The Secret World of Golf Groupiesby Gerald Posner
Tiger Woods isn’t the only golfer with carousing issues. Retired players and current caddies tell Gerald Posner about the game inside the real PGA: The “Party Groupie Association.” The shock surrounding the Tiger Woods revelations this past week had a lot to do with his carefully generated squeaky-clean image. But almost as much the game and culture he came from—golf, with its elitist, country club provenance and paunchy, white, middle-aged enthusiasts. At the professional level, however, there’s a secret underworld not unlike many other major league sports: a Daily Beast investigation turned up groupies, carousing and wild sex as a central element for many players on the PGA Tour.
I spoke to eight retired golfers, current caddies, and ex-PGA workers. All spoke on the condition of anonymity. In the cases of the former players, some earn attendance fees for certain charity events or have good friends who are still playing, while each of the others whom I interviewed have continuing business relationships with the PGA or earn income from tournaments that they are not willing to risk by going public.
These sources recounted stories of “hounds” or “wild men” inside the small professional fraternity. One of the names that came up the most: John Daly. Some of the stories are well known, such as when he passed out drunk at Hooters or showed up at one tournament with scratches on his face from an angry wife (he’s on his fourth marriage). What isn’t publicly known is that in 2006, Daly’s autobiography originally included several torrid adult-only escapades. Sources say that business advisors thought the material far too racy, even for Daly, and talked the golfer out of it. Whole sections were cut from the first draft—including references to threesomes, and his then-wife Sherrie installing cameras on his tour bus to deter sex with groupies.
As with the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball, golfers like Daly log a lot of time on the road, away from families, ensconced in deluxe hotel suites. A top golfer might do up to 20 one-week tournaments a year. More important, there’s no shortage of temptation. With players having to earn at least $500,000 annually to keep their professional status, it’s little wonder that some women attracted to athletes might find their way to a golf tournament instead of a basketball game. The players even have a name for these women: PGA, or Party Groupie Association.
According to the ex-players and the caddies, the simplest ones, and usually the newest, are so-called “gallery girls,” the prettiest girls at the tournament who get prominent placement at the front line of the ropes that set off the spectators from the players. If a player finds a girl interesting, it’s the caddy who might actually make the contact.
“I’ve been told ’Look around the ropes,’” says one caddie. “’See who is easy on the eyes.’”
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-12-04/the-secret-world-of-golf-groupies/?cid=bsa:mostpopular3Hoo.