Nothing Good about Lexi Thompson on Golf Digest Cover

By: Nancy Berkley

Lexi Thompson - half-naked on the May cover of Golf Digest magazine - may help the magazine sell a few more copies to its predominately male readership. It might keep the Conde Nast publication alive for a few more years. But it will do nothing to grow the number of golfers in the U.S. Here's why:

• Male golfers know that they will not see a naked Lexi Thompson on their golf course nor any near-naked girls or women. So, it won't bring more men to the golf courses for that experience. Forget about it!

• Men on the management committees of golf clubs - public and private - will not decide to loosen up their women's dress code. Think a minute: Would it be okay to wear a towel over bare breasts on the golf course but not okay for a woman to wear a shirt without a collar? I am all in favor of getting rid of collars and 19-inch skirt rules, but just towels over bare breasts? It won't grow the game.

• Only a few men (that's my guess) will encourage their girlfriends to spend more time in the gym or on the golf course to power-up. Most men will suggest cozier playgrounds. So that won't bring more men or women to the course.

• Young women will not decide to make Lexi their role model. After all, Lexi has been playing golf since she was 7 and home-schooled as well. How many young women will commit to that type of childhood and adolescence? Partly-bare-breasted Lexi will not motivate 18- to 29-year-old young women golfers to play more. They may just see her as a talented athlete robbed of her adolescence who's trying to catch-up on what she may have missed.

• Women are smart consumers. They will quickly recognize this magazine cover photo as a desperate move by a desperate magazine. It may sell more copies, but it won't sell more golf rounds.

• Let's talk about golf and power. Jordan Spieth just won the Masters. And it was his short game and not his drives off the tee that won it for him. Fitness programs may be great at keeping us all healthy, but don't expect the number of golf rounds to increase because of power workouts in the gym. In fact, since a person can't be two places at once, more time in the gym may mean less time on the golf course. That's a negative for growing the game.

• Power workouts and fitness training have their places in an athlete's routine. But, more golf coaches and trainers are suggesting that too much fitness training - too early and too strenuous - comes with risk. In addition, new theories about the brain's "plasticity" and ability to regenerate new cells suggest regular exercise like walking two miles a day prevents dementia and other diseases. All the golf-fitness and power advice featured in Golf Digest's May issue may help athletes for a decade or two. But as they age will they be able to remember "if" or "where" they hit their ball?

• It's bad enough that women have to deal with golf facilities that appear not to care about them or their business. I can't write off Golf Digest's cover decision as merely a "cute" cover. It's blatantly sexist and reinforces all that women golfers have been up against in a predominantly male industry. If any public golf course were to use this cover as part of their advertising, they would probably face a gender-discrimination lawsuit.

• Lexi is not perfect. In spite of the fitness training suggested in this issue, when I see Lexi play in LPGA Tour events I always note her posture and those rounded shoulders. I want to say "Lexi, stand up straighter - pull those shoulders back!" But, I'm not her mother, father, brother, caddie, coach, trainer or sponsor. Yes, she hits the ball a long way. Yes, she has won LPGA Tour events. But watching her on TV and listening to her press interviews does not project that magic inspiration I see in other top female golfers. Lexi needs to convey a love and passion for what she does. Playing golf should not be just a job that will help her buy a new house and car. Without that inherent love of the game, her seductive breasts just won't inspire non-golfers to play more golf. It will just sell more magazines . . . maybe.

• The LPGA, including its Tour players, are in a tough spot with one of its members looking like a Playboy Bunny. All that's missing is a couple of bunny ears, a cute cottontail and a tray of drinks. I am glad that I'm not LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan trying to decide what to say about this cover. After all, last year he criticized Golf Digest for putting sexy Paulina Gretsky on its inaugural fitness issue rather than a fit LPGA player. A good reminder that we have to be careful what we wish for. So far, there has been no statement from Whan. But my guess is that if he says anything at all it will be something like, "No comment as this was totally Lexi's decision and you will have to speak to her." And don't expect any comments from other LPGA Tour players. They are a family, and families stick together.

This Golf Digest issue is not Lexi's first cover photo; she was a 12-year-old in 2007 when featured on the cover of Golfer Girl Magazine.

Nancy Berkley, President of Berkley Golf Consulting, is an expert on women's golf and junior-girls golf. She is a contributor to www.cybergolf.com/womensgolf. Her book, "Women Welcome Here! A Guide to Growing Women's Golf," published by the National Golf Foundation, is an industry reference on marketing golf to women and spotting trends within the industry. She offers information and advice about the golf industry on www.berkleygolfconsulting.com and is often quoted in national publications. Nancy is a member of the World Golf Foundation Women's Committee that launched a website for all women golfers. See www.GolfForHer.com. Nancy is a featured speaker at PGA Section meetings and at national conferences. She was a contributing editor of "Golf for Women" magazine and a founding advisor of "Golfer Girl Magazine." Her interviews with women in the golf industry now appear on www.golfergirlcareers.com. Nancy lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Harvard University and Rutgers Law School. After a business and legal career, she decided to write about the game she learned and loved as a teenager. She describes herself as a good bogey golfer with permanent potential.

Tweet