Bikini time

Despite my seniority at the LPGA, I don't get to boss very many people around. That's why having interns is so darn fun. Whenever I get too lazy to do something (or I'm too busy perusing the message boards for hidden praise of my column), I just ask one of the interns to do it. A few weeks ago, I forwarded the press release regarding the launch of Natalie Gulbis' 2005 calendar to Intern Chris and asked him to write a note for LPGA.com and our weekly news release.

Intern Chris penned the note, as asked, but then followed up the task with about 10 questions: Can I get a free calendar? Is Natalie single? Is the note okay, because it has to be perfect!?!

Intern Chris is not alone in his praise of/infatuation with Natalie's latest calendar. I'm pretty sure every guy in the office (all three of them) has one hanging up. Granted, they work for the LPGA (and, as one male employee explained, he is only supporting a player in her marketing efforts).

Anyway, have you seen it? Natalie had a calendar last year too, but it was made up of pre-existing shots from the golf course and a few from an LPGA-sponsored photo shoot. This year, she pushed the envelope a little bit and did a shoot exclusively for the calendar wearing off-the-golf-course fashion (i.e. short skirts and bikinis).

"I kept getting requests from fans and from pro-am participants-when are you going to do another calendar with more work-out shots and some bathing-suit shots?" said Natalie from her home in Lake Las Vegas, Nev. "I figured I would just have some photos done and see how they turned out. I just gave it a try, and when we got the photos back, they were pretty good so we put them in the calendar."

Permit me to offer an unbiased opinion on the finished product. I hate it. Sorry, but it's an unwritten trait in our X chromosomes that women can't be happy for anyone who looks that good in a white string bikini. I mean, most of us are lucky if we find a tank-ini that fits and a matching sarong (you know, the wrap-around sheer skirt you wear over your bathing suit; it's called a sarong because it covers up everything that's gone so wrong).

All joking aside (even though I'm bitter that there will be no OWL 2005 Calendar), Natalie's latest edition is HOTTT. She's happy with it, and it seems as though Intern Chris and my fellow LPGA employees aren't the only ones who have it tacked to their bulletin boards.

"We haven't seen specific numbers yet, but we do know Natalie's calendar has been a huge success since its initial launch," said James Sullivan, VP of sport marketing at Imani Sports, Natalie's agency. "In the first week alone, there were more people searching for her calendar than any other offered by the John F. Turner Company, and we're talking about the Playboy, Pamela Anderson and Anna Kournikova calendars."

In addition to the promising sales numbers, Natalie has also received positive feedback from her fellow Tour members.

"Everyone has been so supportive. Players seem to really like it. They come in the locker room and ask for a couple copies to give to their friends back home."

"I saw it for the first time in Canada," said Janice Moodie. "I thought it was great, and I told Natalie that. I mean it. There were a few shots of her that were stunning. She has a great body and personality. Why not show it off?"

Natalie had a little trouble showing "it" off at the U.S. Women's Open, where her calendar was officially launched, but it ultimately wasn't permitted to be sold in the merchandise tent.

"They had ordered two or three cases to sell. But when I got there, the day before I was supposed to do a big signing at an autograph tent, my agent called and said they didn't want to sell the calendar, that the USGA was a conservative organization and the photos were too provocative."

Not sure if you non-media folks are familiar with this little equation, but SCANDAL=PUBLICITY, so perhaps someone did Natalie a favor (according to the USGA, the no-sexy-calendar decision was not made by the organization, but rather by the merchandise director of the championship staff on site).

"I guess it was kind of a bummer because it's such a big tournament and we had so many fans there, it would have been great to sell it that week," she said.

Since then, Natalie has organized calendar signings at two LPGA events (BMO Financial Group Canadian Women's Open and Giant Eagle LPGA Classic) where the calendars sold out immediately and more had to be ordered. She is planning to do more of the same at every tournament she plays in for the rest of the year.

And just who is lining up at these autograph sessions, aside from Intern Chris look-alikes?

"Everybody. All kinds of people," said Natalie. "Guys, young girls, mothers who want one for their son or daughter. There just aren't any other player calendars for fans to buy, so it's fun-for them and for me. I have to admit, it's interesting when you come off a round of golf and you see yourself in a bathing suit."

Having said that, is there a chance that all of this off-the-course attention is detrimental to Natalie's game and career? When she joined the Tour in 2002, she was touted as the Anna Kournikova of women's golf-but we're all familiar with the criticism behind Anna's mega-marketable image and less-than-stellar record on the court.

"I don't really analyze it in that way," said Natalie, who is currently 39th on the ADT Official Money List with five top-20 finishes this season. "I just try to work on my game as hard as I always have. I mean, it took me two days for the calendar-that's not a big deal.

"If you look at FHM and Maxim this summer, most of them have Olympians in bathing suits and negligees, stuff like that. The way people are marketing themselves has changed. As an athlete, you work really hard on your body and your nutrition, and I want to showcase that."

And for a player just six months past her 21st birthday, Natalie has the hopeful perspective when it comes to the affect her marketing choices can have on the Tour as a whole.

"Ultimately, I want fans of the Tour and of sports in general to look at LPGA players as attractive, athletic and talented. I love the LPGA and I'm very passionate about it, and hopefully things like this will bring more people to our Tour."

For fans much older than Natalie, and your favorite OWL author for that matter, all of this hyped-up calendar talk may sound familiar. In the early 1980s, Jan Stephenson posed for a series of calendars to promote Dunlop that ultimately sold 250,000 copies. Her seductive pose in a bathtub full of golf balls sent fans into a heated frenzy, the likes of which have not been seen at the LPGA since (unless, of course, you count my friend Neal's reaction each time Britney Spears releases a new album).

So, what does the Tour's original calendar girl think of Natalie's foray into the world of bikinis and soft lighting?

"I've always said, we have beautiful girls out there and we need to promote that," said Jan Stephenson, pictured at left. "It doesn't hurt on Tour or in life to have sex appeal, and Natalie's got it.

"On top of all that, she can really play. She works really hard on her golf game, so it's not like she's just doing this for the attention. She's talented and beautiful and has such a friendly attitude-she's got it all, so she should use it all. When it comes down to it, she can handle the attention, so it's not going to hurt her on the golf course. She can take it and whatever controversy might come her way, but I really see nothing but positives for her and the Tour."

In the long run, it's not Jan's or any other player's opinion that matters to Natalie. It's the reaction from her fans, as well as one very important person.

"My dad? He likes the photos. Both my mom and my dad are really proud. They're excited that it's doing so well. Believe it or not, the calendar was really my father's idea in the beginning."

Before you crazy OWL readers get any ideas, remember Natalie's father is a former corrections officer. Natalie's calendar can be purchased through her Web site, www.nataliegulbis.com. Enter promotional code "Intern Chris" and receive a special OWL discount.