Laura Baugh: a proud pro comes clean on Colonel Sanders, 'bleedouts' and living on two hours of sleep

Golf Digest, Jan, 2004 by Guy Yocom

After my divorce, I didn't date for five years. Not once. Last February, my daughter Haley, who was 12, said, "Mom, I bet you don't have a date for Valentine's Day." That made me decide it was time to get out and talk to big people. I hadn't drunk for seven years, the baggage from my marriage was behind me, and I could tell the kids could probably use a break from me. So I started going out again last year, and it's been fun, though a little like taking up golf again. It's awkward at first, but then it comes back to you, like riding a bike.

I'm not quick to admit it, but I can install doors, rebuild a drain field, do some plumbing and get the car fixed without getting ripped off. A single mother learns how to do these things.

If you play badly but get something out of the round--like learning you can't hit a 4-iron out of a divot--then it was a good day. Take what you can, and be happy. If you judge the round solely by what you shot, you're going to be disappointed, because most of the time that number is higher than you thought it would be.

Don't lie to me. Not even little white lies. Tell me you like the color of my dress even if you hate the design. I'll get the hint.

Men are more vulnerable than women. They're more susceptible to being manipulated. I've known so many successful men who were brilliant intellectually or in business who've been taken for a ride by a woman. Women do have their crosses to bear, but when it comes to love, women generally fare better than men.

Because I'm 48, there's a perception that the field of available men is narrow for me. In fact, it's incredibly wide. Someone who looks old enough to be my father would obviously be too old anyway, and a guy who looks old enough to be my son would be too young. The age span in between is extremely generous. I know one thing: There's no rush.

What would a man love most about me? My kids. They're my greatest asset, my biggest drawing card. He won't believe how wonderful they are. After he recovers from what it costs to take all eight of us out to the movies, he'll realize that the package deal--and it is a package deal--was more than worth the price of admission.

I always wanted to be a children's dentist. I knew I'd be making a difference. And that I could play golf on Wednesday afternoons.

I found that I played just as well wearing lipstick as I did without it. There's no downside to trying to look as attractive as you can.

Of course there are gay women on the LPGA Tour. The percentage is probably higher there than the percentage of gay women in theater. On the other hand, the percentage of gay women in golf probably is lower than that of gay men in theater. What I'm saying is, there are gay people in every walk of life. You know that. Let's move on.

People assume that I somehow know more than I did 20 years ago. In some ways that's true. But my math is worse, and my memory stinks.

Men with gray hair look great, whereas women are told they have "character." But the right shade of gray can make a woman look stunning. Color the hair shining silver, and an older woman can look beautiful in a way a young girl can't.