Natalie Gulbis, the LPGA and the Golfer as Sex Debate

According to golf.com, Natalie Gulbis is the sexiest golfer in the LPGA, among eight other golfers selected for that title. The ages of the sexiest women, on the average, are in their '20s and are around 5'8". Most of these women are making the big bucks through modeling contracts for clothing, calendars and the like. Natalie Gulbis is most noted for her calendar pictures, including one that was pulled by the LPGA in 2006, according to About.com's.

Should the LPGA Encourage the View of Woman Golfer as Sex Toy?

Most of the photographs showing Natalie as a sexy woman, don't involve the game of golf. She's partially clothed, at the beach, and looking happily tanned. She's sexy because she's young, healthy, and beautiful. And the physical demands of playing golf will help ensure she stays that way. From the LPGA's view, a sexy woman golfer will increase viewer participations and that can only mean additional funds. But is there no other role for a woman golfer than as sex toy?

On one hand, I think the LPGA should want to encourage women to play golf and if it requires sex appeal to do it, I'm all for it. Golf is a game that encourages health and allows one to play from a very young age to a very old age. On the other hand, if women feel they are required to be as beautiful as a model to golf, I'm against it. The LPGA should encourage other profiles as well, including the role women play as decision maker, social conscious, intellectual, wife and mother.

The Woman Golfer as Decisions Maker

According to GolfforWomen.com astronaut Eileen Collins plays golf, mostly with her husband who seeks amateur golfer status. Golfing is a pressure cooker sport, with thousands of people watching your every move. Not only does the sport require judgment, ability to face challenges, and the ability to meet adversity.

One look at two top women golfers, Annika Sorenstam and Pat Bradley, will convince anyone that golfers might not fit the general physical profile of a sexy woman. She needs to be powerful, competitive and physically fit. They may not look sexy to everyone on the golf course, but they're often the ones to watch. They bring home the money.

The Woman Golfer as Social Conscious

According to About.com's biography of Betsy King, she plays an avid role in charity for social causes. Until the local ladies sponsored a charity drive for the Susan B. Kolman Foundation for Breast Cancer, my sister-in-law found reasons to avoid play. But offer a good cause, the ladies will show up.

The truth about golf is that many of the golf tournaments are sponsored for charitable causes. And one thing that many universities have learned is that increased sports audience viewing leads to the ability to provide better athletic scholarships.

The Woman Golfer as Brain

In looking at About.com's Fifty Famous Women Golfers, I noticed that many women golfers attended college. One case is Michelle Wie. She's quite a beautiful woman, but at 6' tall doesn't meet the typical requirements for what people find sexy. Michelle has enrolled at Stanford University and shows smarts in managing her career. Her move to play on the men's tour probably netted her endorsements for women's golf clothing on ads during the men's tour. It also shows that she's paying attention to her future, if she always play golf with the women, how will she find an appropriate husband?

The Woman Golfer as Partner and Wife

According to GolfforWomen.com, Judith Guiliani, wife of Mayor Rudy Guiliani plays golf and learned from her husband. A good wife keeps herself healthy and encourages her husband to health. Golf has become a major social outlet for many who are retired and forms a community of like-minded people dedicated to their health. Although many of the famous golfers are prize winners, there are also many famous women who also golf for recreation.

So is the Debate Real?

Probably not. Those eight sexiest woman golfers will grow older and lose some of their sex appeal. But meanwhile, they'll have shown that they really are smart women, capable of making decisions under fire, intelligent business women, and eventual wives and/or mothers. Quite frankly, any woman like Natalie Gulbis that brings home 4.6 million dollars a year can't be considered a sex object. The bottom line for the LPGA should be how can they encourage women to be all that they can be.