Ask a guy about Natalie Gulbis – and I approached several men these past few days – and his eyeballs threaten to pop out of the sockets.

They love the homegrown LPGA star. They wanted to talk about her stunning looks, her polished fingernails, her lanky 5-foot-9 frame accentuated by fashionably short skirts and matching pullover. They particularly enjoyed her appearance in a body paint bikini in February's swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated.

Now granted, the poll was informal and consisted of a few colleagues at a recent Kings game, a next-door neighbor and my own brother. But still.

"I enjoyed it," Gulbis said Friday, grinning. "I would do the photo shoot again if they (SI editors) asked."

If it works, then good for her. But the golf comes first, which sometimes becomes lost in the conversation. Gulbis remains a relevant, enduring and successful athlete despite the normal aches and pains of advancing age, exacerbated by a surgically repaired lower back.

The one-time girl wonder out of Granite Bay High School is still earning millions. And still swinging hard. And is 29. Hard to believe. For those who might have missed the show: She enrolled at Granite Bay before the Grizzlies added girls golf, outlasted one of the courses she frequented in West Sacramento (Lighthouse) and has outlived the LPGA's last tour stop (2006) in Sacramento.

But that last part? About the LPGA leaving town? That could change.

"One of my goals is to bring the tour back," Gulbis said during a charity appearance at Haggin Oaks. "That's very important to me."

Gulbis, who headlined the group inducted into the Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame later Friday that also included former PGA player and current Sacramento State women's coach David Sutherland, arrived at Haggin Oaks just after noon and made the rounds like, well, like a celebrity.

A group media gathering near the clubhouse was followed by brief one-on-one interviews. When the individual sessions ended, she went into the restaurant and autographed a large assortment of baseball caps and two guitars, carefully writing her name on items while sneaking a look at a television broadcasting the Masters.

A few minutes later, she eased into a cart and joined a small procession around the course, stopping repeatedly to chat with financial donors to the First Tee of Greater Sacramento's children's program – sponsors of Friday night's event.

"Hi, I'm Natalie Gulbis," she said repeatedly. Clearly, she has done this dozens of times. She's a pro. At one point, she sat patiently when the entourage stopped and Sutherland was forced to consult a map. The plan was to make sure all the sponsors were introduced to the area's greatest female golfer, who ended the afternoon with a clinic for a few hundred youngsters.

She doesn't get to do this often. Come back home. Visit her parents. Ride around familiar turf. The LPGA tour, which includes extensive overseas travel, is grueling and exhausting. She lives in the outskirts of Las Vegas to be close to her coach, Butch Harmon, and remains famously committed to time-consuming workouts and training, never more so than post-surgery.

Known for athleticism and powerful drives, Gulbis ranks 46th in career LPGA earnings, but her best years preceded the surgery. She finished in the top 10 in 24 tournaments between 2005 and 2007, and five years ago she won the Evian Masters in France.

The recurring physical discomfort led to the surgery in 2010 and admittedly affected her during what should have been her prime years. Until last week's Kraft Nabisco Championship, in which she tied for eighth, she had not had a top-10 finish since 2009.

"But I've been very fortunate," she quickly added.

Gulbis is one of those telegenic athletes whose persona extends well beyond her sport, similar to the far more outspoken, in-your-face Danica Patrick.

She has made appearances on Celebrity Apprentice and hosted her own show on the Golf Channel. It's her list of endorsements, though, that is most eye-catching, including deals with MasterCard, EA Sports, Canon and Taylor Made/adidas.

On Friday, her sponsors' labels were prominently stitched on various parts of her ensemble of raspberry pullover and short skirt, accompanied by white shoes. She shrugged off the late-winter chill, though, that caused goose bumps on her legs and arms, continually prompting her to yank her long sleeves down over her hands.

But that photo shoot? The daring look? She didn't seem excited.

The Hornets' Sutherland had no such reservations.

"I don't think it's possible to underestimate the impact Natalie has had on the way that female golfers feel good about themselves and their own athleticism," he suggested. "The girls I coach all want to wear short skirts. When I ask if they wouldn't rather wear something comfortable, they say no. Fashion has become increasingly fashionable, for both males and females. Just look at Tiger Woods."

Great point.

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