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Playing while pregnant, and other wonders of golf
Thursday November 10, 2005 | 14:12:26 356 words, 4661 views
LPGA pro Laura Diaz is trying something new this weekend–she’s playing in the Tournament of Champions in an attempt to qualify for the season-ending ADT Tour Championship. There’s nothing remarkable about that fact, except for one thing: she’s seven months pregnant. You may remember the Solheim Cup Maternity Matchup earlier this year, when Diaz and Denmark’s Iben Tinning went head-to-head, or belly to belly as the case may be, in the singles matches. Diaz cleaned Tinning’s clock, 6 and 5. Of course, plenty of LPGA ladies have played when pregnant. Brenda Corrie Kuehn comes to mind—she played in the 2001 Women’s Open when she was eight months along; Dawn Coe-Jones finished 7th at the 1995 Women’s Open at 6 months. And back in 1985, half of which she spent pregnant, Nancy Lopez managed to win the Rolex Player of the Year award. What was it Ginger Rogers said, “Women can do everything men can do, except backwards and in high heels and with a ten-pound bowling ball strapped to their waist”? I’m pretty sure it was something like that. That’s why I just love golf so much. What other sport lets you drag that belly up and down the course? Basketball? No. Soccer? I think not. If you read the fine print in your copy of the ubiquitous What to Expect When You’re Expecting, you’re told in no uncertain terms to stick with low-impact, non-jarring sports that involve plenty of walking and fresh air. Sounds like golf to me. I played through two of my pregnancies, all the way through week 40 and beyond. I won’t say my game improved during either of them–while everything else was growing, my drives noticeably shrank, along with my tolerance for courses without plenty of potties. But I found that I cared less about my score and more about getting out and enjoying the day. And hey, isn’t that what golf is really all about? Catch the Tournament of Champions 2 – 4:30 pm, Thursday through Sunday, on The Golf Channel.
Comments:
Comment from: Candace Polski [Visitor]
There's one for Jean Van de Velde - maybe he will complain that pregnant women have an unfair advantage now - "one player, one ball! That's two players playing that ball!"
A seriously underrated undertaking. When any pro, male or female, plays with a bad back, bad feet, or any sort of illness that might make them suddenly nauseous or need a bathroom at a moments notice, it's big news. How about all of the above? That's a true Pro. 
11/10/05 @ 16:40
Comment from: Phil [Visitor] · http://armchairgolfblog.blogspot.com
It's pretty amazing what women can do when they're pregnant, especially after the first tri-mester when they're really tired and often queasy or sick. They often turn into Super Woman. I'm not at all suprised that Laura Diaz and others have continued to play competitive golf while toting baby.
11/10/05 @ 16:41
Comment from: Bob [Visitor]
Jennifer,
This blog is such crap. "What was it Ginger Rogers said, “Women can do everything men can do, except backwards and in high heels and with a ten-pound bowling ball strapped to their waist”? I’m pretty sure it was something like that." Blah blah blah. Big deal. She's pregnant. Am I somehow supposed to marvel at the fact that she is still physically able to swing a golf club while pregnant? Remove the sex, and you described my dad. He's got a bigger gut than Laura, and constantly has to pee b/c of prostate problems. So are we going to blog about him now?
11/14/05 @ 17:28
Comment from: pregnant golfer [Visitor]
Hey Bob,
go spread your joy somewhere else. I'm a golfer, I just found out I'm pregnant, and I've been wondering how it'll affect my game. For me and women like me it's pretty cool to see lpga ladies in the family way, it gives me hope for my game. You should be glad your dad has a sport to play like golf.
11/14/05 @ 19:08
Comment from: Bob [Visitor]
Hey Preggo,
Nobody asked you. The point is Jennifer Mario makes a big deal out of this, and it just isn't. Kind of tough to justify on one thread that Van de Choke is sexist, and then write drivel like this. Diaz is a professional golfer. Being pregnant is no big deal. And if she thought it was, then she would be acknowledging that women are disadvantaged because of an innate difference between men and women. And that's what Ben Wright said years ago about women being disadvantaged because of anatomical differences, specifically breasts. So Jennifer can't have it both ways.
11/15/05 @ 10:53
Comment from: Shanks [Visitor] · http://www.travelgolf.com/blogs/shanks
Jeez, Bob .... who peed in your Wheaties?
11/15/05 @ 14:43
Comment from: James COULTHARD [Visitor]
Does anyone know why Annika skipped the Tournament of Champions. And for next year if Michelle Wie qualifies will she still be able to play if she has already used up her exemptions?
11/16/05 @ 21:00
Comment from: Shanks [Visitor]
Annika said she doesn't like the course, specifically the greens.
11/17/05 @ 07:50
Comment from: Joe [Visitor]
James C
You are an interesting guy. You are critical of Paula on another blog for being "a golfing idealist who believes the rules should be followed letter and spirit". She is a true golfer and plays the game as it is meant to be played. You don't seem to understand if a person is qualified can they play. What if Michelle has used up her exemptions you ask? Exepmtions are used for someone who has not "qualified" for a Tournament. Do you think you can now answer your own question?
11/21/05 @ 13:39
Comment from: Joe [Visitor]
Jennifer M
I thought this was a nice article and happy to see you enjoyed simply playing the game. There is no explanation for a very unhappy person named Bob.
11/21/05 @ 13:41
Comment from: Candace Polski [Visitor]
Bob's post is so ridiculous it doesn't require a reply. Can you delete posts Jennifer? That one smells like it belongs in the trash can.
Joe, you miss a key point in James' post. (Let me admit right here I haven't read his comments on other blogs in reference to Creamer - if it was on Baldwin's blog, that would explain it as I don't go there anymore). The exemptions Wie is offered do indeed allow her to play in tournaments without qualifying, but one of the reasons she needs them is because a prerequisite of these tournaments is membership on the LPGA. She is not and cannot be a member of the LPGA because she is only 16. The limit on exemptions into LPGA tournaments is the question at hand. James is asking: what if Wie qualifies for the ToC in all regards (through her play in regular season tournaments) except LPGA membership? Would they allow her to play, even though she had used up her allotted seven exemptions for non-tour players to play in tour events each year? An interesting question...
11/21/05 @ 16:04
Comment from: Bob [Visitor]
Hey Candace,
Before you get off the subject and talk about Creamer/Wie, maybe you can fill me in on why we should all fawn over how "special" it is that a woman can play while pregnant. This was yet another useless post by a sexist Jennifer Mario. And by the way, Wie can be a member of the LPGA tour, even at 16. She must receive approval by the tour commissioner. She was denied that approval this past year.
11/21/05 @ 20:01
Comment from: Joe [Visitor]
Candace,
Of course I do not miss the point. MW will get to play in any tournament she qualifies for. If she wins one of the tournaments she got an exemption for then she will be qualified and will play in the TOC. I doubt you will have to worry about it in 2006. I wish all you Wie fans would learn about the Rules, procedures and golf in general. Bob, MW did not ask to be part of the LPGA therefore she was not denied approval. By the way YOU are the sexist and there is no way anyone can explain it to you because you are sooooooo far gone.
11/25/05 @ 08:21
Comment from: Pregnant Golfer [Visitor]
Bob, nobody asked you, either. You're so busy being nasty, you've missed the point entirely. Jennifer's point is not that the LPGA ladies are so special for playing golf when they're pregnant, the point is that golf is special because you can play it and enjoy it even when you're not in peak physical condition.
So pregnant women like me, and yeah, your dad, can keep playing. If this blog is such a waste of your time, why are you hanging out here, anyway? You remind me of one of those overgrown 12-year-olds who goes around stealing kids' lunch money becasuse it's fun.
11/26/05 @ 13:58
Comment from: Bob [Visitor]
Preggo,
Yeah, the Ginger Rogers quote really expressed that point well. Read her other blogs. Woe is me. I am a woman on the golf course. Men discriminate against me. My tee markers are too far. Men cut in front of me. A man wants to play in the Weetabix. Boo stinkin' hoo. And come to think of it Preggo, you remind me alot of Jen. Keep up the cryin'. Maybe you can get a job on this site as well.
11/27/05 @ 11:07
Comment from: Candace Polski [Visitor]
Oh Bob, you are so right. Let's not stray from YOUR point, because, after all, the universe does revolve around you, and so should this blog and the comments on it.
Gee, Joe, so sorry not to have the intimate understanding of the Rules and Regs that you do. I follow golf pretty actively, and have for many years, yet I cannot say that I am up on the exact language and structure of the LPGA by-laws, nor do I know the precise requirements for qualification to each and every LPGA event of the season. I guess that makes me just a Wie fan, who never watched golf before her, and horribly uninformed compared to real golf aficionados like you. Are you by chance a lawyer? You sound like it. That being said, the question was a valid one from James, if perhaps naive and uninformed. Since most of us are so naive and uninformed, perhaps you can enlighten us: my understanding (limited, as you have pointed out) is that Michelle is not a member of the LPGA, and therefore she can only play in seven LPGA events in a season. Is the restriction of her play only in regards to sponsor exemptions then? So she could actually play in every LPGA event of the season, even though she is not a member of the Association, so long as she qualified for each event in some fashion? I thought her lack of Tour membership would restrict her from playing in more than seven events, period, regardless of how she got into them. As has been pointed out by many people, most recently Shanks on his blog on this site, Michelle and her path are unique. Not surprising then that the issues and questions involving her ability to play tour events are areas that most golf fans - you excepted, Joe - are unclear on. Condescension aside, I would be interested to hear what you know on this topic Joe, because it does interest me and I am willing to learn about these esoteric details of tournament qualification and play.
11/29/05 @ 13:31
Comment from: Bob [Visitor]
Hey Candace,
Who the hell are you? "Are you by chance a lawyer? You sound like it." By the way, the original point of this string was talking about the "wonders of pregnant golfers." Not Michelle Wie. So I guess we'll just revolve the world around you and what you want to talk about, too.
11/30/05 @ 10:46 Leave a comment: |
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