THE furore surrounding next week's Open Championship to be held at the male-only golf club of Muirfield is, frankly, beginning to become a little boring.
Muirfield is one of a number of courses on the Open rota that does not admit women members. While this policy may be perfectly legal, it is inexcusable that these courses continue to be awarded the Open Championship. As long as these clubs persist with their men-only stance, we will be barraged with screeds of reading matter about the misogyny of their stance.
Let's not blow this out of proportion, though. There are some 3000 golf clubs in the UK and, of that number, only 1% are single-sex clubs. Half of that 1% are men-only clubs and half are women-only, meaning that only 15-20 golf clubs in the UK do not permit women to become members. It is a tiny number, but the issue is highlighted by the fact that some of these men-only clubs are among the most high-profile clubs in Britain.
So contentious is the issue that is has been discussed as high up the food chain as the First Minister, Alex Salmond. As with all politicians, Salmond is loath to allow a bandwagon to pass by without hopping on board and announced last month that he would absent himself from this year's Open at Muirfield. He feels so strongly about the issue of equality that he will, instead, be at this week's Scottish Open, having stated "it's indefensible in the 21st century not to have a golf club that's open to all".
His stance would hold a little more weight if he hadn't happily attended the exclusively male Royal St George's a couple of years ago. Yet Salmond's criticism of the R&A's approval of men-only clubs demonstrates what an easy target the governing body make themselves with their support of men-only clubs. The denunciation of the R&A has been heightened this year as a result of Augusta's decision to admit two female members: the former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and financier Darla Moore. Hardly "normal" women, but women nonetheless. It was a significant leap forward for Augusta, a club that only admitted its first black member in 1990. When Augusta is a step ahead in terms of equality, you realise just how outdated the R&A's stance is. It is an own goal by the game's governing body.
The men-only policy, which is staunchly defended by the R&A's chief executive, Peter Dawson, is surely on a death sentence. Sooner or later, this anachronism must be rescinded. Dawson himself has admitted that his life would be a whole lot easier if the issue of single-sex clubs was to disappear. But let's not be lulled into thinking that a change in policy would be an overwhelming victory for women's rights. The admission of a few women into a stuffy old boys' club will not make so much as a scratch on the glass ceiling, never mind break it.
In reality, it is questionable as to what the impact of eliminating the few remaining male-only golf clubs would have on the game. The majority of female club players would rather stick pins in their eyes than join one of these elitist, discriminatory, male-dominated clubs. Similarly, most professional women golfers are wholly ambivalent towards the issue.
Dawson claims that it is a complete myth that exclusively male clubs adversely affect female participation as women are able to play the courses, they just cannot become members. But while men-only clubs continue to host the Open Championship, the issue will dominate the conversation when it comes to golf clubs in this country.
Men-only clubs hosting the most prestigious event in the country perpetuates the opinion that the R&A are upholding the values of Victorian Britain, which endorsed the subjugation of women. This may not be the case, but it is hugely damaging to the game's reputation.
The R&A do much good work when it comes to promoting golf within the UK and across the globe. They invest large sums of money into countries such as Brazil, Vietnam and Venezuela, together with donating significant sums to the Golf Foundation, a body that promotes golf in schools and runs projects in inner city areas. There is little coverage of this, as we are all too busy condemning the R&A's endorsement of blatant sexism.
The reality is that, irrespective of the true impact that male-only clubs have on golf, their presence only reinforces the opinion that it is an elitist and discriminatory sport. Yet, in many clubs, this is far from the truth. But, just as books tend to be judged by their cover, many people's opinions about golf are based on this one exclusionary policy.
So why don't the R&A man up and strike these courses off their Open rota until they scrap their men-only policies. It might even result in us talking about positive aspects of the Open Championship. Like the golf, perhaps?
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