Real Charmer NATALIE GULBIS WOWS FANS AND MEDIA AT TAYLORMADE-ADIDAS GOLF FRANCHISEE STORE

Natalie Gulbis not only looks hot but is one of the nicest and most approachable golfers on tour – and the LPGA’s ‘glam girl’ certainly enhanced that reputation when she visited the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Franchisee Store at 32 Square in Petaling Jaya a few days before the start of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.

Billed as “An Afternoon with Natalie Gulbis”, the event was put together with some style and panache by the hardworking team at TaylorMade-adidas Golf Malaysia. The ‘highlight’ came when the 28-year-old golfer was hoisted up in a sky-lift to spray paint her logo and autograph the main billboard of the storefront. Natalie was bowled over by the impressive TaylorMadeadidas Golf Franchisee Store at 32 Square, saying of the two-storey, 4000-square foot outlet: “You really capture the essence of what TaylorMade is. It’s athlete-based, it’s performance-based.”

The LPGA star added that 2011 has been a great year for TaylorMade, driven by the revolutionary white R11 driver. “The whole white phenomenon really hit the TaylorMade company this year and basically the golf world; it was really exciting because there was so much buzz about TaylorMade, everybody was talking about it, everybody wanted to try it, not only on Tour but everywhere,” said Natalie, who finished joint 26th in the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia after rounds of 71, 71, 70 and 72 for an even par total.

She was lavish in her praise of Malaysia, noting that she really enjoyed the food except for an encounter with durians!

With the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Malaysia team

“I’ve been fortunate to travel to a lot of different countries, but one of the things that stands out about Malaysia is the hospitality,” she said. “Everything about Kuala Lumpur is great, it’s easy to get around, it’s beautiful, there are great restaurants and great food – with the exception of that ‘durian’ fruit that you guys have here – and just a lot of culture.”

The Natalie Gulbis logo incorporates the image of a swan to symbolize the origins of her surname, which means ‘swan’ in Latvian (Gulbis is American but of Latvian descent)

NATALIE SAYS . . .

Here’s what Natalie had to say about a wide range of topics during her visit:

New groove restrictions

“It was definitely a big difference initially, because we had to adjust to the ball not spinning as much. One of the adjustments that I made was adding more loft to my wedges. You also really notice it when you’re hitting it out of the rough, but I don’t think it made quite the impact that it was going to.”

Eliminating the dip in her swing

“I’ve spent a lot of time on it. I think if you come out and watch you’ll see that my posture has gotten better, but it’s something that I work on every day. My caddie, Greg, actually holds my head and I work on keeping my posture up. Both of us (Natalie and Paula Creamer) fight it. It’s not like we want to do that move but it’s definitely the signature move for both of us. It’s funny when we see junior female golfers trying to emulate that because we try to get out of it! They want to know how to do it, and we’re like “NOOO!” it’s not a move that you want to learn!”

Local talents

“The last time I was here I did a junior clinic, and I got to see the next generation of both female and male players in Malaysia. I think Paula (Creamer) and I were both blown away on how good the golfers are in Malaysia at a young age and how fundamentally sound these players are, at 10-12 years old.”

Making it on the LPGA Tour

“It’s much harder to get out on tour than to just play well in an event in your home country. You actually have to go to the (United) States and go to Q-school, and take players out of their comfort zone and their element.”

When her golf career ends

“I would like to be able to grow the game and continue to get more young girls excited about playing golf and give them the opportunity to play and see what golf is all about.”

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