But they needn't worry about being recognised, as Sachs and Gans reckon that only about five per cent of their clientele actually go to the golf. 'We really wouldn't know.' Funny that, because half your golfers are rumoured to show up there. 'Oh there's a party scene here?' says an LPGA spokeswoman.
The LPGA, for its part, appears to be equally unaware. In fact, the joke has it that some of their clients can spend the entire weekend in blissful ignorance that there is a golf tournament at all. We looked at each other and said, "Never again".' Instead they devoted themselves to providing more interesting but equally vigorous forms of entertainment and the partying now attracts more lesbians than the golf itself. It was exhausting, all that walking, walking, walking in the heat. 'We only went because we knew one of the players, who was then the girlfriend of one of my exes. 'That was so boring,' says Sachs, grimacing at the memory. The first time they went to Palm Springs, Sachs and Gans Ð partners in business and in life Ð actually watched some golf. Over the past few years, due largely to their efforts, the weekend has turned into a lesbian bacchanal where any self-respecting US dyke goes to get a tan, get a girlfriend and get laid. They started promoting hotel packages, music clubs and pool parties during the golf weekend, which initially attracted sports fans looking for something to do once the golf was through mid-afternoon, and women who just wanted to be around other women in a convivial atmosphere. She also attracted women, despite not being gay herself, although the lesbian nation likes to claim her as a sister.Įleven years ago, Sandy Sachs and Robin Gans, owners of the Los Angeles lesbian club Girl Bar, came to the tournament, were bored rigid, and saw an opportunity.
Because Shore was a big Hollywood name, she was able to get friends in the business to give their support, and the event took off as her presence attracted all-important sponsors. Television personality Dinah Shore, a keen golfer and sports fan (whose other claim to fame was a six-year affair with Burt Reynolds), started the tournament in 1972, putting her name and money into the then grossly underfunded LPGA, when female golfers earned a pittance in comparison to the men and were rarely covered on TV. Much to the chagrin of the tournament's organiser, the LPGA, and its sponsor Nabisco, this elite event has become a sapphic debauch writ large, as lesbians from all over America converge in the desert for the Dinah Shore Classic. Instead they are here for some other sport Ð one long party, with nudity, girl-on-girl action and go-go dancers simulating sex on stage. There is a golf tournament in town and thousands of women have arrived, but not to watch the sport.