IT'S fair to say that the sporting world did not hold its collective breath yesterday when the R&A and the Ladies Golf Union (LGU) announced they were holding exploratory talks with a view to an eventual merger.

Their joint statement was brief, not elaborated upon, and if any pulses quickened they were likely to have been within the boundaries of a well known Fife coastal town.

For the record, the statement read: "Exploratory talks are underway between the LGU and the R&A towards establishing a more closely co-ordinated working relationship and the possibility of a merger between the two operations.

"There is a great deal of synergy between the LGU and the R&A, with both based in St Andrews and responsible for staging major championships, prestigious amateur events and international matches. Both organisations are committed to supporting the development of golf and encouraging participation in the sport."

If this marriage, albeit between two currently unequal partners, is consummated, it will be another welcome step in acknowledging that men, women and golf can live harmoniously together. Although pockets of misogyny remain, the Rubicon - or should that be the Swilcan - was crossed last September when the all-male members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews voted overwhelmingly for women members to be admitted for the first time since 1754.

As someone once observed, better late than never.

The club duly delivered earlier this month when it announced the names of the first seven honorary female members. Six were among the most-distinguished women to have teed it up and the other was the daughter of an existing member, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the sister of another, the Duke of York. But we digress.

Another battle of the sexes, or more accurately the dismal attitude of some male golfers to their female counterparts, appears to be drawing to a close also. The Scottish Ladies Golf Association (SLGA) membership has already voted for an amalgamation with the Scottish Golf Union - the male membership of which is also expected to give its consent at an egm next month.

Against these major developments, which might have been expected to have occurred in the 20th century and not this one, yesterday's announcement was low key. The Herald understands that the move was initiated by the R&A, and that the LGU has welcomed the approach - although one possible pitfall is that it will be submerged into the R&A and lose all traces of its identity.

One clear advantage of a merger to the LGU would be in attracting more sponsorship money for the Ricoh British Open Championship. Like the Open Championship, it is a major and if a new, merged, organisation was able to sell the broadcasting and commercial rights for the two as a package that would potentially be enormously to the benefit of the world's top women golfers.

The two organisations - the R&A became a separate identity from the the Royal and Ancient club in 2004, partly to deflect criticism that despite being guardians of the game in all parts of the world apart from the United States and Mexico the club wouldn't admit women members - have vastly different roles. The influence of the R&A extends to almost all corners of the globe, whereas the LGU is responsible for amateur golf in Britain and Ireland only.

Founded in 1893, when the first ladies' British Amateur Championship was won by Lady Margaret Scott at Royal Lytham and St Anne's, the LGU, its four members are the governing bodies for England, Ireland, Scotland (the SLGA) and Wales.