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LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb 24, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Makers of golf equipment are more and more pitching their wares to women.
The 125 vendors at the Southern California Golf Show are offering items like balls in a range of colors, women's golf shoes and clubs designed with women's bodies in mind, the Los Angeles Times reports.
"What you have is a lot of people responding to this new market," said Susan Reed, editor of Golf for Women magazine. "They sort of realize what a great growth area designing with women in mind is."
The National Golf Foundation reports the number of female golfers grew 31 percent from 1993 to 2004, to a total of 6.9 million. The number of men in the game was up only 5.2 percent.
Interest in the golf has also been fanned by a new generation of female competitors like Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer.
There's even some blowback to men from the women's side of the sport. Precept Bridgestone Golf's MC Lady balls, designed to go farther for the player with a weaker swing, have been so popular with men that the company now has a version called the Laddie.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
