Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

Why is Paulina Gretzky even on our radar? I didn't even know she was a model. From what I could tell from her frequent Huffington Post headlines was that she is a social media nightmare and would probably give her father unnecessary migraines.  Anyways, she's Wayne Gretzky's daughter and she's on the cover of Golf Digest's 2014 GolFit issue…because she's hot and engaged to a golfer.  I don't know if there is an article that goes with it and frankly, I don't care.  Why is someone who is only tangentially related to the game on the cover of Golf Digest? That's like putting Alexander Ovechkin on the cover of Tennis Magazine because he is engaged to Maria Kirilenko.  It doesn't make any sense!

In 2013, Golf Digest featured 14 men on the cover of their magazine and two women.  The May issue featured Holly Sonders for the inaugural GolFit issue.  Sonders is an anchor for the Golf Channel and a very attractive woman.  The only other woman who graced the cover was Kate Upton (WTF!) as arm candy for Arnold Palmer (face palm).  According to USA Today the last female golfer to make the cover was in…make sure you are sitting…2008!!!  Sonders commented on the Golf Channel that we should be applauding Golf Digest for "thinking outside of the box" by trying to draw more people to the game.  Thinking out side of the box? Really? What box has she been living in? The box I have been living in sexualizes women as marketing plans A, B and C.  Or as Dr. Houghton replied to me on Twitter

Excellent question and an even better pun! If Golf Digest wanted to think outside of the box it would seem that featuring female golfers would be 'outside of the box'. Right now, they just seem to be thinking inside their pants.  The fact of the matter is that sex doesn't sell. No one is going to join Augusta National Golf Club because they saw Paulina Gretzky on the cover of Golf Digest. No one. Will a few random people pick up this particular issue? Sure. But then they will realize its mostly about golf and not buy it next month when Rory McIlroy is on the cover.  And if it's magazines you are trying to sell then why not feature a model on every cover and just write Golf Digest on her breasts?  Probably because then people would think golf (or at least Golf Digest) was a joke.  Probably because even the men would be like, "Hey! I just won the Masters, should't I be on the cover?"  Therefore, as a consistent ploy it becomes laughable but as an annual issue it becomes smart marketing (e.g. Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issue).
LPGA players have responded by asking - if you want to use sex to sell why don't you use sexy female GOLFERS to sell the magazine? Look, some lovely chap has even compiled a list of the top 10 hottest female golfers for you to choose from!  I mean if Maxim is willing to feature Blair O'Neal why wouldn't Golf Digest? Sadly, this is the lesser of two evils.  Maybe if Golf Digest (and the game itself) want to increase its market share it should address:

• the fact that it remains an elite white man's game
• the historical institutional racism of country clubs
• the cost and time required for novices to get into the game
• the sexism built into the game (see my post Can golf courses be sexist?)

Oh but who wants to spend time actually building a market and making the game inclusive when we can just grab some eyeballs here and there.  And the question that boggles my mind the most: For a sport that insists that I either have to wear a collared shirt or a shirt with sleeves WHY IS GRETZKY ALLOWED TO WEAR A SPORTS BRA THAT NEITHER HAS A COLLAR OR SLEEVES??? How's that for thinking outside the box ;)

Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

• Golf
• Sports

View Original Post at cszto.blogspot.com

View Resident_Badass's Full Profile