Blame Heather McMichael, not me, for the bikini idea
I have been pleased to see that Heather McMichael, who posts a lot of amusing items as a contributor to The Daily Blog at TravelGolf.com, has been engaged by my recent posts on how to promote the LPGA. She even seemed to like my idea of having the LPGA generate interest by offering a sponsor’s exemption to a man.
But now I see from this post that Heather believes the “vibe” of my recent post about the LPGA’s bright future is that I think Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis “should play in only bikinis.” Though this comment requires me first to note that you can already see Natalie in a bikini if you order her 2006 swimsuit calender from her website, I want to officially go on record as saying I am entirely against pro golfers playing in swimwear. (Yes John Daly and Jason Gore, this means you!)
Jokes aside, Heather’s post opens up the very serious question of how much the LPGA and its players should promote sex appeal. Whether we focus on the Williams sisters or Maria Sharapova or (of course) Anna Kournikova, it is clear that a number of female pro tennis players are happy to trade on their looks. And, as I suggested before, clearly the attractiveness of certain athletes play a big role in their own and their sports’ popularity. So, should the LPGA go glam?
Related posts:
- A bright LPGA future (with the right promotion)
- A (crazy?) idea for LPGA promotion
- Another (better?) idea for promoting women’s golf
