When Colgate-Palmolive and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) decided to inaugurate a new golf tournament in 1972 under the name of TV star Dinah Shore, who expected all those lesbians to show up? Golf? Who said anything about golf? Within a decade, the tournament week became crowded with comedy concerts, pool parties and tea dances. Promoters reserve entire hotels for the huge flock of lesbians that migrate into town each year, and the dance parties are so large an airplane hangar is required for the 5,000 sunbaked gals. The Dinah Shore tournament is merely an excuse for the year’s biggest pool party. This lavishly illustrated, oversize book celebrates all things Dinah, including:
A history of the tournament highlighting the main players—with gaydar ratings for each.
Interviews with club promoters, bartenders, and -partygoers on the evolution of the “Gay Dinah.”
An exploration of responses to the phenomenon by the LPGA brass, the golfers, the Mission Hills Country Club, and the city of Palm Springs.
“Dinah Style”—a look at the changing couture, including how to get your polo shirt collar to stand up.
“The Dinah Guide,” including how to get to Palm Springs and its vicinity, how to secure lodging and tickets, directions for getting around, and a tourist guide to the area.
Longtime journalist and freelance writer Michele Kort is the author most recently of Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro and the collaborating writer with Chastity Bono on The End of Innocence.
