Royal St. George Votes to Allow Female Membership

[billchao]

http://golfweek.com/news/2015/mar/04/royal-st-georges-will-open-club-female-members/

Quote:

Members of Royal St. George’s Golf Club have voted unanimously to accept female members, the club announced Wednesday. The news comes just a few weeks after the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews welcomed women for the first time in its 260-year history.

The 14-time Open Championship venue held an extraordinary general meeting Feb. 14, and allowed members to vote on accepting women for the first time in the club’s 128-year history.

It took a three-quarters majority to pass the resolution, and just over 81 percent of the members cast a vote. The measure passed when 90 percent of members voted in favor of accepting women as members. They will become equal members with the same rights and privileges as men.

[DrvFrShow]

Wow! It only took them until 2015! Amazing! Time to build women's tees guys!

[Lihu]

Wow! It only took them until 2015! Amazing! Time to build women's tees guys!

It looks like they have red tees on all 7 courses. Pretty impressive courses. Balgove is a 9 hole course that is only 1600 yards or so.

http://www.standrews.com/

[WedgeHead]

Geez, the next thing you know women will have the right to vote! What is this world coming to?

[Nosevi]

Wow! It only took them until 2015! Amazing! Time to build women's tees guys!

And the fact that, in one way or another, these sort of people are responsible for much of the decision making in golf over here is precisely what is wrong with golf in my country .......... I mean the fact it took them so long, not the fact they let women in, clearly

And for the 10 percent who voted against women being allowed in, anyone get the suspicion they're not inwardly all that comfortable with their own mascilinity? Why would you feel threatened by club mates who happen to be female?!?! What utter Muppets.

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="DrvFrShow" url="/t/80559/royal-st-george-votes-to-allow-female-membership#post_1111870"]   Wow! It only took them until 2015! Amazing! Time to build women's tees guys! [/QUOTE] And the fact that, in one way or another, these sort of people are responsible for much of the decision making in golf over here is precisely what is wrong with golf in my country .......... I mean the fact it took them so long, not the fact they let women in, clearly :-)   And for the 10 percent who voted against women being allowed in, anyone get the suspicion they're not inwardly all that comfortable with their own mascilinity? Why would you feel threatened by club mates who happen to be female?!?! What utter Muppets.

Wow, 10% rejected the idea?!? I suppose for them getting out driven by someone they were told all their lives is the "weaker sex" is more than they can handle. :-D

[dfreuter415]

Members of Royal St. George’s Golf Club have voted unanimously to accept female members, the club announced Wednesday. The news comes just a few weeks after the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews welcomed women for the first time in its 260-year history.

Great news! But now comes the implementation of the rules. Will they just allow a token female member or two, or will there be a more liberal approach to recruiting ladies to join the clubs? (Note: as of November 13, 2014 there are 3 female members at Augusta National.)

[billchao]

Great news! But now comes the implementation of the rules. Will they just allow a token female member, or will there be a more liberal approach to recruiting ladies to join the clubs? (Note: as of November 13, 2014 there are 3 female members at Augusta National.)

It's in the article. Women have to go through the same membership process as men. They're not going to rush the process for the sake of getting female members in. The article says it might be a year before the first woman gets in, due to the waiting list.

[DrvFrShow]

In other words, they don't want to build a locker room for women.

[turtleback]

I guess next they will be allowing men into Curves.

[DrvFrShow]

Yeah, I know. Except business deals aren't cut in Curves like they are on the course. Curves also doesn't have a waiting list. You don't hear about judges and lawyers saying "see you at the exercise class," do you? I don't care. I'm not a member. I work out at one of the large gyms. But judges and lawyers, or CEOs and corporate attorneys get together and go play 18 holes at the country club. If it's men only it puts the female lawyer at a disadvantage. It's about networking.

[Phil McGleno]

Yeah, I know. Except business deals aren't cut in Curves like they are on the course. Curves also doesn't have a waiting list. You don't hear about judges and lawyers saying "see you at the exercise class," do you? I don't care. I'm not a member. I work out at one of the large gyms. But judges and lawyers, or CEOs and corporate attorneys get together and go play 18 holes at the country club. If it's men only it puts the female lawyer at a disadvantage. It's about networking.

If a guy chooses to have a "business round" or a "business lunch" at a course that excludes women he's already made the choice to exclude them. The club is just how he does it - HE is the one excluding them, though. Not the club. Clubs should be allowed to have whatever members they want. If it is only people with blue eyes, fine. It is not government, it is not public access or harmful to anyone, etc. It is just a private club. I get to decide who to allow into my home; anyone else is trespassing. If I do not want brunettes or people named Stephen in my home I do not have to let them.

[dkolo]

If a guy chooses to have a "business round" or a "business lunch" at a course that excludes women he's already made the choice to exclude them. The club is just how he does it - HE is the one excluding them, though. Not the club. Clubs should be allowed to have whatever members they want. If it is only people with blue eyes, fine. It is not government, it is not public access or harmful to anyone, etc. It is just a private club. I get to decide who to allow into my home; anyone else is trespassing. If I do not want brunettes or people named Stephen in my home I do not have to let them.

Of course they should be able to have whatever members they want. Simple freedom of association. Conversely, if their reasoning is "No girls in our clubhouse!" as opposed to something more understandable like "some women feel uncomfortable working out around men," then people can criticize and shame the club for making that decision. Simple freedom of speech. If they didn't care to feel embarrassed for their views, they'd have been free to keep up their policy. And you're welcome to criticize Curves for their reasoning as well. I just don't think enough people in society will go along with you to encourage the change. And for what it's worth, Curves allows men in in some states. I know a similar establishment in Boston, Healthworks, gets special dispensation from the state to allow them to discriminate against having male members.

[Nosevi]

If a guy chooses to have a "business round" or a "business lunch" at a course that excludes women he's already made the choice to exclude them. The club is just how he does it - HE is the one excluding them, though. Not the club.

Clubs should be allowed to have whatever members they want. If it is only people with blue eyes, fine. It is not government, it is not public access or harmful to anyone, etc. It is just a private club. I get to decide who to allow into my home; anyone else is trespassing. If I do not want brunettes or people named Stephen in my home I do not have to let them.

I'm not criticising their right to do it, I'm criticising why they would want to. It's called discrimination - sexual discrimination in this case - and although you could admire them for being up front about it, I'd prefer to laugh at how utterly out of touch they are. People like this sit on committees lamenting a percieved decline in partisipation in the game of golf and then vote to exclude a little over 50% of the population of the country from playing it anywhere near them. Personally I find it bordering on absurd.

[DrvFrShow]

They used to be able to not allow black people into clubs. Imagine if Tiger had never been allowed to play at Augusta.

[Phil McGleno]

They used to be able to not allow black people into clubs. Imagine if Tiger had never been allowed to play at Augusta.

Not the same thing and you know better. I do not care about a club. I am just pointing out that if someone wishes to meet with people at a club that they know does not allow women the club is not the lawyer or banker doing the excluding - it is the person who chooses to go there who is doing the excluding. There are all sorts of exclusionary clubs. Last time I checked my grandson is in Cub Scouts and would not be allowed to be a Girl Scout. There is a Jewish school that requires you to be Jewish to attend. The list is endless. Private clubs can do what they want. And I am free not to care about it.

[DrvFrShow]

We're talking about a country club, Phil. It's where people play golf. It is the same thing. They used to say "no coloreds allowed" at Augusta, except in the kitchen or doing manual labor. Hanging a sign out on a golf course that says "no women allowed" is the exact same thing.

[Phil McGleno]

We're talking about a country club, Phil. It's where people play golf. It is the same thing. They used to say "no coloreds allowed" at Augusta, except in the kitchen or doing manual labor. Hanging a sign out on a golf course that says "no women allowed" is the exact same thing.

No it is not the same thing. One is an exclusion to an event or something a person qualified to be in. The other is a private CLUB. I do not have to let anyone I want in to my house. You have to let anyone who meets certain requirements attend public school.