Golf Proves Once Again That Nobody Is Born Equal

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

IT SOUNDED too good to be true and, as it turns out, it was. After announcing that it would be changing its men-only policy, Royal Troon is now saying that it will not, after all, be a mixed gender golf club when it hosts The Open in June, although it insists that it is on course to vote on the controversial issue by the end of the year.

For pity's sake, how difficult can it be to throw your doors open to women members? I could well be wrong, but my suspicion is that some of the stuffed shirts on Royal Troon's committee are continuing to resist this move into the 20th century when the rest of the world is already 16 years into the 21st. If that is the case, here's a radical thought - get rid of them, every last one of them.

Troon and Muirfield are the only remaining clubs on the 10-strong Open rota to have a male-only membership policy, with Royal St George’s voting last year to admit women members. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews also voted to end its 260-year-old male-only membership policy in September 2014.

Troon has always considered itself a special case in this respect as it shares facilities with the Ladies Golf Club, Troon. Both clubs will shoulder the responsibility of hosting The Open via a joint Championship Committee.

A “comprehensive review” of membership policy was announced by Troon in January 2015 but we are now told that the issue will not be resolved until the “back end” of 2016. How can it possibly take almost two years to introduce a new policy that, at the end of the day, involves little more than installing proper changing facilites for women and telling them they are welcome to join the club and play the course whenever they want to do so?

Troon captain Martin Cheyne said: “What’s important is that we do this thoroughly and properly." No Martin, what is important is that you do it without delay.

He continued: "We have 138 years of history across the two clubs and it’s important that we get this right. We are in frequent contact with the Ladies Golf Club, Troon to make sure that they are up to speed with what we are doing. Every meeting we have had with them has been positive and supportive of the process. They have indicated that any change that we would have to make is not something they are looking for.

“What’s important to understand with that is the internal relationships we have, where the ladies can play the Old Course free of charge, any day of the week and the shared facilities we have. I do talk about one venue and two clubhouses and I think it’s important we understand that.

“But the external world has changed in 138 years [shock, horror!] and it would be wrong not to acknowledge that and (consider) are we in a position to support the future development of golf at all ages and all genders with the current structure?”

Unbelievably, Troon have commissioned research consultancy nfpSynergy to lead a review, with a survey due to be sent to members in June. A survey? What on earth is it going to ask? "Are men from Mars and are women from Venus?" And what happens if the majority view is that the gin and tonic brigade don't want fully-fledged women members?

The results of the survey will be analysed and sent back to the club in August, and Cheyne expects a special general meeting will be held “at the back end of the year.”

An R&A spokesman said: “The review is under way and we await the outcome with interest. It’s important the club has the time to do this review thoroughly and in their own way. We have to give them the space to do that. It’s up to them to decide on the timescale.” How much time do they need?

Muirfield, which is owned and run by The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, has also finally agreed to review its membership criteria, but don't expect anything to happen there anytime soon.

These golf clubs operate in a bubble and clearly don't "get" the fact that the outside world looks at them in utter disbelief. I am sorry, but I believe that golf will continue to have its struggles to attract a young, vibrant audience as long as even a single golf club anywhere believes that it is acceptable to exclude women and children, or anybody else on ground of race, colour or religion.

What do you think about Royal Troon's membership policy. Is it a problem? Let us know in the comments section.