Meet Golf's Version of an Escort Service

Company hires out attractive female golfers

There's been a revolution of sorts around women's golf in the last few years. After a long run of being the butt of jokes because of their appearance, a new crop of female golfers have earned notoriety and fame because they are more conventionally attractive than their predecessors.

As Anna Kournikova proved, that doesn't do anything to help you win tournaments. It does do a lot for your commercial viability, however, which is why it was probably inevitable that a company like Play Golf Designs would come into existence. The Las Vegas-based company calls itself a leader in customized golf entertainment, which translates to having a stable of young, attractive female professional golfers who can be hired for corporate golf outings, bachelor parties or lonely single duffers.

The company offers golfing partners, but goes out of its way to sell the sexuality of the golfers. Their website screams that "Your Request is our Demand" and assures prospective clients that their experience is "limited only by your imagination." It is also splashed with photos of women in less than appropriate golfing attire, which is raising the rancor of officials from the LPGA and other women's sports organizations. 

Speaking to Time magazine, Nisha Sadekar, the company's founder, said that she's simply filling a void left open by those groups. The LPGA is struggling financially these days, and golfers need to find new outlets to make a living. Trading off their looks is only one part of it, she argues, because all the women can really play golf. It's a strong argument, especially since they have LPGA pros like Anna Rawson on their roster, but she does her best to sink it by talking some trash about the best female golfer in the world.

"When you look at Lorena Ochoa, you already know the answers," says Sadekar. "People take notice of our women. People talk. Who wants to talk about Lorena Ochoa? Who cares?"

If it isn't just about their looks, then there's plenty of reason to care about Ochoa. Just as there was plenty of reason to care about basketball star Candace Parker without an ESPN the Magazine article going out of its way to mention her cup size.

It's great that female athletes now have more opportunities to earn a living at their craft, but one wonders if there's any way that the double standard will ever cease to exist. In the past women were mocked for being unattractive while men like Larry Bird were revered even though they were less than good looking themselves. Now as women have overcome that stereotype, they're hit with the fact that they need to be attractive to reap the full benefits of their abilities.

Lost in both scenarios is a real appreciation of the women's athletic skills, which is a shame. Sadekar's idea is a sound one from a business standpoint, and will likely be successful, but it will probably help ensure that appreciation doesn't happen anytime soon.

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.

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