A Talk in the Park

Natalie Gulbis sat down in Central Park with GOLF.com to talk about her first win, marriage proposals, and what she's learned from Tiger


Published: October 11, 2007

You've proven you can be a consistent top-10 player. What will it take for you to be a consistent winner?
Clean up my game. Like you said, to win consistently you have to be a consistent player. You have to hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and you have to do everything well. You can't be great at driving and be a horrible putter. Every part of your game has to be the best, otherwise there's somebody else who's going to beat you.

You were college teammates with Lorena Ochoa at Arizona. Was there any indication back then that she was going to be the best golfer in the world?
She was a great junior player growing up. She won the junior worlds five, six times. She was a very dominant player in college, and she had a great work ethic. You could tell. She's dominated at every level, and it's no surprise that she's successful on the LPGA Tour.

Do you think knowing her well can help you try to knock her off the top?
I think what's helped me is I know her very well and her game well. We played against each other in college, and she won a lot of events and I won a lot of events. I think it's easy to compare somebody that is so successful to yourself when you know you're just as good as them.

Before Michelle Wie, you were the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA event. Was there any pressure on you to skip college and go pro?
It was actually quite a bit different then. I turned professional when I was 19 years old and it was very, very unheard of. I went to school for one year, and it was very unusual to turn pro that early after not getting your college degree. Now it's a lot more popular to turn professional right out of high school.

You've played golf with Donald Trump. What kind of business advice has he given you?
To never settle for anything but the best. I think Donald definitely has a slogan with his brand that he always has the best of the best. We've talked a lot about marketing and a lot about business, and I've learned a lot from him.

Has he tried to give you any golf tips?
I think at one time he told me to keep doing what I was doing. I've always been an unorthodox putter, and I remember I was frustrated with my putting one time, and I think he's a very positive person, and he just gave me some nice positive, friendly feedback.

How many marriage proposals have you turned down?
Just a couple; couple fun ones from fans.

Has there been a guy who has produced a ring and gotten down on one knee?
No, no ring yet.

Would that be a key to success?
No, I don't think so.

Does an average Joe have any shot of dating you?
Absolutely. I'm pretty open-minded with who I date.

Does he have to be a good golfer?
No. That's not even close in the criteria. That's way down on the list, of whether or not they can play golf. [Laughs]