Golfers will, today and all weekend, enjoy gazing upon the beauty presented by their sport's version of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

That the original was the work of a genius, Oscar Wilde, whose life was ruined by prejudiced men who believed themselves entitled to judge, discriminate against and persecute others on the basis of gender, makes the analogy particularly apt.

Forever stunning, the Muirfield golf course is the manifestation of how organisations blighted by a deformed, wizened view of the world – one which, it could be argued, was also demonstrated by a BBC presenter's recent description of Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli as not being "a looker" – want to be seen.

As a facility, Muirfield is close to perfect. Decades ago I remember Raymond Jacobs, then the esteemed golf correspondent of The Herald, rightly waxing lyrical about its near uniqueness in being a traditional links course, yet one so well designed that there are no protracted runs of holes facing the same way as it works its way around the wind.

Back then, long before I had a daughter and had properly considered the importance of her having equal access to the same opportunities as her older brothers, I played the great course and was struck by the supreme quality of the turf.

On the rare occasions the waving wheat was avoided, it was like walking on the plushest of carpets. Of the hundreds of courses I have played, only Blairgowrie's Rosemount bears comparison.

However, the anachronistic attitudes of Muirfield's misogynist owners are beginning to be properly challenged and they are having to be ever more creative in seeking to justify them. They are also protected by the approach taken by some of those who should be most outspoken about the damage done to the image of the sport by these male-only clubs: a section of golf writers.

In the past, those among them who prefer an easy life, jollying along with the powers-that-be, have tended to dismiss opposition to their existence as undue political correctness.

Now they are beginning to realise that does not wash, new tactics are being applied.

One is to claim that too much attention has been devoted to the subject so those raising it are now becoming boring. The other is to suggest that the sorts of people who run the Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the self-styled Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers will make changes, but will only do so when least expected to.

They may have a point on the latter, given the stubbornness of some of the self-satisfied types involved when subjected to criticism, but both simply constitute attempts to reduce the attention this subject is receiving, thereby reducing the pressure on the administrators.

Rather than politicians grand-standing on this subject, there are, of course, counter-tactics that should have been applied years ago, namely the withdrawal of any sort of publicly funded support – most obviously policing – for events staged at male-only clubs.

Meantime, right-minded people – male and female – should continue to speak out about it at every opportunity rather than be silenced as we seek to demonstrate that society has moved on since the 19th century.

Attending the event represents something of a dichotomy for many. If you do, though, somehow get into that musty old clubhouse at any point and discover, tucked in a corner, an easel supporting a canvas covered by a sheet, beware of unveiling it if, like me, you love the look of the beautiful golf course which disguises so much that is repugnant.

And Another Thing . . .

Some in the golf establishment were a bit upset by Grant Forrest's decision last week to focus on his preparations for the Open Championship. They reckoned there was some ingratitude in the way the Scottish Amateur champion disappointed Scottish Golf Union administrators by withdrawing from their line-up for last week's European Team Championships in order to spend more time at Muirfield.

Just as Scottish amateur teams have done before, they ultimately did pretty well without him, claiming the runners-up spot.

Yet those who toed the line will be fully aware that what is deemed success by those running the amateur game has not translated into much in the professional arena for many years.

In which context, while the two may be unrelated, it was interesting that Forrest's decision emerged on the same weekend that Andy Murray won at Wimbledon.

That's Andy Murray . . . the lad who took himself away from the "Scottish system", did his own thing and became the greatest sportsman this country has produced.

We wish Forrest well this week, and beyond.