Posted August 16th, 2008 at 6:12 pm in Golf News

The Wilhelmina 7 - LPGA babes

The W7 as they have become known are: Minea Blomqvist, Sandra Gal, Anna Grzebien, Kim Hall, Johanna Head, Mikaela Parmlid and Stacy Prammanasudh. Who are these beautiful and athletically talented ladies? Why, just a group of seven LPGA Tour golfers who have entered into an agreement with one of the most-famous modeling agencies in the world - Wilhelmina Models - that's all! If any of you ancient golfers like me think the term "LPGA Babes" is an oxymoron - take a look, courtesy of golf.com.

W7 - thinking outside the box

Wilhelmina's Artist Management Division will take over management of the W7 and will be charting new territory when it comes to endorsement and sponsorship opportunities for these newest members of the LPGA, historically not an organization known for it's stable of babes. If I recall correctly, it wasn't too long ago where companies thought little of acknowledging, much less promoting the lesbian lifestyle of an LPGA player so everyone pretended that it was a non-issue. At that time it would have been the kiss of death financially to "come out" in favor of the lesbian lifestyle by openly sponsoring a player who was a "known" lesbian, so it was the best policy to pretend it didn't exist, just ask the unfortunate Ben Wright.

Change in the LPGA is overdue

Times do change but you could put many of our former LPGA stars in a bikini and what would you get? - a lesbian in a bikini. The girls of the W7 have no absolutely no hint of lesbian in them - and if it turned out one of them was gay - it would be no business of mine - but since they still look so good in a bikini, well, I can't really see a downside. I am only acknowledging the perception I get as a straight male when looking at their pictures, ie, when a man slobbers over a picture of a girl in a bikini - we like to think those gals are straight as they come. So I guess what I am saying here is that I think this Wilhelmina 7 thing is a good idea -these seven ladies alone could do wonders to freshen the image and overall perceptions of the LPGA Tour and it's a very encouraging sign. For more on the subject check out Dave Hollander's viewpoint in the Huffington Post as to why he thinks the Wilhelmina 7 "may be the smartest move in womens sports today."

This ain't your typical LPGA player

But, excuse me, did you say LPGA Tour golfers? Wait a minute, aren't these supposed to be the gals that have more male hormones than female. Those muscle- bound, so obviously butch gals that have dominated the LPGA Tour all those years have turned into babes like these girls? When did this happen? Even though our society seems to be more progressive in terms of accepting the gay & lesbian lifestyle as evidenced by the popularity of such stars as Ellen Degeneres, Rosie O'Donnel and others a lot of us are still a bit uncomfortable with it.

Babes = sponsorship $$

Don't get me wrong, I am totally in favor of the new look. I support the LPGA Tour and I wish Wilhelmina Artist Management and the ladies of the W7 all the luck in the world in seeking out any and all worthwhile endorsement and sponsorship opportunities. These ladies are entitled to use everything in their arsenal to call attention to themselves, whether it be a pretty face, a killer body, a stellar golf game, or all of the above.

Not just a pretty face

These are also obviously very talented golfers and will do the LPGA a world of good in terms of promotional value. However, even though it might sound like the most politically incorrect thing in the world to say now, there were times that I thought the lesbian issue threatened to overtake the talented golf you could see on the LPGA Tour. Need I remind anyone who worked with me at ABC Sports during the heyday of the Nabisco Dinah Shore Tournament about how much a lesbian carnival that event was? Sexual orientation should have nothing at all to do with the promotional value of a professional golfer or an LPGA Tour event - but it did. Before all the gay and lesbians of the world slam me I will just say that as a heterosexual male I have always had an open mind when it came to sexual preference and personal choice and have the most respect for the gay people that I call friends. And realistically, it's so much easier to be gay now.

Good move on the part of the LPGA

It wouldn't surprise anyone to discover that the LPGA hired WAM to help change the image of the "old" LPGA. Maybe they did and maybe they didn't but who wouldn't be proud to be associated with these beautiful girls? This tour needs all the support it can get and that means finding more corporate sponsors. Just look what the beer companies alone could do with these girls! WAM says that the women of the W7 have the "game, the beauty and the personality to create a major presence in women’s sports, both on and off the course." But it don't hurt to have the body of a beer girl either.

Said Wilhelmina chairman Dieter Esch: “We created this initiative to complete a void in the marketplace for beautiful and athletically talented female golfers. With only initial conversations to the corporate world, the reception is already tremendous for potential partnerships.” Yeah, I'll bet!