When did women golfers get to be hot?

And I ain't talkin' temperature, people.

Some of you (like certain golf-playing second cousins of mine ; ) may have been aware of this trend. However, the existence of golf babes only came to my attention last week, after I saw (and read) an article from Time.com titled "Lady Golfers for Rent: Escort Service for Duffers" on CNN.com.

My first reaction: Who would want to rent a woman golfer? When I was growing up most of the women I saw playing golf (with the exception of my mother, a former model) basically looked like short, stocky men in too-short Lilly Pulitzer skirts and too-tight polo shirts. Not a pretty sight.

But clearly times have changed (though not necessarily the fashions) -- to the point that there is actually a list of "The 50 Hottest Female Golfers of All Time." (Fifty?! Really?! I thought, maybe five, but 50? Who knew!)

And while I may not have noticed that the LPGA had added a swimsuit competition, the attraction of attractive female golfers did not escape the eagle eye of entrepreneur and golfer Nisha Sadekar, a former LPGA prospect. Sadekar is the founder of Play Golf Designs, which for a fee, will hook you up with "one of the company's roster of beautiful female professional golfers, [who] will play a round or two with you and your co-workers at a corporate outing, with your clients who need to be schmoozed or just with you and your buddies during a bachelor party," according to the Time.com article. (Btw, my second reaction to the article was 'why is it perfectly OK to rent or hire a male pro but hiring a female pro for a few hours sounds so... dirty?')

This gives whole new meaning to the golf terms "ball washer," "banana ball," "hooker," "snake," "sweetspot" and the whole idea of "fore" play.

NOTE: The "hottie" in the picture, as a buddy just referred to her offline, is Natalie Gulbis, who came in at #1 on the list of 50 Hottest Female Golfers of All Time. Schwing!