Viagra and Golf – Is Sex Worth the Sacrifice?

I was driving to a client’s office this morning and I heard a radio ad for Viagra and its claim that an estimated 17 million men have ED. Yes, erectile dysfunction. I was shocked to hear that so many men can’t bring themselves to attention. I also didn’t know that we have an epidemic on our hands. According to Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary, an epidemic is defined as “The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community or region during a given time period.” How did our society reproduce with so many men that couldn’t get it up? Is there something in our water? I digress.

What struck me as quite interesting was that the ad closed with “…and see our ad in Golf Magazine.” That made me rise up in my seat. Why did the advertiser mention Golf Magazine as the only place where the print ad was running? Is there some sort of connection between ED and golf? Why didn’t they mention Forbes, Fortune or Maxim? What about Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated or Science? Don’t any of these publications’ readers have ED? Is it only those who read Golf Magazine that have this dreaded disease?

Perhaps we should thrust ourselves into a deeper understanding of the connection between golf and ED? Yes, I think we should.

A quick check of Golf Magazine’s 2006 media kit is very telling:

95% of the readership is male – VERY MALE
They have an average net worth of over $1 million – RICH
They have an average household income of $148,000 – RICH
They have played golf an average of 25 years – OLD
They play an average of 58 rounds per year – PLAY LOTS OF GOLF
83% are professional or managerial – IN MANAGEMENT

What do we have: rich old male managers that play too much golf and according to Viagra, they have an ED problem. Clearly a target rich market.

So, I think the conclusion we can draw from this is that playing too much golf (58 rounds/year mind you) leads to ED and so your choices are:

A) Stop playing golf. – NOT
B) Stop playing golf, take Viagra and still have sex. - NOT
C) Keep playing golf, take Viagra and still have sex. – POSSIBLE
D) Keep playing golf and stop having sex. - ???

Hmmmm…. don’t rush me, I’m still thinking about it.