(Editor’s note: Golf Channel personality and ‘Morning Drive’ co-host Holly Sonders appears on the cover of May’s Golf Digest as part of its ‘Get Fit’ issue.)
By Holly Sonders
There’s a reason to always stay bikini-ready.
I was told on a Sunday in February that I’d been chosen to be featured on the cover of the May Golf Digest, which is an incredible honor. I figured I had weeks to hit the gym before the shoot. Nope. Three days later I was in New York.
My team at Cobra Puma Golf overnighted boxes of clubs and clothes to the shoot site and outfits were hanging, ready to go when I arrived. The baby blue Cobra irons and driver were all set up.
Ron Kaspriske, author of the article, met me at my hotel at 9 a.m., for an interview that lasted a few hours. Then it was time for the photo shoot. I arrived around 1 p.m., for hair and makeup. Fashion guru Marty Hackel and his team got me looking the part with minimal, natural makeup and flowing hair. No jewelry and athletic – I find that to be sexy for women.
We started with my golf outfits and shot my swing sequence. We used a Wiffle golf ball, which I hit at full speed. It bounced off the walls each time and we had to dodge it. I was sweating holding the poses!
Several outfit changes later we started with the fitness portion.
Many of my friends, stylists, PR managers, etc., from NBC and NBC Sports stopped by the studio or were with me throughout the day. I appreciated the support. To be in the company of Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez as women featured on the cover of Golf Digest, I couldn’t be more thrilled.
You can read an excerpt of the Q&A below. Also, click here to view Holly’s photo gallery and click here for her Grill Room Q&A.
Question: What kind of golfer are you?
Answer: I play from the reds now, but if I would tee it up from like 6,400 to 6,500 yards, I’d be about a 3- or a 4-handicap. I played with Natalie Gulbis the other day, and I was 30 yards behind her off the tee. At 150 yards, I’m hitting an easy 6-iron.
Q: When the show started, the hosts were behind a desk, but you sat on a stool away from them and were usually wearing short dresses and heels. Were you comfortable with that?
A: Some people would comment, ‘You’re objectifying her.’ There was just no other place to put me, honestly. The cameras were in the wall. I dress the way I dress because style is very important to me. I love being a girl. You can be a pit-bull competitor. You can want to kick people’s asses in every sport, but you can still be feminine and still be sexy.
