America's All-Male Golfing Society [New York Times Editorial Alert]

The New York Times ^ | 11/18/2002

[GeneD]

William (Hootie) Johnson, the chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, has become the poster boy for a particularly regressive branch of the golfing set. As he announced somewhat testily last week, his famous all-male country club has no plans to add women members — not anytime soon and certainly not in time for the Masters tournament in April. Augusta National is a private club, Mr. Johnson explained, and thus his members have a "constitutional right to choose" who can be excluded from its expensive inner sanctum.

The constitutional right to choose is real, but it is not limited to Mr. Johnson and his all-male choir. If the club that runs the Masters can brazenly discriminate against women, that means others can choose not to support Mr. Johnson's golfing fraternity. That includes more enlightened members of the club, CBS Sports, which televises the Masters, and the players, especially Tiger Woods.

Some club members, like Sanford Weill of Citigroup and Kenneth Chenault at American Express, have called for an end to the gender discrimination. A lot of good that did back in Augusta however. The club reaffirmed its all-male code.

Augusta National is the host of America's toniest golf tournament, one that brings about $20 million to the club from the public and untold profits for CBS Sports. But that Masters magic is based on discrimination that Citigroup, American Express, CBS and other modern corporations vowed to eradicate decades ago. Mr. Weill and Mr. Chenault should lead the way by resigning from the club and encouraging other C.E.O.'s to do the same. CBS Sports, which seems to think this issue is no big deal, needs to think again.

Tiger Woods, who has won the Masters three times, could simply choose to stay home in April. The absence of golf's best player would put a dreaded asterisk by the name of next year's winner. And a tournament without Mr. Woods would send a powerful message that discrimination isn't good for the golfing business. Of course, if Mr. Woods took that view, the club might suddenly find room for a few female members. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, for example, is said to be a very good golfer.

[ewing]

I was asked to play at Augusta by a business associate and consider it one of the non-family related career highlights of my life. (that and playing Pebble Beach)

[amused]

They are saying now and have said that they aren't ruling out women members and they will probably have them, on their timeline. So I don't see that as a cave in. A cave in would be to do it in the next few months or even during 2003.

Good point. Hootie has said time and again that the club will decide when it will have a woman member, not under threat of boycott or pressure from outside groups. Good for him.

[ewing]

Complete Augusta National Membership List (Alphabetical and by state) http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/masters/2002-09-27-augusta-list.htm

[Snuffington]

Long ago, when Groucho Marx said "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member," it was absurd enough people knew it was a joke. The modern feminist movement has made it a policy statment.

There is literally NOTHING wrong with a bunch of rich men forming an exclusive club, buying a lot of land and putting a golf course on it. NOTHING. It does not require a statements, boycots, or media attention, because there is no story here.

That is, unless you believe enforced socialization rules ensure "diversity," and that this value supercedes freedom. The New York Times of course believes such nonsense. But the vast majority of people do not.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

For the most part from that list, it looks like the place where wealthy old men go while they're waiting for the mausoleum to be completed.

[ewing]

Article- 'Golf's Secret Society' http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/masters/2002-09-27-augusta_x.htm

[cubreporter]

Me too! A private club is a private club wheter it be male or female. I'm tired of all these groups trying to bully some other group. It's time it stopped! Good for that man to not allow himself to be intimidated. Everyone needs to grow up, don't go to a show if you think it will offend you, don't turn on that TV show if it offends you, Don't read that book if it offends you. In other words...everyone has a choice! Move on and forget about so much nonsense. We're supposed to be grownups but I wonder sometimes...I really wonder!

[CapedCrusader]

Yup. Much ado about nothing.

[WaveThatFlag]

Augusta National is the host of America's toniest golf tournament, one that brings about $20 million to the club from the public and untold profits for CBS Sports.

Augusta National gives the proceeds from the tournament away to charity. These are not people who can be financially extorted. I attended the Masters in 1991, and I am happy to report that, if anything, the members of Augusta National go out of their way to demonstrate that they are ruled by thier concept of manners and good taste, not the almighty dollar. Tickets to this tournamnet are easily the cheapest of the four majors. I am guessing that they barely break even on concessions. The waiting list to buy tickets to the perennially sold-out event has long since been discontinued. Augusta National could charge $2000 for a four day pass and I have no doubt that they would have no trouble selling every ticket every year.

[Frapster]

Lol - the reality is that I've never played golf there nor never will. Although stranger things have happened. I would be disappointed if they changed their membership policies.

[BikerNYC]

Augusta: God's waiting room?

[N. Theknow]

Hootie should make the NYT a deal and say that Augusta National will accept a woman member when their homosexual editor marries one.

[Darlin']

"What is the waiting list and the membership fees like for Agusta? "

Waiting list and memebership fees aren't the problem. You can't ask to join Augusta and ever hope to become a member. You have to be asked. The surest way of never becoming a member, ever, is to ask to join. Bill Gates made that mistake as have several other prominent people.

[ewing]

That is the shame of it, all of that 3-4 million in TV sponsorship money from Coca Cola, IBM and Travelers Insurance would have gone to charity..now it's gone.

There will be million dollar donation from the club but that is it

[MoralSense]

What did you shoot? Any good stories about your fortunes at any of the famous holes?

[ewing]

The greens were like absolute lightening.

I had a 15 footer for bird and putted all the way off the first green!

Simply the most immaculate course I have ever been on and the staff was wonderful..

[Darlin']

"The only right that liberals detest more than the right to bear arms is freedom of association. "

Aaaah, but one thing they supposedly place great value in is the right to choose. Augusta is simply exercising that right and the NYT has gotten all hot and bothered over it. Perhaps Hootie should 'splain it in language even Maureen Dowd can understand by telling them it is "all about choice". LOL

[Jim Noble]

>>especially Tiger Woods<<

An interesting choice of words by the editorial board, eh?

Why "especially"?

Does Mr. Woods owe his phenomenal success to the New York Times? Does he owe it to racial politics? Does he owe it to proportional representation, to group identity?

As anyone who has ever hit a golf ball knows, he owes it to God-given ability mixed with phenomenally hard work and an abnormally high tolerance for practice, practice, and more practice.

So why "especially" Tiger Woods? It doesn't appear to me that he owes anybody a damn thing.

[ewing]

Not a bad way to check into the big course in the sky.

[engrpat]

GOLF = Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.