then there is Anna Rawson who made noise earlier in the year with several controversial comments on the image of the LPGA tour, telling the Canberra Times, ”The mentality, unfortunately, amongst the media and the industry hasn’t changed,” Rawson said, “They still think we’re at 25 years ago, you know, when the tour was full of, you know, a lot of dykes and unattractive females that nobody wanted to watch. It’s totally changed, but they still won’t give us TV time.”
Rawson later apologized for her insensitive remarks, but in doing so she got a lot of press. Given her looks and the wealth of modeling shots that you can find of her on the internet and beyond, she made her point. Though, while the tour’s success might depend on it’s image, I still think that the quality of golf will be the determining factor of the success of the LPGA Tour.
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