Dinah Shore

[John Kavanaugh]

Why hasn't another female taken her lead in the world of golf?  Am I missing something?  Is there another funny, sexy, serious woman out there leading other women of like ilk?  Condoleezza Rice perhaps? This football thing and ANGC membership is one hell of a platform.

[JLahrman]

Isn't Condi too busy worried about how bad the West Virginia loss looks on Baylor's resume?

Didn't Golf Digest essentially confer this title upon Paulina Gretzky in a most creepy, stalker-like fashion?

[RJ_Daley]

I think a leadership role is out there on offer for several women if they so choose to serve.  Judy Bell was a Presdent of USGA but while other women have constantly been on the USGA board, it seems none have stepped up to indicate the desire to serve as Ms Bell did. 

There are obvious influential women in golf.  But it seems none pursuit top leadership roles in the PGA or USGA or other world golf associations beyond the honorary as Dame Laura Davis has achieved, or the Solheim Cup Captaincy as several have.

I would put Judy Rankin on the very top of influential and highly skilled and knowledgeable women who give golf a great image.  But, she likely has other priorities beyond her well respected and appreciated participation in broadcasting events and past Solheim service. 

Maybe women just generally have a different set of priorities when it comes to playing the politics of golf governance.  The thought of Condolezza Rice having any sort of high profile in golf governance or future growth plans on any sort of comparable level as the credibles like Judy Rankin, Laura Davis, Nancy Lopez or so many of the great players and servants of golf, makes me want to throw up in my mouth.

[John Kavanaugh]

I was looking for someone who did not cut their teeth on golf.  Do you realize that Dinah Shore was 20 years older than Burt Reynolds.  She was the first true cougar of my generation.  No one cares that an old pro still loves golf.  I can't believe Ellen doesn't have her own tournament.  Maybe that's it, the old celebrity golf tournament is dead.

Note: Although Mrs. Robinson is supposed to be much older than Benjamin, Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman are just under six years apart in age.

[Carl Nichols]

Interesting celebrity couple:  Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks were married for something like 40 years.

[John Kavanaugh]

From Wikipedia: Shore, who played golf, was a longtime supporter of women's professional golf. In 1972, she helped found the Colgate Dinah Shore golf tournament, which in its current identity as the Kraft Nabisco Championship remains one of the major golf tournaments on the LPGA Tour. The tournament is held each spring near Shore's former home in Rancho Mirage, California.

Shore was the first female member of the famed Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles.

In acknowledgment of her contributions to golf, Shore was elected an honorary member of the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1994.[9] Shore became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame when it absorbed the LPGA Hall in 1998. She also received the 1993 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor.

In 1963, she hired Mid-century modern architect Donald Wexler to design her home in Palm Springs. The house was recently sold to actor Leonardo DiCaprio for close to $5.5 million.[10]

I'm curious, is Daniel Wexler related to the architect Donald Wexler?

[Jason Thurman]

Tea Leoni plays to a 12 handicap. Charlize Theron and Eva Longoria both play. Kate Upton has played alongside Arnold Palmer.

But my vote goes to Shakira. She's proved she can be a great leader with her coaching work on The Voice. Also, golf is all in the hips, and hers don't lie. Her swing isn't so bad that it can't be taken seriously as an ambassador for the game, but unlike Leoni, she makes the game look spunky and sporty as opposed to technical. She's more likely to make beginners say "That looks fun!" than "That looks hard!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwOy-V8dB1U

[Tom_Doak]

In acknowledgment of her contributions to golf, Shore was elected an honorary member of the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1994.[9] Shore became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame when it absorbed the LPGA Hall in 1998. She also received the 1993 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor.

In 1963, she hired Mid-century modern architect Donald Wexler to design her home in Palm Springs. The house was recently sold to actor Leonardo DiCaprio for close to $5.5 million.

She also received the ASGCA's Donald Ross Award at their meeting in 1984 in Palm Desert.  I was at the dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Dye; in the middle of her acceptance speech she broke into song [very softly] for a minute. 

In fact, I had to run an errand to Ms. Shore's house to fetch her change of clothes for the dinner after she played golf.

[Peter Pallotta]

"Maybe that's it, the old celebrity golf tournament is dead."

I think so. And I think that's because in the days of the Jackie Gleason and Danny Thomas and Dinah Shore tournaments, most insurance salesmen were making more money than most tour pros, and a celebrity could if she/he had to fund the costs of an entire tournament without batting an eye. (Check out what Dean Martin was making in the late 60s for his weekly television show -- I'm telling you, Dino Crocetti from Steubenville Ohio had more money than God there for a while).  Plus, with only 3 stations in the whole country, a celebrity like Dinah Shore was the real deal -- I mean, ALL of America knew her.

Peter

[Tim_Cronin]

The two gold-standard celebrity tournament hosts, together on her show in 1963, in "living color" at NBC Burbank:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHlxEgoK_04

[RJ_Daley]

Not sure if there is a wildly wealthy woman who has that much golf passion to sponsor a big toon a mint.  Dino not only had the financial horsepower with his big position in RCA, but had perhaps the most golf cred along with Der Bingle.

How about the Mrs. K., long suffering golf wife, invitational?

[ward peyronnin]

Dinah was one of those frisky, confident Southern ladies who knew they were large and in charge of the room.

Nashville and Vanderbilt  .  Nuff said

 

[John Kavanaugh]

I believe she was much more than just money behind a tournament. What that was is what we are missing. Cameron Diaz in What About Mary was close.

[John McCarthy]

The reason The Dinah Shore took off and became a major is because it consistently had the largest gate for the LPGA.  Why did it have the largest gate?  For a generation or two it was perhaps the number one lesbian networking event in the nation.  Now, thankfully, homosexuals do not need to hide themselves any longer,  there may be less cachet to any one event, sporting or otherwise.  

Are we also lamenting the loss of the Corporal Klinger Open stop in Toledo on the LPGA?  BTW, where  did they play the Klinger?

[Peter Pallotta]

We're missing 1. The Great American SongBook, 2. Scotch and Gin being the drugs of choice. 3. Cigarettes. 4. Arnold Palmer.
5. Tbe Big Bands (as training ground). 6. Style. 7. An entertainment press where everyone wet their beaks, if they played ball. 8. Class, and 9. Insatiable ego and greed not yet becoming a celebrated and valued trait.  

Besides that it was just like the old days, JK.

Peter

[BCowan]

The reason The Dinah Shore took off and became a major is because it consistently had the largest gate for the LPGA.  Why did it have the largest gate?  For a generation or two it was perhaps the number one lesbian networking event in the nation.  Now, thankfully, homosexuals do not need to hide themselves any longer,  there may be less cachet to any one event, sporting or otherwise.  

Are we also lamenting the loss of the Corporal Klinger Open stop in Toledo on the LPGA?  BTW, where  did they play the Klinger?

Same place, Marathon Classic is its new name   

[John Kavanaugh]

26 years he hosted a tournament and not one accolade similar to what was earned by Dinah. Jamie Farr deserved better.

[John Kirk]

Dinah Shore singing Johnny Mercer's "Blues In The Night" in 1949.  Terrific clip, really sexy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrtiXS4SEmw

It's a good premise, JK.  Condi Rice is probably too big for the post, and though I adore Laura Davies, she strikes me as sort of shy, and not the right person.

[Ronald Montesano]

Why hasn't another female taken her lead in the world of golf?  Am I missing something?  Is there another funny, sexy, serious woman out there leading other women of like ilk?  Condoleezza Rice perhaps? This football thing and ANGC membership is one hell of a platform.

Explain what you think she contributed. Funny, sexy and serious is way too general for this day and age which (in case you haven't heard) is 40 years after her prime.

[John Kavanaugh]

Why hasn't another female taken her lead in the world of golf?  Am I missing something?  Is there another funny, sexy, serious woman out there leading other women of like ilk?  Condoleezza Rice perhaps? This football thing and ANGC membership is one hell of a platform.

Explain what you think she contributed. Funny, sexy and serious is way too general for this day and age which (in case you haven't heard) is 40 years after her prime.

Besides being in the World Golf Hall of Fame she won this: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tom_Morris_Award A better question may be, what didn't she do?

[John Kavanaugh]

Alice Dye, Dinah Shore, Marion Hollins, Carol Semple Thompson and who? Who are the other great amateur women in the history of golf?

[Colin Macqueen]

JK,

Joyce Wethered springs to mind …. a contemporary of Glenda Collett I guess. Bobby Jones has been quoted as saying that Joyce Wethered was the finest golfer he ever came across and Walter Hagen was also very complementary.

Cheers Colin

[Ronald Montesano]

I'm still trying to figure out what she did beyond sponsor a golf tournament.

She wasn't a great player, didn't win any titles, didn't build golf courses.

Seems like those awards were a way to placate women. Did she deserve them, compared with other candidates?

[Wayne_Kozun]

Alice Dye, Dinah Shore, Marion Hollins, Carol Semple Thompson and who? Who are the other great amateur women in the history of golf?

Marlene Stewart Streit. She won the US Sr. Womens Am 18 years apart at the ages of 51 and 69!

http://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/marlene-stewart-streit/

[John Kavanaugh]

I'm still trying to figure out what she did beyond sponsor a golf tournament.

She wasn't a great player, didn't win any titles, didn't build golf courses.

Seems like those awards were a way to placate women. Did she deserve them, compared with other candidates?

I believe that she at least took inclusion to a new level. When golf had its doors shut to most people she opened them to everyone.