In popular opinion, golf is a man's sport. Men play golf professionally, as a way of meeting clients and conducting business, and for fun with their friends while their spouses stay home and embroider cushions or drink margaritas. But this is an old, outdated attitude. Plenty of women are golf enthusiasts as well. Some play with their spouses, others play with friends, and some are good enough to play professionally. For the creme de la creme of professional female golfers, there's the LPGA or Ladies Professional Golf Association. You can learn more about it here.

You can make a lot of money as a professional golfer if you're good enough to win. The LPGA schedule is packed with events - sometimes three or more tournaments per month - with winners' purses in excess of a million dollars. In addition, professional golfers receive sponsorship money to wear a certain company's clothes and use a certain company's equipment, so not only do they get their gear for free they are also paid to promote it on TV regardless of where they fall in the tournament rankings.

Players in the LPGA not only garner respect internationally for their sporting prowess but they also get to spend their days traveling to exotic locations. Tournaments are held all over the world, from Victoria, Australia to Chonburi, Thailand to Phoenix, Arizona to Oahu, Hawaii, to Waterloo, Canada. Because golf is such a popular sport in North America and most of the golfing gear companies are American, the majority of the tournaments tend to be held there, with international locations filling in during the colder months.

In order to play in the LPGA you have to pass through a qualifying tournament, and if you want to score highly enough in a qualifying tournament you need to practice, practice, practice. This means getting up early enough to squeeze in two rounds of golf before dusk, spending hours working on your putting, chipping, and driving techniques, studying under a sports psychologist, and of course finding a golfing coach willing to take you under his or her wing. It's a hard road, but it could end with you winning the Wegman's LPGA Championship and collecting a $2.5 million purse.

The LPGA is dedicated to women and the sport of golf, so in addition to their tournaments they also run golf camps for girls who might one day want to play in the LPGA. There are over 128 players from 27 countries who belong to the LPGA at any given time. Some of the more famous names include Australia's Karrie Webb, who has 38 LPGA victories, South Korea's Mi Hyang Lee, who has 25 victories, England's Laura Davies, who has 20 victories, and Lisette Neumann of Sweden, who has 13 victories. To learn more about these amazing women, the LPGA, and view a schedule of tournaments, read the articles on this website or visit the LPGA homepage at www.lpga.com. Our website is made possible through funding from Cannect (private home equity lender)