Shipman Would Like Her Clubs, Not Her Clothes, to Do the Talking : Golf: She brings different style to the tour, but winning an LPGA tournament is more important than fashion.

You won’t find fur head covers on clubs that belong to Kim Shipman.

You might find a sticker on her belongings that says, “Love Animals, Don’t Eat Them.”

You won’t see Shipman with one of those deep-dark tans--the kind that look wonderful at 28 and woeful at 55.

You will find her wearing sunscreen, and endorsing a brand that does not use animals in testing.

Shipman, 28, strays a bit from the LPGA norm. But after two rounds of the LPGA tournament at Los Coyotes Country Club, she was right in step behind the leaders.

A sixth-year pro from the University of Texas, Shipman turned in a 71 Friday for a two-day total of 141, three under par and two strokes behind leaders Nancy Lopez, Jill Briles and Caroline Keggi.

Shipman, whose best finish this year is a tie for 13th, was the leader for a time early in the day when she went five-under par. But she stumbled a bit on her final nine holes, bogeying two of them to fall out of the lead.

“I’ve been playing pretty consistent the last three or four tournaments,” said Shipman.

Catch her at the right time of the season, and Shipman’s short, spiky blonde hair might have a fuchsia, green or blue hue--a stripe of color across the side, or a tinge to the rat tail that hangs several inches down her back.

“Normally this time of year I have it colored,” Shipman said, laughing. “I’ve caught some flak for not doing it. People say, ‘Isn’t it time for some color?”’

Shipman has done her part to inject color into the LPGA since joining the tour.

In a world of golf shorts and resort wear, Shipman is given to white shirts and long plaid shorts of a certain hip-to-be-square style.

Shipman had been struck by the sameness of the players’ clothing when she joined the tour.

“It was just a bunch of clones. I was surprised,” she said. “You see Beth Daniel or someone on TV, and you don’t notice anything. But when I got here and saw them all together, I noticed they all looked alike.”

Shipman made herself stand out by deciding to wear Jams, a brand of brightly colored beach shorts. Once, at a tournament in Indianapolis, she wore a tight pair of swim trunks whose design looked like the checkered flag at a car race.

“They only had one size,” Shipman said, in half-teasing apology.

There were some objections to her attire, though they were subdued in comparison to those sparked by Andre Agassi’s tennis togs.

“A few wanted me to get kicked off the tour, or fined,” Shipman said.

Nothing serious ever came of that, perhaps because she abandoned the wacky beach shorts--”I got tired of wearing those things,” she said--and perhaps because of her appealing manner.

“They know they can talk to me,” she said.

Shipman takes an active role in organizing group activities for the tour, arranging softball games with local teams at nearly every tour stop, and trying to start a swim team.

And even though her personal politics differ from many of the other golfers on the tour, Shipman listens to what they say.

When Shipman, who has been involved with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, made her point known about fur head covers, other golfers responded.

“Some others brought up that at least fur head-covers are biodegradable,” she said. “That was a good point.”