Confession: I love golf. I play the game. I watch tournaments on television. But, I also have a hard time with the game’s sometimes racist and often sexist past. It was only a few years ago that Augusta National Golf Club, home to the Masters, admitted its first women members, and not much before that its first members of color.
So when sexism raises it head again with Golf Digest’s latest issue, the echoes of the past reverberate and the questions need to be asked again about just how gender attuned the game really is. Now, I’m no politically correct women’s rights crusader. But, enough can be enough. Judge for yourself.
The May issue of Golf Digest, one of the leading magazines devoted to the game, will come out in a week or so featuring on its cover former Maxim cover girl Paulina Gretzky. She will of course be provocatively clad, though not as racy as some covers of other magazines. In addition to being an aspiring actress/model, she is the daughter of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and is engaged to professional golfer, Dustin Johnson. Supposedly she appears – in skin tight pants and sports bra, sporting a golf club – to give advice on getting in shape for golf. That’s not the problem.
A little skin, or a hottie on the cover to attract the 24-49 year old male demographic does not offend me on its own. Others will disagree with me on this and can record their disagreement in the comments section. Here’s what does offend me. The three most recent women to appear on Golf Digest’s cover are: Gretzky, Holly Sonders the sportscaster from the Golf Channel, considered a hot number by most, and Kate Upton, swimsuit model made famous by Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue among other modelling gigs. I’m still not offended until this is all put into context.
There is, as many already know, a branch of professional golf called the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the LPGA. They’re damn good at what they do, and they have stories to tell about their lives both personal and professional. Golf Digest has been publishing since 1950. That’s 64 years. In that time, eight LPGA members have graced the cover, two have been on three times each and two others one time each. If you do the math, those eight covers work out to a cover every eight years. The last time an LPGA player was on the cover of Golf Digest? 2008, six years ago.
Gretzky, Sonders and Upton have all appeared since. But not American sensation Stacy Lewis who overcame spinal scoliosis with a metal rod implanted in her back to straighten her spine – and rose to briefly become the number one female golfer in the world last year. Not Lizette Salas, daughter of Mexican immigrants whose father exchanged labor for golf lessons, who slept in her father’s pickup truck at junior tournaments to save on motel expenses and who went on to graduate from USC on a golf scholarship and then to prominence on the LPGA with a following that includes much of central California. Not Inbee Park, who, in 2013, became the first professional golfer since Tiger Woods to win three consecutive major championships.
So, what do current LPGA players think of Golf Digest’s decision to feature yet another hot model, but not a professional female golfer. Here are a few reactions.
From World Golf Hall of Famer Juli Inkster,
“It’s frustrating because it’s Golf Digest; it’s not Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue,” …I think they should maybe recognize some of the great women golfers that we have. It’s like, what do you have to do to get a little respect? I’m guaranteeing you right now, it was not a woman editor who chose that cover.”
Former World Number One Stacy Lewis said,
“It’s frustrating for female golfers. It’s kind of the state of where we’ve always been. We don’t get respect for being the golfers that we are. Obviously, Golf Digest is trying to sell magazines. But at the same time you’d like to see a little respect for the women’s game.”
Inbee Park, shrugging as she said it,
“That’s just been the way it is for over 20, 30 years.”
Golf Digest Editor in Chief Jerry Tarde responded, saying,
“Sports figures, celebrities and models have appeared on Golf Digest covers since the magazine’s beginning. Paulina ranks at the high end of the golf celebrity scene today, and she has a compelling story to tell. She also might get some new people interested in the game.”
Inkster didn’t skip a beat with her pointed retort,
“O.K., so I think next month the cover should be Paula Creamer’s fiancé, who’s a fighter pilot, or Brittany Lincicome’s hot boyfriend, who’s a long-drive hitter. Put one of them on there.”
UPDATE: The the tweets are pouring in:
LPGA pros are right to be annoyed at Golf Digest for their Paulina Gretzky cover http://t.co/tZbVCq9Up1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 4, 2014
Between CNN's coverage of missing airliner & Golf Digest & their covers, you're starting to see traditional media realizing dumbing down = $
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsRadio) April 4, 2014
.@Paige_Mackenzie says Digest 'sacrificing credibility' by putting Paulina on cover. Verbal smackdown begins at 3:50: http://t.co/h0obL0xy1E
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) April 4, 2014
Paulina Gretzky's Golf Digest cover is getting slammed by the women's golf world http://t.co/BgjtJNUifY
— BI: Sports (@BI_Sports) April 4, 2014
Golf Digest under fire. "I'm guaranteeing you right now, it was not a woman editor who chose that cover." http://t.co/FB78SFSlON
— NYT Sports (@NYTSports) April 4, 2014
This is my last rant. I understand why #golfdigest did what they did for biz reasons. Why it's bad for women's game: pic.twitter.com/SlBFoE4qxC
— Anya Alvarez (@anyaalvarez) April 4, 2014
Paulina Grezky on the cover of golf digest.The 22nd girl ever.Now I'm waiting for a shirtless cover of some of the LPGA players' boyfriends.
— Linda Henriksson (@Lin89da) April 4, 2014
Paulina Gretzky on the cover of Golf Digest… except she's not a golfer… -BMC pic.twitter.com/xzWcoyHasf
— INDIE88 (@Indie88Toronto) April 4, 2014
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.