St.Andrews may allow women into club

New equality laws are forcing all-male St.Andrews golf club to admit women.

I was recently told by a non-golfing female how good Augusta National looks on television. She could understand the fascination with the golf course and loved how beautiful it looked. Not wanting to dispel the magic, the conversation turned when I mentioned that Augusta is a male only golf club. But alas, the illusion was shattered and it all didn’t seem quite a rosy, or as azalea-ly.

Golf moves slowly. Kevin Na has been known to play a couple of holes in the time it takes for some golf clubs to ratify a new local rule. And life at St.Andrews Golf Club is no different.

Let’s clarify one thing, St.Andrews Golf Club is not the Old Course. It is one of the handful of golf courses lying in the town of St.Andrews, the home of golf. St.Andrews has always been a strictly male domain with female membership prohibited and females only allowed into certain areas of the clubhouse, but a recent change to British equality laws may mean they policy must change.

A letter to members hinted that maintaining their current policy prohibiting female members may not just be seen as a ‘retrograde’ step but could result in a substantial lack of money.

Oh well, if there is money involved…

The more famous Royal & Ancient Golf Club nearby is home to the Old Course, the most famous golf course in the world. They also do not permit female members and it remains to be seen whether they will also be needing to change their membership policy.

In this case, the name Royal & Ancient seems entirely appropriate.